One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch (Zhuazhou) of Babies

In China, One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch of a baby are of unique Chinese characteristics. These two     1     are milestone-like significance in the growing process of a baby.

On the day when a baby is a month old, the family of the baby will invite their friends and relatives to a ceremony to celebrate the     2    . In a     3     One-Month-Old Ceremony, there will be a rejoicing and festive atmosphere in the family and the feast is     4     to be lively and joyful. However, in recent years this custom has been gradually     5     among young people. Nevertheless, One-Month-Old Feast still remains a     6     and happy moment for every family.

“Zhou” in the word “zhuazhou” means “a baby is one year old”. The earliest     7    record about “zhuazhou” appeared during the Dynasty of Northern Qi. On the day when a baby is a year old, before the baby eats its longevity noodle, the family will lay out sutras, brush pens, ink sticks paper, ink slabs, abacus, copper coins, account books,     8    , flowers, rouges, food, toys, etc. If it is a girl, scoops, scissors, rulers, thread, scissor-cut will be added. The parents then put the baby in front of these articles and make it sit up. Nobody will give any     9     or cues to the baby so that it is left free to choose by itself. Watching the baby catch the articles it likes, the family can then make     10    about its potential interests, future career and development.

4 . Symptoms of Culture Shock and Their Stages

Like any new experience, there’s a feeling of euphoria (兴高采烈) when you first arrive in a new country and you’re in awe of the differences you see and experience.     1    During this stage, you still feel close to everything familiar back home.

The Distress Stage

Everything you’re experiencing no longer feels new; in fact, it’s starting to feel like a thick wall that’s preventing you from experiencing things. You feel confused, alone, and realize that the familiar support systems are not easily available.

Re-integration Stage

During this stage, you start refusing to accept the differences you meet.     2    You start to idealize life “back home“ and compare your current culture to what is familiar. You dislike the culture, the language and the food. You throw it as inferior. You may even develop some prejudices (偏见) towards the new culture. Don’t worry. This is normal. You’re adjusting.

Autonomy Stage

This is the first stage of acceptance. It’s the emergence stage when you start to rise above the clouds and finally begin to feel like yourself again. You start to accept the differences and feel like you can begin to live with them.     3    You no longer feel isolated and instead; you’re able to look at the world around you and appreciate where you are.

Independence Stage

    4    You embrace the new culture and see everything in a new, yet realistic light. You feel comfortable, confident, and able to make decisions based on your preferences. You no longer feel alone and isolated. You appreciate both the differences and similarities of your new culture. You start to feel at home.

5 . Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one’s own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another type of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases: honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation.

Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they make efforts to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communication is a related field of study.

Culture shock is a very real experience for many people who move to another country. Anyone who has lived or studied or even travelled extensively in another country has tasted and lived through some level of culture shock. At the time it may feel more like homesickness, but what most people who haven’t undergone any kind of adaptation program don’t know are the stages one goes through when adjusting to a new language, country, and culture.

Culture Shock

Understanding what culture shock is and how it comes about will help you identify it more easily and make your international move a little easier.

The online Oxford Dictionary     1    (define) culture shock as disorientation experienced when someone is suddenly in an unfamiliar culture or way of life. This is a good summary. Let’s break it down a bit further.     2    you move to a new country, everything is unfamiliar: weather, landscape, language, food, dress, social roles, values, customs, and communication—basically, everything you’ re used to is no longer in place.

You’ll find that the day unfolds differently,     3    business is conducted in a way that may be hard to understand, and that the stores are opened and closed at hours you could never predict. The smells, sounds, and tastes are unusual, and you can’t communicate with the locals—not even     4     (buy) a loaf of bread. This is a culture shock, and like any form of shock, there is a definite and almost certain reaction.

How to Help Yourself

There are several things you can do to help yourself     5    the stages of culture shock. First, fight the urge to retreat(=leave)and instead join a club, try out for a sports team, volunteer, or take a language class. Meeting new people and forcing yourself     6    (become) part of the community will help you through the re-integration stage.

Also, it’s important when you’ re settling into your new home country to ensure your home space     7    (feel) good and comfortable.     8    (settle) into a new home is the same in a foreign country     9    it is in your own country. Take the time you need to feel good in your space.

Get out. Walk around your new neighborhood. Be seen. Smile. Visit the same coffee shop or bookstore or market. You’ll soon be recognized.

Go on tours. Be a tourist in your new town. Get to know your city,     10    history and culture. This will help ease you into the independence stage.

7 . What is culture shock? It is a phenomenon that all types of outside experience, no matter if people work abroad for the first time or they are new in the field of foreign assignments. Often, it is the deeper cultural differences in mindset, customs and interpersonal interaction that lead to this phenomenon(现象)and turn cultural transition into a struggle.

◇An Emotional Roller-coaster(过山车)

Whereas every expatriate(侨民, 旅居国外者)will experience some form of culture shock, not everyone goes through all the well—known stages. Culture shock is a sense of anxiety and nervousness caused by being exposed to a strange environment and culture. However, it’s an essential part of the transition process: A willingness to work through it is the first step towards integration(融合).

Those who refuse to face it often fail to overcome it. This may result in great disillusionment. For some, the only logical solution is then going back home before the end of their assignment. Such expatriate failures occur particularly often in cases where the cultures of home and host country differ greatly.

The first step towards fighting this unavoidable phenomenon is to ask yourself “What is culture shock?” and try to understand it. Most experts describe it as a roller-coaster riding process where they experience waves of positive and negative feelings.

◇Minimizing the Effects

Culture shock is not a myth, but a predictable phenomenon. Anybody who spends more than just a vacation abroad has to go through it. Those who receive the least support on a professional and personal basis are usually hit the hardest. Expatriate spouses(配偶)in particular often feel lonely and angry when they experience life in a new cultural environment. If expatriates learn about the culture and people in their host countries in advance, they will be less shocked by obvious differences in social customs, religion, language or food.

Culture Shock is a term used to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a _______ new environment. This term expresses the loss of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment.

Shock Guide — Coping with Culture Shock

Most people who set foot on a foreign soil and live there have the ability to _______ the difficulties of a new environment and overcome culture shock. So if you are thinking about going home or only spending time with people from your own culture, don’t. You have to realize that you are not _______ . Many other foreigners have experienced _______ you feel, talk to your friends at your school as they can help you feel better.

Some Tips for Dealing with the Stress Produced by Culture Shock:

—Be aware of the symptoms (症状). Once you realize you are _______ culture shock, you can then take steps to deal with it.

—What are the situations which _______ or irritate you most in the new country?

*Are you misunderstanding the host people’s treatment of you? Where can you find more _______ about this aspect of the culture? Behavior which seems _______ to you, may not be intended as rude. Polite customs are _______ for each culture.

When situations seem senseless, remember that the hosts may be following social rules unknown to you. Ask questions about ________ customs.

*If you are still bothered by a situation, find ways to minimize the irritation. Is the situation ________ ? If not, you may be able to avoid or minimize involvement. For example: If women’s swimwear offends (冒犯) you, then spend shorter periods of time at the ________ .

—What do you ________ the most which was enjoyable in your home country? Look for ways to meet these desires or ________ these with something new. For example, if you miss your favourite Japanese pickles (腌制食品), go to a Japanese ________ or ask a relative to mail some to you.

Make the Best of Dog Days with Chinese Sanfu Customs

The hottest and most sultry (闷热的) days of the year, dog days, or Sanfu in Chinese, came on Thursday.     1     Chinese, “san” means “three” and “fu” means to “hide“. The word refers to three periods of “fu” days,     2     usually fall between mid-and-late July and early August.

In the philosophy of traditional Chinese medical science, it is the best time for driving away the summer-heat evil, or dampness,     3     the body. To resist the evil, people are advised to hide from heat during dog days.

Since ancient times, Chinese people     4     (develop)some traditional customs to prevent heatstroke (中暑) and adjust their bodies to be better accustomed     5     the changing seasons, including eating the right food and using the medicine.

In the philosophy of traditional Chinese medical science, the human body is full of positive energy on hot days, and skin is open to the outside world.     6     you paste some medicated patches, “Sanfutie” in Chinese, to some acupuncture points (穴位) on the body, it will work better along the main and collateral channels (经络) and blood vessels. Leave the patches on the body for several hours before taking away, and repeat the procedure several times according to different diseases during the dog days.     7     the disease has been treated in summer, the probability of the disease to break out will decrease in autumn and winter.

As the old method can help a patient ease pain     8     taking drugs and having acupuncture(针灸)or an operation, it has gained much popularity since ancient times. If you visit a traditional Chinese medicine hospital on the first day of “Sanfu”, you will find long queues waiting for getting “Sanfutie” treatment, which might not be     9     (suit) for everybody.     10     (consult) a professional doctor before using it.

A Nigerian artist who    1    his own work to the British Museum with the hopes of receiving looted (被掠夺的) colonial art back from it has had his offer declined.

The British Museum accepted a bronze plaque made by an artist Osarobo Zeickner-Okoro, from Benin City in Nigeria, who entered into    2    for the museum to return priceless Benin Bronzes that were looted by British troops in 1897. He offered his creation to encourage the museum to give back the sculptures but also to    3    acknowledgement of Benin City’s modern-day culture. The museum told him the    4    for looted artworks was impossible. Its official website acknowledges that it houses over 900 items from the city of Benin, but does not acknowledge how they were    5    . After meeting with two curators (策展人) from the museum’s Africa department, Zeickner-Okoro explained he was delighted they had accepted his gift, even though they rejected the idea of an exchange.

Created from brass and bronze in the once mighty Kingdom of Benin from at least the 16th century onwards, the Benin Bronzes are among Africa’s most    6    significant artefacts. European museums that    7    them have faced years of criticism because of their status as loot and symbols of colonial greed. The British Museum has made no clear commitment despite demands from the Oba, or king, of Benin.

A    8    member of Ahiamwen, a new guild of Benin City bronze casters and artists, Zeickner—Okoro wanted to change the terms of the debate by offering the museum    9    artworks untainted by any history of looting.

“Part of the crime that’s been committed is that Benin has been portrayed as a dead civilisation,” he said. “The reparation is not just returning the Bronzes. It’s also acknowledging us, that we’re a    10    civilisation.”