1 . What My Year Abroad Taught Me About Cultural Differences

Imagine going to study abroad. You walk into the local shop and bam!, Golliwogs (黑面木偶) everywhere. I’m talking salespeople dressed as Golliwogs. Surprised, you go to the junk food section as that’s the only thing that will give your body the sugar rush it needs to shock your body out of the state of bewilderment (困惑). And there they were: Golliwog cookies.

I’m using the word “Golliwogs” because to a British person abroad that’s what they are. But in the Netherlands and Belgium the image is known as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). There has been much discussion about whether or not it’s racist.     1     Zwarte Piet is understood by most in the Netherlands to be Santa’s helper whose black face was due to his delivering presents through the chimney.

Working as a trainee with the European Commission, I met people from all over the world, not just Europe. Working alongside my German, Spanish and Italian colleagues, I learned some valuable lessons.     2     You shouldn’t wait to say “excuse me,” or wait for a gap in the conversation to give your opinion, because you’ll walk out at the end of the meeting wondering how three hours have passed without you managing to say anything. I learned how to stop my colleagues and interject (插话) my thoughts.

Another lesson was the value of the coffee break. Coffee breaks in Brussels were not just time to get coffee. It was a chance to develop new ideas with colleagues in a more informal setting. At first I declined the invitation to attend, but after a while I began to notice that almost everyone went on these trips to the coffee machine and decided to join them.     3    

Graduates and students who have worked abroad gain an understanding of what it means to be truly European and how this can benefit you at work. Not only do you bring home experiences, skills and practices from other countries, but you also seek to take your work further afield (向远方).

    4     Remember the Golliwog cookies? All I really wanted were some Mr. Kipling’s cakes but they’re nearly impossible to find abroad. When I finished my trainee ship with the Commission, I came home and started a business called Packed Munches, a service sending boxes of British snacks to Britons all over the world. And to think, it all started with Zwarte Pict.

Interesting Traditions Around the World

Traditions are passed down from generation to generation to inform us of our history. Some are widespread and taken on by one and all, like celebrating New Year and birthdays, and then there are some that are quite strange or interesting and practiced only by a small group of people.

Famadihana, also called the turning of the bones, is a festival in Madagascar that honors the dead and celebrates family ties. Every seven years or so, families who can afford rich dinners for guests and new clothes for the living families and the dead, celebrate the festival. They give out gifts for the dead and crying is discouraged during the celebration.

Bali’s Day of Silence, or Nyepi, as they call it, is a holiday celebrated with eating little or no food as well as meditation, the practice of thinking deeply in silence. The whole island shuts off all sounds, lights, and all other activities, so there is peace all around. Days before the actual celebration, Balinese people make the ogoh-ogoh (dangerous animals) statues (雕像) that will be used and paraded through the streets the day before Nyepi. The statues are then usually burnt after supposedly attracting dangerous animals.

Having started in Middle Ages, flag throwing has long been popular in Tuscany. As the Italians love a good celebration, army parades were held with marching bands and flag bearers. Since flags are considered sacred, the flag bearers have to make sure that they do not fall to the ground. Today, flag throwing is not just popular in Tuscany but also in the whole of Italy.

Some traditions may sound strange, yet people hold them close to their hearts and still practice the age-old rituals to this day. These rituals are part of their culture and history and are able to shape and describe people.

As a form of historic culture, some traditions are shared altogether and others are     1     and celebrated by only a few.

People in Madagascar celebrate Famadihana to honor the dead and     2    .

During Nyepi in Bali, people eat little or no food and     3    ; days before the festival, statues are made and later they will be burnt.

Flag throwing features army parades and gains popularity in Italy.

People still hold fast to some age-old rituals, because these traditions can     4    .

Han Guorui, a folk artist specializing in making Dongming grain pictures, is generally busy in autumn as he needs to collect materials for his work. This year, he has been even busier, as he has attended fairs to demonstrate his skills and promote grain art.

The grain pictures, which take their name from Dongming county in Heze, Shandong province, are a traditional folk craft with a history of more than 200 years. The practice was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage(非物质文化遗产) in 2016 by the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

After being treated to prevent decay and insect infestation, grains, grass and vegetable seeds are glued together to form a picture.

“We use the different shapes and colors of grains and seeds, which are all collected from the field,” says Han.

Born in Dongming, a county along the banks of the Yellow River, he attended a regional fair in mid-October. His pictures attracted many children who asked questions, such as, “will these seeds sprout”, and “can these grains be eaten?”

Han answered the children’s questions while showing them how to use grains and seeds to make a picture.

“Only now, when food is sufficient, can people make a picture with surplus grain,” he says.

To make pictures that more people like, Han works in the style of Chinese ink and Western oil paintings. Now his grain pictures are not only sold in cities across China, but also to overseas markets, including some European countries, South Korea and Japan, he says.

“Grain pictures have become a cultural product that is helping to enrich farmers living on the Yellow River plain,” says Han.

The Yellow River, the country’s second longest, is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. For thousands of years, the people living along its banks have nurtured rich and vibrant cultures that have endured to this day.

To give people the opportunity to familiarize themselves with its rich culture and plentiful products, Shandong province has organized fairs named after the river throughout the year, with some events held in communities to involve more people.

At the fairs, intangible cultural heritage items, handicrafts, local delicacies, performances, and agricultural products are available.

At one fair in a community in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, in late October, more than 10 types of handicrafts were on show, including gourd-carving, paper-cutting, textiles and hemp rope weaving.

“The fair builds a bridge between intangible cultural heritage producers and consumers. Using items that are embodied with traditional culture is a good way to pass on culture,” says Sun Xicai, deputy director of Jinan Folk Literature and Art Association.

At the fair, 60-something Yu Shaoqing, who was selling animal-shaped textile products, attracted a lot of buyers.

“Many young people show an interest in my products. They buy them to decorate their rooms and cars,” says Yu.

Yu, who worked in embroidery design before retiring, designs her products, which take the shape of animals like tigers, rabbits and ducks. Currently, she is working on a dragon design for next year to welcome the Year of the Dragon.

6 . Students’ Journey to Empower Rural Heritage

From Aug. 18 to 22 a team of 15 Tsinghua University students, representing diverse backgrounds from China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, set foot on an overseas research exploration focusing on rural revitalization(振兴) in Indonesian villages, particularly within Nusa Tenggara Barat(NTB).

With the diverse cultural heritage, Indonesia is home to over 83,000 villages, each radiating its own charm and character.     1    

The research mission took the students to Sukarara and Sade villages, two of NTB’s tourist destinations.     2    Sukarara and Sade are a world apart from the busy cities to which most of us are accustomed. The villages are a living test to Indonesia’s rich culture and its devotion to preserving traditions. The Revitalizing these villages goes beyond mere economic development.     3    The weaving skills and architectural techniques of Sukarara and Sade villages are not only beautiful, but they are also an inseparable part to the identity of these communities. It’s essential that they strike a balance between progress and preservation.

As the journey came to an end, the students carry with them not only the memories of their experiences there, but also the responsibility to make a positive impact on these remarkable places.     4    They are optimistic that Indonesian villages can experience meaningful development, ultimately leading to increased opportunities for employment and an improved quality of life.

7 . Despite the fact that American companies have been “global” for a very long time now, many people today inside companies still misunderstand cultural differences. They misperceive potential foreign-born workers, for example, as too “shy” or not “confident” enough.     1    

In many cultures, it is just not appropriate to make small talk with someone you don’t know, especially someone above you in the corporate level.     2     For example, if you express your loyalty to a particular team without knowing that of your colleagues, you might put them in the uncomfortable position of having to either conceal their own preference or express something that conflicts with yours. So, you can imagine how challenging it can be for someone from a non-small talk culture to try to fit into a US corporate setting.

In addition, the US is basically a “straight-shooter (坦率的人)” style culture, where it is cultural valued to tell it like it is. But this isn’t necessarily true worldwide. For example, in Japan, people prefer to communicate indirectly, especially when it comes to a sensitive topic. To avoid accidentally damaging a relationship, people approach problems through subtle hints or general statements. If someone were to directly state a problem, it would make them look ungraceful, immature, and untrustworthy.     3    

Americans tend to be relatively informal in a business context.     4     Many cultures are quite formal, especially when interacting with superiors. In general, Indian culture, for example, is very formal. Indians typically greet their elders and superiors by title (Sir, Mr. , Dr. , Professor) and never by their first name. This is also the case at the university, where students act with extreme levels of respect towards their professors.

The above discussion just hits the tip of the iceberg of the different cultural misinterpretations in corporate America. For American employers to succeed in selecting, training, inspiring and keeping their top foreign-born talent, it is high time that they started taking account of these cultural differences in their leadership selection process.

9 . “The worst gift is a fruitcake,” said Johnny Carson once in his popular TV show. “There’s only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” Most Chinese have never heard of Carson, a beloved American television host who died in 2005.     1    

Mooncakes are often dense, cloyingly sweet — and, as Carson suggested, re-gifted. Chinese people usually eat them with their family members. They play a central role in celebrations of the traditional midautumn festival, a popular Chinese holiday that falls on September 10^th.     2    

Despite the outbreak of the pandemic, this year China is expected to produce 437,000 tones of mooncakes, according to iiMedia Research, a consultancy. Sales are likely to reach 24bn yuan ($3.5bn), up by 11.8% compared with last year. As most industries are gradually accustomed to functioning along with the pandemic, the mooncake industry, likewise, is now bouncing back to its pre-pandemic norms.

Most bakeries and restaurants offer mooncakes in their traditional form, with a heavy crust that puts in fillings such as red-bean paste, egg yolks or lotus seed. But expensive fillings, such as shark’s fin and edible bird’s nest, are sometimes added.     3     Some people use these luxurious mooncake packages as a clever bribing way to buy themselves up the ladder towards fame and power. That has led to new concerns over corruption and is out of step with the government’s drive to reduce inequality and control ostentatious (炫耀的) wealth.

Officials, therefore, have been inspecting mooncakes for sale in malls, supermarkets, hotels and restaurants.     4     Whoever sells a mooncake gift set for over 500 yuan must store the transaction data for 2 years in case of investigation.

10 . Day of the Dead

Here’s one thing we know: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween.

    1     Whereas Halloween embraces terror and mischief on the last night of October, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over the first two days of November in an explosion of color and life-affirming joy. Sure, the theme is death, but the point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members. In towns and cities throughout Mexico, revelers(狂欢者) don(穿上) funky makeup and costumes, hold parades and parties, sing and dance, and make offerings to lost loved ones.

Day of the Dead originated several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other Nahua people, who considered mourning the dead disrespectful.     2     The dead were still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit—and during Día de los Muertos, they temporarily returned to Earth.

Today’s Día de los Muertos celebration is a mash-up(混聚) of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts. It takes place on November 1 and 2—All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the Catholic calendar—around the time of the fall maize harvest.

Cultural heritage is not just monuments and collections of objects. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says that cultural heritage also includes living expressions of culture—traditions—passed down from generation to generation.     3     Today Mexicans from all religious and ethnic backgrounds celebrate Día de los Muertos, but at its core, the holiday is a reaffirmation of Indigenous(本土的) life.

Day of the Dead is an extremely social holiday that spills into streets and public squares at all hours of the day and night. Dressing up as skeletons is part of the fun. People of all ages have their faces artfully painted to resemble skulls, and, mimicking the Calavera Catrina, they don suits and fancy dresses.     4