A Canadian visitor just said that I was her “Chinese [tradition and culture] walking encyclopedia” and that I was a “know-all”, as a result of us spending time together for close to 3 weeks. Which I believe is a compliment :D

Because, you know, being a “know-it-all” isn’t a very nice label since it is used on people who thought they knew a lot of things but they actually didn’t, LOL.

One of the funnest part in having/hosting foreign visitors is that you get to introduce your country to them. You get to tell them that the Muslims pray 5 times daily, you get to tell them that a Muslim man can marry four wives if he was able to support all of them and their kids, you get to tell them that Chinese people usually do not sleep with their legs facing the door because that’s how dead people are positioned, you get to tell them that the Petronas Twin Towers are still the highest TWIN towers in the world, you get to tell them what “summer” is like all year round, and you get to tell them all the beliefs behind the celebrations of the Dragonboat Festival, the Mooncake Festival, Thaipusam and what-have-yous.

Image credit: Ice kacang by Seet Ying.

On the other hand, the most challenging part, I have come to realize, is in describing certain things to them. For example, I can describe “ice kacang” as shaved ice topped with several condiments such as red beans, milk, canned corn and atapchee, the flesh from the young seeds of the mangrove plant Nypa fruticans. But how do you describe “cendol”? What about “roti canai” or “apam” or “nasi lemak” or “kuih bakar” or “chee cheong fun” or “wan ton mee”?