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.
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”?



cendol = a bowl of coconut milk which contains green strips, top with gula melaka ?
roti canai = flatbread ?
apam = flatbread sandwiched of nuts/corn/sugar ?
lol!
That’s a very nice try! But what “green strips”? “Gula Melaka” is brown sugar, I have heard people referring to them as such. But I’m not sure about the “green strip” thing, LOL.
Hahah…I love some of the looks that non-Chinese people give me when I try to explain 1000-year-old eggs. :D Especially because they’re black.
Best thing to do is to show them and when edible, ask them to taste them.
Can men really marry 4 women?
And, are you able to match the males by bagging yourself 4 husbands?
Jeff, I am sure the thousand-year-old eggs would baffle any non-Chinese! I just love it whenever foreigners give me that are-you-kidding look, LOL.
No, David. Muslim men are allowed to marry up to 4 wives, but Muslim women can only have one husband at a time.
A friend from France came to see me in Canada, and at times I found it hard to give her a cultural crash-course, because you have to spend time in a country to understand it. Otherwise, you keep on comparing…
Glad to see you were a good host: can I be the next Canadian host there? ;-)
I find explaining what something is hard as well. I like having foreign visitors, you can show them your country and how great it is!
Haha. For food, no better way to explain it than to let them taste it