New question..........

[RonBee]

Since ain't has not been allowed to keep polite company, it has pretty much gone its own way.

:wink:

You mean it ain't welcome? ;)

It hangs out in the boondocks.

:wink:

[eric2004]

Shane, why did you put such signature here? What made you feel amazed about drinking coca cola in China? Is there a deca cola or.... which has low-fat component?

Ron, you mean it's not popular now for people to use "ain't"?

[shane]

Shane, why did you put such signature here?

I was buying some Coca-Cola in a shop the other day, and someone stopped and stared at me, saying "Wow! Foreigners also drink Coca-Cola!". I found it mildly amusing. ;)

[Tdol]

Whatever will these foreigners think of next?

[shane]

Whatever will these foreigners think of next?

I'll let you in on a little secret: we also ride bicycles and have our hair cut. (Although not simultaneously.) ;)

[Tdol]

Yikes.

[Casiopea]

Whatever will these foreigners think of next?

I'll let you in on a little secret: we also ride bicycles and have our hair cut. (Although not simultaneously.) ;)

Try this: ask children where they think you live? They'll no doubt say that you live in X-country. The assumption here is that you fly home every evening after school lets out and then fly back again the next day before school starts. :D

[eric2004]

Sigh, is he or she a Chinese? I feel embarrassed too. But why did he or she think foreigners don't drink coca-cola? Weird.
Btw, you guys kind of laughed at us. :wink: Be careful, you might be bit.

[Casiopea]

Sigh, is he or she a Chinese? I feel embarrassed too. But why did he or she think foreigners don't drink coca-cola? Weird.
Btw, you guys kind of laughed at us. :wink: Be careful, you might be bit.

Japan. :D It's cute, don't you think? The children's take on how the world works. :D I believe or would imagine that school children in Canada might think the same thing of non-Canadians. That because they are not Canadian that they'd go back to their home in their country when the work day was out. That's just the way children see the world. In simple terms. If your home is in Africa, then that's where you go at night, right? Hehe. Children are great teachers. :D

Japan and China are similar especially with regards to homogeniety. The people I know in Japan are always amazed to hear that non-Japanese like Japanese food, music, art, styles, and so on. It's their assumption that non-Japanese have it better where they live, so why would they want to come here to live? That's why, I believe, I and other non-Japanese are constantly asked the same basic questions (i.e. the ones Shane and I posted). He and I find it interesting that people in Japan as well as China seem to ask the same sorts of questions. Their questions stem from the understanding that we all are different; in reality though, we all are pretty much human alike. That is, we all drink coke. That taste has no boundaries, literally or figuratively.

In living in a homogeneous community people tend to believe that what they do and what others outside that community do are drastically different. It's not all that different. Moreover, it's not, I believe, a matter of prejudice or indifference, no, it's not that at all; rather, to me, it's about seeing similarities where previously held differences existed. For example, a Japanese friend of mine was shocked to hear that I slept on the floor. Her assumption was two-fold:

a) that I being a westerner would sleep in a bed, because, you know, that's what westerns do, right. But in Japan, one does what they said way back in Rome: "When in Rome do as the Romans do".

b) that everyone she knows sleeps in a bed and only the really traditional Japanese sleep on the floor. The Western way, she told me, is the best way. Well, that's really not all that true, but it's her belief system, and I respect that. Like the children at school, it's how we see the world and ourselves and everyone in it that teaches us about ourselves.

Having lived in heterogeneous communities all my life, with the exception of now, being viewed as 'different' is something new to me, and mind you one of the very reasons why I wanted to live abroad. While in Canada I was an ESL teacher. My students came from all parts of the globe--and no they didn't fly home every day after school. Some if not most students at one time or another had problems fitting in or dealing with living in a foreign country. Since I was their teacher and responsible for more than just their English education (i.e. settling into Canada; being a productive citizen and employee) I felt it was within my best interests, if not my duty, to know what it felt like to live in a country where one is 'different'. I felt I needed to walk in my students' shoes, sort to speak, so as to gain a better understanding of what it was and is like to be them.

I've learnt!

Care-givers, by the way, often say to young children, "Don't bite! Use your words." There's more power in a single word than there is in a tooth or a fist.

In other words, words can and do hurt, so I should use them responsibly. Thank you for your suggestion.

All the best,

[eric2004]

Nah, nah, teacher Casiopea, teacher Shane was supposed to live in around college, coz he's a teacher of college in Dalian. I guess some student---not child---asked that kind of question. On second thought, I feel maybe that guy was just surprised by the fact that foreigners even eat or drink "Junk Food". In China there is a saying that only Chinese keep interested in going to Kentuky or Macdonald(not sure these words, you should know what I say.right?) :wink:
Plus, of course your Japanese friend should have sensed curious about your behavior, because all of people except themselves would choose not sleep on the floor which is so uncomfortable that I hardly sleep like a log. But in coca-cola story, we shouldn't forget this is an America-made product. So that guy really seemed like kinda stupid.

Btw, the essay you wrote here really gave me a lecture that a big difference of writing style exists between English learners and native speakers. Kinda let me down. I'm wondering what time I'm able to reach the same level of language as native college students. If not, I'm worried how can I get a Master or even PHD degree in a total strange English world.

Besides, I sense that you're surely a good teacher,with great patience and wise educational mode, for those people first residenting in Canada.
I hope the teacher in Australia would be the same as you. :wink:

Sigh, I'm not a kind person and I'm not a child anymore. So sometimes I bite or even fight.