In September, Professor Greg Patton of University of Southern California (USC) was removed from his post while trying to broaden his students’ worldly perspective in his August 20th seminar. In fact, he was giving a cross cultural lesson on filler …
Yvonne Wolf was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. and Europe. She has extensive experience living and working internationally (Denmark and Japan). She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Danish, and has studied Japanese, Spanish, and Greek. Between work and personal travel, she has visited more than 20 countries and well-traveled within the U.S. and Canada. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.
What’s the Beef with Asian taste for American food?
The cultural answer to the East Asians’ low tolerance for Western food will take a whole chapter. In short, the Chinese palate and stomach is unaccustomed to a protein heavy American diet. Furthermore, a dairy rich diet (think alfredo sauce, …
What is the Chinese term for “grit”?
Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land edited by Angilee Shah and Jeffrey Wasserstrom will challenge any statistical blandness that you may subscribe about China. Such facts as that over 90% of the Chinese population is ethnic …
Beijing Olympics 2008
I picked up China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance, a compilation of stories edited by Kate Merkel-Hess, Kenneth L. Pomeranz, and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, after I returned from China in 2019. The 2008 Olympics seemed so far away, …
Loose or Tight states (Part II of II)
Michele Gelfand’s Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World dedicates a section on defining the US through tight and loose states. She identifies New York, Massachusetts and California on the looser end, while the South and …
Loose or Tight cultures (Part I of II)
Michele Gelfand’s Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World points out the power of social norms as “a cure for chaos”. Measured from one culture to another, Gelfand’s survey size of 7,000 respondents evaluates common …
No Chat on WeChat
On the Chinese social media horizon the US ban of WeChat is a game changer. WeChat is an all encompassing social media app that people in China can’t live without. Imagine your bank accounts, Amazon, Google, Uber, Facebook, Instagram, all …
The Appeal of Alfresco Dining is Cultural
Tony Naylor’s humorous piece on the perils of outdoor dining, “Alfresco: A No Go” inspired me to consider the cultural preference for indoor dining. Cultural preferences are often determined by geographic locations and weather conditions. Although it seems that there …
The Swedish Solution to Covid19
“Many Swedes also think the approach is logical in the context of the country’s history, culture, and values, which consider the “rights” of many, not just the elderly and sick, said Trägårdh.” Sweden being open doesn’t mean crowded beaches and …
Dragon Boat Festivals and Chinese styled “tamales”
Dragon Boat Festivals are celebrated with dragon boat races and Chinese styled “tamales”. While Mexican tamales are made of cornmeal wrapped in corn husks, Chinese zongzi (粽子) are sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. The variety of zongzi fillings, savory …