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 …
Big Royal Cute Mistakes in China
The Saint Bernard Syndicate depicts all too common Western business venture mistakes in China. The tagline for their Saint Bernard dog breeding business is “Big, Royal, Cute”. The “big” part of Rasmus and Frederick’s business plan is the big trip …
Sweet Memories as Sweet Tomatoes Closed
A friend sent me Elegy for the All-American, Asian-American Buffet, an article on the closure of an intergenerational crowd pleaser. Most states have instructed businesses to “discontinue self-serve food areas even after stay-at-home orders loosen”. This is the death knell …
What is the Asian American Response to Minneapolis?
In A Letter from a Yale student to the Chinese American Community, Ms. Huang’s call to action for the Asian American communities is to “donate to Black-led organizations and Black Lives Matter activists in MN, to protest (either in person or on …
A Recent Visit to Japan…
Morrie Goldman’s A personal perspective on COVID-19 in Japan and the US, brought out a significant negativity bias that the American media has. In Japan, Morrie saw prevalent mask wearing in urban areas, and the island Kyushu had no reported …