On our second day in China, we had already been asked to join the school for supper. Nervous and unsure of the food and table manners, we politely agreed. Coming to China, the thing I was most nervous about was the food, and now my first dining experience would be with the school staff.

In Chinese culture the most important person sits facing the door. When plates of food started arriving, I wished I had practiced my chopstick skills before arriving in China.

Chinese culture is all about being hospitable (好客的). This means ordering lots of food and encouraging you to keep eating. It also means drinking wine or tea. You'll never have an empty glass.

It's polite to try everything, but if you know me, you would know I don't eat everything. Fresh fish? Sure, an entire fish on the plate staring at you while you pick at it. Not for me. Snails with their shell crushed and cooked into a meal? No thanks! The lung of a pig? I'll pass. It seems that the Chinese really eat everything!

The Chinese people are friendly. They want to learn about you and teach you about their culture. They like to ask questions, and it is polite to ask them many questions and keep the conversation going.

Every day I'm pushed out of my comfort zone (舒适区). But for the most part, I discover something I really enjoy. The experience itself is quite amazing, I've learned a lot, yet there's still so much to learn. It surely is different from my culture and way of living, but being in their shoes and seeing life through their eyes has really helped me to understand. And I look forward to discovering more!

We are not able to learn all the languages in the world. But when we travel, we have to find ways to know each other. Anna is from the US, and she loves travelling. She finds some interesting ways to say hello. 

When Anna is in the Philippines, she finds that when young people say hello to old people, they usually take one of their hands and put it on their forehead. People in the Philippines call this "Mano po" and it can show their love to the others. Then Anna goes to Malaysia. She finds that people in Malaysia usually touch the other people's fingertips(指尖) and then bring their hands to their hearts. It means they're greeting you from their hearts. The third place Anna goes to is New Zealand. The traditional Maori greeting is known as "hongi". They put their foreheads together and look at each other's eyes. At last, Anna goes to Kenya. She is very lucky to see the special welcome greeting. The native people perform a jumping dance. Anna is happy to learn a lot when she travels.

If you're traveling to the United States, you need to understand the common way to say hello—a handshake. Friends shake hands. Women, men and even children can shake hands. 

Shaking hands seems simple,but there are some important things to remember. When you shake hands,you must look into the other person's eyes the whole time you're shaking hands. 

Shake hands strongly. If you give a weak handshake, the other person might think that you're not

kind. He might also feel that you don't like him or you don't want to touch him. Shake hands with men and women the same way. If you shake hands with a very old person or a small child, be careful not to hurt them. 

Some people don't know how long to keep shaking. The most common handshake should have three shakes and then you should let go. Don't worry if Americans shake hands a little longer. 

Your handshake is like your smile. It's special to you. You need to find a comfortable strong handshake that shows what you are like. Because the handshake allows people to touch, the hand should be warm ，clean and dry. 

●Warm: Put your hands into your pockets before you shake hands. This will warm them. 

●Clean: If you know you're going to meet someone ，wash your hands so they'll be clean. 

●Dry: Everyone gets nervous and your hands may get wet. It isn't a good feeling for the other

person. Again, put your hands into your pockets. This will dry them.

The willow branch (柳树枝) is a part of the willow tree. In ancient China, willow branches were often used as a parting gift between friends and family  (member). Even today, willow branches  (mention) in many cases as a symbol of saying goodbye. Do you know ?

One reason is that willow trees are strong. They can live  (easy) in any place, wet or dry, north or south. Because of this, giving a willow branch to say goodbye to loved ones is a way to tell them you hope they will get used to  (they) new living environment.

For another reason, the pronunciation for the willow tree "liu (柳)" is similar  the character "liu (留)" in Chinese, which means inviting someone  (stay) —only the tones are different. So  (offer) a willow branch means asking the other party to live for a longer time, even though we know that they must leave.

It's said that this custom became popular during the Han Dynasty. At that time, Baqiao, a bridge in Chang'an, today's Xi'an, was  common place to say goodbye. People often  (stop) there and handed willow branches to people who were leaving.

（例如： My mother often go shopping on weekends.         go →goes）