| Last Updated: Aug 26th, 2008 - 22:00:22
Going Dutch in Beijing - Review
By Cynthia Kirkeby
May 10, 2008, 17:22 PST
|
|
Thanks to my parents, I started traveling at a fairly young age. I was an Air Force brat, which had us changing houses and cities on a fairly frequent basis. One of our moves was to Thailand when I was 13, and I was thrown into a completely foreign culture. I learned that certain gestures that we don't even give a second thought, are never done in Thailand. You don't pat someone on the head, and as a girl I couldn't directly hand an offering to a Buddhist monk. How do you learn things like this without insulting someone by mistake? Going Dutch in Beijingis a great way to start.
Unfortunately, you can't look up the country to which you're traveling and find all the things you should know during your travels. However, since I'm often happiest when I'm a non-linear reader, the structure of this book didn't overly bother me. Since there is overlap between various countries on what will delight or offend, it would have been hard to classify things by country, and it probably would have made for a much less entertaining read.
Instead of looking up things up by country, the book is organized into chapters covering topics, like greetings, gestures, and public displays of affection. Did you know that you are supposed to shake hands with the wife in Germany before the husband? Or that if you greet the Maori in New Zealand with the hongi, and you share the ha (the breathe of life) you will no longer be thought of as a visitor.
What you wear or don't wear can also be a pitfall when travel to other countries. Never wear leather in India, where the cow is sacred, and although red, gold, and silver, are all thought of as colors of good fortune in China, white and black are both associated with funerals.
I love this book. It is fun to read, and every time I pick it up I learn something new. If you travel, you must read this book. If you know someone that travels, you should send them this book. If you are an armchair traveler, you should read Going Dutch In Beijing to understand why things happen in novels, news, and life in general. Have fun.. and learn something new.
© Copyright 2008 by Classbrain.com
Top of Page
 |
| Search |
|
|
|
|
Email this article
Printer friendly page