Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing(令人迷惑的). Some Americans who taught English in other countries recently talked about their experiences.
On her first day in Micronesia(密克罗尼西亚), an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought people weren't paying any attention to her. It was hot. She went into a store and asked, “Do you have cold drinks? ” The woman there said nothing. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows(眉毛), which in Micronesia means “yes”.
Jane remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria(保加利亚), a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant. She asked the waiter, “Do you have cabbage today?” He nodded his head. Jane waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means “no”.
Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. Some nod and others shake. He thought some students had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon knew that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean “yes” or “no”.
