Wednesday, May 09, 2007

The Difference of Culture

Al is one of my neighbors. He is an American. He is a kind person. He has a black dog named Shirley.

Sometimes I meet Al with his dog when I come back home. Recently I noticed that his dog was getting fatter day by day.

One day, when my elder son and I were picking up the groceries from the trunk of my car. Al walked past my house with his dog Shirley. Of course, we had a chat. I remember that we needed to change talking topics after I said, “Al, your dog is too fat.”

I just had hoped he would put his dog on a diet. Al misunderstood me. He frowned and he looked unhappy. And it made me feel embarrassed.
I didn’t understand why Al was unhappy. In Kwangtong, China, there is a saying “The master who owns a thin dog should feel shame.”

Later, I understand the word “Fat” has a bad connotation.

1 comment:

Richard Blum said...

Al is one of my neighbors. He is an American. He is a kind person. He has a black dog which named Shirley.
Sometimes I may meet Al with his dog when I come back home. Recently I found that his dog got fat day by day.
One day, when my elder son and I were picking up the groceries from the trunk of my car in the garage. Al walked through my house with his dog Shirley. Certainly, we had a chat. I remember that we needed to change talking topics because I said, “Al, your dog is too fat.” I just hope he would make a diet for his dog. Al heard my saying, he felt unhappy. And it made me embarrassed.
I didn’t understand why Al was unhappy. In Kwangtong of China, there is a saying “The master who owns a thin dog should be feeling shame.”
Later, I understand the word “Fat” has a bad meaning word.