This is my first time in Japan. One day some new colleagues invited me to eat out. At first, I felt quite pleased and learnt to use chopsticks with them, but later the problems started.

My cold was not quite finished and my nose was still running a little so I took out a tissue (纸巾)，turned away from the table and blew my nose(抠鼻涕). My colleagues, who were talking

about how to arrange (安排) the final exams of pupils, were looking at me strangely. They explained to me that in Japan, people don't blow their noses in public especially at the table.

When I was trying to stick my chopsticks in my bowl of rice, one of my colleagues said, “Don't do that. Just leave them on the table.” Later, I found that leaving your chopsticks in your rice means death in Japanese culture!

The next time I needed to blow my nose, I left the table and went to the toilet. When I returned, it was nearly time to leave. I noticed there were some little bowls of tea with lemon next to everybody's place on the table. It was hot, and I started drinking it before it got cold. Then I noticed some of my friends were covering their mouths and looking at each other. They were trying not to laugh. “What's wrong?” I asked the friend next to me. “That's not for drinking,” he explained. “It's for washing your fingers.” For a moment, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

    I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy. I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza. I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza. It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought.

    Many years later I finally saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I then knew that it was Pisa and not pizza. But there was still something special about it for me. The tower got its name because it really did lean to one side. Some people want to try to fix it. They are afraid it may fall down and they don't want it to lean over the city.

    I do not think it's a good idea to try to fix it. The tower probably will not fall down. It is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now? And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like. Nothing is perfect. It seems to say.

    And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let's take the tower in Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the most famous. People come from all over the world to see it.

    February 14 is a day for people who have fallen in love. On this day, these men and women give gifts (presents)and cards to each other for Valentine's Day(情人节).This day has been popular with people in love  for a long time. At first，this holiday was called Lupercalia. Then the name of the day was changed to Saint Valentine's Day. The man named Saint Valentine was killed on February 14，270 AD, because he was a Christian (基督教徒).

    Before Saint Valentine was killed，February 14 was the old Roman holiday，Lupercalia. The church wanted people to think of a Christian holiday on this day，so the church changed the name of the holiday.

    This change did not stop people in love from giving gifts to each other. People usually gave gloves, handkerchiefs, or even underwear was gifts. Sometimes people also put hearts and flowers on the presents before giving it to the other persons.

    Valentine cards did not become popular until the 1750s. The first Valentine cards were made by hand. People wrote their own words on the cards. These words were usually funny.

    Now, every year around February 14，cards and chocolates fill shops for people in love.

    Every country has its favorite food. Italians like to eat pizza. Indians like to eat hot food. Japanese like to eat fish. Often they don't cook it.

    In England, one of the most popular kinds of food is fish and chips. People usually buy it in a fish and chip shop. They put it in paper bags, and take it home, or to their workplace. Sometimes they eat it in the park or on the road. The world's favorite food is American fast food. If you go to some important cities in the world, you can find people eating hamburgers and chips.

    Fish and chips, and Chinese take-away food are very popular in England. But they are less popular in the USA, they eat take-away food, too, like chicken. But the most popular kind of take-away food is the hamburger. It looks like bread with meat in it. Ham (火 腿) is a kind of pork, but the hamburger does not have any pork in  it. The beef is inside a kind of cake hamburgers are delicious. They are also popular in England and Australia.