When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.

    I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.

    In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.

    However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn't want to hear.

    After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don't respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don't show my feelings through words.

By Jack

    In China, the 12^th month of the lunar calendar（阴历）is called layue. The month is full of interesting festivals and customs.

    Laba Festival, which falls on the eighth day of layue, is the first festival in this month. From this day on, people begin to get ready for the Chinese New Year. On Laba Festival, people eat hot Laba porridge.

    There are usually eight things in the porridge: rice, red beans, peas, dried lotus seeds（莲子）, dates（红枣）, and three different kinds of fruits and nuts. The porridge is not just good for your health, but a blessing（祝福）for the coming of Chinese New Year.

    Laba porridge is not the only tasty food in layue. Laba garlic（腊八蒜）is popular in the north.

    People begin to soak garlic in vinegar from that day on, and eat it with dumplings during the Chinese New Year. While in the south, people like making sausages.

    Another major celebration before Spring Festival is xiaonian. It is usually on the 23^rd or 24^th day of the last lunar month. Traditionally it is an important occasion when people offer sacrifices（祭品）to the Kitchen God who looks after the family.

    Don't forget to clean your home. This is also an important thing to do to prepare for the Chinese New Year. It means sweeping away the dust of the old year and welcoming a fresh start.

    Now, the last thing for you to do is to wait for the coming Spring Festival.

    Mothers Day is a celebration in memory of mothers. It celebrates the importance of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, mostly in March, April or May. Let's see how different people celebrate their Mother's Day.

    Mexico(May 10)

    Children make gifts and give them to their mums on Mother's Eve (May 9).On the morning of May 10,families make a special trip to church and cat tamales(玉米饼),sometimes filled with meat, cheese or vegetables.

South Africa(Second Sunday of May)

    Besides giving mums Mother's Day cards, people show their thanks for their mothers by wearing red and pink flowers called carnations. If their mothers have passed away, they wear white carnations.

    United Kingdom(Fourth Sunday of Lent(大斋期))

    Mother's Day is a traditional day for people to visit their hometown and attend their home churches. People also bake(烘焙)special fruitcakes to give to their mums.

    Indonesia(December22)

    People throw big parties for their mums, filled with fun activities-such as cooking competitions and kebaya-wearing competitions!(A kebaya is a traditional blouse and skirt.)

Hello, everyone. My name is Jack Brown. I'm 35 years old and I'm from America. I like basketball, football and swimming. But football is my favourite sport, and I can play it very well. I like cooking, too. 

I have two daughters and they are now at St. Paul's School. I work at the school, too. But I'm not a teacher there. What do I do? I'm a cook. I cook lunch for the students there. 

I think it's important to eat the right food and be healthy, so I don't cook food like hamburgers for the students. I cook healthy and delicious food for them. It's not easy to make all the students like the food, but I do what I can do to make the lunch delicious. Many students say that they like the food. I'm really happy about that.