WesternCustomsandmanners

　　Nowadays,thereappearsaphenomenonthatthewesterncustomsarespreadingintotheeastcountriesstepbystep,thusmakingmanyinhabitantswholiveinbigcitiesenjoythemselvesonthesewesternfestivalssuchasChristmasDay,AprilFool'sDay,etc.Suchphenomenonshowsusthattheworldpeoplearegettingclosegraduallyandtheworldisbecomingsmallerandsmalleraswell.Therefore,inmyopinion,it'sanormalphenomenonaswellasanecessarytrend.

　　SincewehavebeentoAustralia,weknowhowcompulsoryitistolearnthecustomsandmanners.AustraliaisanEnglish-speakingcountry,somanycustomsaresimilartotheBritishones.Forexample,theAustraliansdriveorwalkonthelefthandandyouwillbefinedseriouslyifyoudriveontherighthandjustlikewhatyoudoinChina.

　　Inthefirstplace,let’stalkaboutthelanguageinAustralia,youwillfindthelanguageAustralianssaydoesnotsoundliketypicalEnglish.Forinstance,thelocalpeopleread‘today’like‘Todie’.Don’tbeastonishedifyouhearthemsay‘Iamveryhappytodie(today)’Iadviseyoutoasktheguidetoexplaintoyouthespecialpronunciationsofthelocalpeople.

　　Inthesecondplace,youshouldunderstandthemannersofthenativepeople.Usually,foreignpeopleareveryenthusiastic,soyoushouldbeaszealoustoaccepttheirfriendship.Smilingisthemostimportantthingtodo,laughorsmiletothemoftenshowyoursincereness.

　　Once,onmywaytoschool,Isawanoldmanwalkingtome.Althoughwehavenevermetbefore,heofferedtosay'Goodmorning'tomewithasmileonhisface.Thisshinnygreetingmademehaveanicemoodwholeday.Itcannotbemoreusualinforeigncountrytogreettoastranger,butinChina,it'saveryrarething.

　　Whenyouhavemealwithforeignfriends,alwaysbeawareofyourtablemannersaswellashowtousefolkandspooncorrectly.Allinall,showtheforeignersyourshinnysmileandgoodmanners.

　　NowIwanttosharesomedetailswithyouwhichwehadseeninSydneyOperaHouse.WhenIenteredthefamousoperahouse,Ifoundthatallthepeoplewerewearingformalclothes.Andthantheconcertstarted,thewholeconcerthallhadnoothersoundbutthesongs.Whenthechurchchoirturned,anoldladysupportedbythearmchaircameonstageslowly——shemustbeovereighty,yetsheisstillactiveinthiskindofactivity.Iwasdeeplymovedbyherspirit.

　　Inconclusion,asaChinesestudentinothercountries,it’sourdutytotellthemtheChinesesplendidculturesandgoodmanners.Inreturn,wemustlearnsomethingfromourforeignfriends.