As a foreigner in China, I try to break down the cultural wall between myself, my friends and coworkers, and even strangers. One of the walls I've put around myself is how often I say “thanks. read more
Real friends don't need to say 'thank you.' "My saying "thanks" too often is a problem because it is weird and awkward for the other person. They have to try to figure out what the hidden meaning of my saying "thanks" really is (answer: none). I've tried to stop saying these polite phrases, which are actually automatic and deeply ingrained to me. read more
In an essay for The Atlantic this week, Deepak Singh described the culture of saying “thank you” in Hindi. His explanation for why many Indians don’t say thanks out loud took me back to my early days in China, when I was struggling to learn Mandarin. read more