With Qingming Day’s arrival on April 5th, perhaps now is a good time to talk about something we don’t often like to talk about: death.

I once saw a big funeral parade（葬礼游行）in the street with music and dancing in New Orleans, US. “That’s what we do here. A funeral is a celebration of a person’s life,” one of the locals told me. Years later, my good friend, who was a funny person, died. I made a funny speech to remember him.

In Mexico, there is also a festival called the Day of the Dead, which looks at death with joy and even humor. On the Day of the Dead, families will put candles and the favorite foods of their passed ones by their burial places. People also walk on the streets with wooden masks（木制面具）. It’s a time for black humor, too. Toys and foods are made into skulls（骷髅）and skeleton（骨架）shapes to show a fun way of honoring the dead.

China also has holidays that pay respect to the dead. Ghost Festival, on the 15th day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar（阴历的） calendar, is one of them. Like on Mexico’s Day of the Dead, people burn offerings （祭品）and prepare meals to pay respect to the dead. When I first saw this in China, I was deeply moved by the special way of remembering our beloved ones.

So, if you lose someone dear-terrible as it is, remember, we can still celebrate their lives.

Even a child knows that nodding the head means “Yes”. 【小题1】 When they talk to an Indian, he or she often shakes his or her head. They might think that the Indian does not agree what they said. 【小题2】.

The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads a little when they talk to somebody. It doesn’t mean “No”, but “Yes” .【小题3】

At one time a foreigner in India told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver shook his head. 【小题4】 At last, the foreigner shouted angrily, “Drive me to my office at once!” The driver said in a low voice, “Yes, sir!” smiling and shaking his head again at the same time.

My biggest challenge is learning how to behave at the dinner table. As you can imagine, things are very different from the way they are at home. For example, you are not supposed to put your bread on your plate. You’re supposed to put it on the table! I thought that was pretty strange at first, but now I’m used to it. Another example is that you’re not supposed to eat anything with your hands except bread, not even fruit. You have to cut it up and eat it with a fork. Another thing is that it is impolite to say you’re full. If you don’t want any more food, you should just say, “That was delicious.”Also, you’re not supposed to put your elbows on the table. I have to say that I found it difficult to remember everything, but I’m gradually getting used to it. I don’t find French customs so strange any more.