The idea of what shaking the head means is not always the same in different countries. Maybe some visitors would be surprised（感到惊讶的）when they first came to India. When they talked to an Indian, he would often shake his head. The visitors might think that the Indian did not like what they said. But in fact, they would be wrong.

Indians always shake their heads when they talk to others. It does not have the same meaning as our “No”. If someone wants to visit India, he should know this, or it will bring him some trouble.

One day, a foreign officer went to India on business. He hired an Indian, and gave some money to him to drive a car. When he told his driver to send him to his office, the Indian shook his head at once and at the same time, the driver answered in a quite loud voice, “Yes, sir!” The car started, and the foreign officer was too surprised to say a word. He thought about it for a while, and then he nodded with a smile, “No means Yes here!”

When naming a child, the culture is not the same in different places. In many European countries, children are named after the names of relatives within their families. For example, in Italy children are traditionally named after their grandparents. Naturally, the parents first use the father’s family names, then they will use the mother’s family names, especially in big family.

In China, some names are connected with the birth of the date and the time of the children. It is thought that a name can influence a child. If a boy is given the first name “坤”, maybe, he is short of earth according to his birth. The Chinese character “坤” is made up of two parts. The left part means earth in English. Parents believe that the boy with a name of earth will not be short of earth any longer in his life.

In an African country called Ghana’s Akan, the time when they were born decides his or her name. But there are some differences between boys and girls. For example, a boy born on Friday is named Kofi, while a girl born on the same day is named Afua.

No matter where the name comes from, a name is the first gift to a child in life. For that reason, we can say all names are valuable.