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Intercultural? Here is something sweet. An American friend of mine is now in Japan as an exchange student. One day, he was invited to a birthday party by a Japanese student. After thinking about what to buy as a present, he decided on a bouquet of flowers. At the host’s place, he was brought to the party room, so he handed the flowers to the birthday person. That created silence and a forced smile.Yes, my American friend brought a bouquet of different chrysanthemums arranged for a funeral. When he saw the bouquet, his intuition told him that it would fit a special occasion. So, he was disappointed when he was informed of the real purpose of the bouquet. But, he is a resilient American. I’ve learned that after this happening he’s been more active in intercultural experience and become popular. He’ll be back to the US in a year. He’ll have been more powerful by then and I look forward to seeing him. “Oh…a bouquet of chrysanthemums” |