Fluffy Sparkle - Food and Culture

Two years ago, I said goodbye to my old friends and packed as much stuff as I could, moving to America from China. I even brought a rick cooker stuffed with six pairs of cotton socks for anti-friction protection. Unfortunately, it took one and a half hours to cook because I forgot the different voltage in the United States. Then, I knew we could buy it from local Asian markets and Amazon. This was just a beginning of my funny dinning adventure. As a food lover, I loving exploring different restaurants. But, non-visualized menus crammed with unfamiliar food vocabularies blocked my enthusiasm after several awkward ordering experiences at restaurants. So, I took the advice from my friends. One day, we went to a restaurant to celebrate my husband’s birthday. I was looking at the menu to pretend I was hesitating to decide. A couple of minutes later, I said, “Wow, they all look great. It’s hard for me to decide. So, can I try the same dish that table has. It looks tasty,...

I joined a Professionals meet-up with my friend last year. Over sixty people showed up.The event was well-organized.It offered drinks and delicate snacks. However, my happy hour ended in thirty minutes.I scraped my crushed confidence and quickly fled. It was my first time to attend an English-speaking local event.I felt insecure and uncomfortable, even though I was not a shy person.The relaxing music, soft lights, and friendly staff soothed my anxiety.But,I was still afraid of talking with native English speakers.I would wait for someone to talk to me rather than initiate a conversation. Five minutes later,a gracious girl,standing next to me, turned around with her flushed smile."It is a nice meet-up. Is it your first time?" We started chatting. Everything went smoothly. When I learned that her parents immigrated from China, I felt the intense atmosphere was relieved in this intimidating English-speaking environment.I asked her if she was bilingual because of her Chinese ...