Rock music and the Chinese

Today my first student is 12 year old Sunny. It is a speaking lesson and the subject she has chosen to talk about is rock music.

'Do you like rock music?' I ask.

'No, it is too noisy. My neighbours always play loud rock or punk music late at night. So noisy!'

'What music do you like to listen to then?'

'I prefer classical music,' says 12 year old Sunny. 'Especially Beethoven. When I listen to classical music it makes me feel calm and happy.'

'How about your neighbours then? How do you think they feel when they listen to loud rock or punk music?'

'I don't know. But I think it is noisy. It sounds like they are trapped in their houses or they are decorating.'

'Why do they listen to it then?'

'Because nowadays Chinese people think they need to listen to fighting music because they work all day.'

'Doesn't the music stop them from sleeping at night then?'

'They don't sleep at night. They sleep in the morning'.

Cultural differences

On the bus from Ban Phe to Bangkok. Two hours into the journey, in the middle of nowhere, there is a loud bang. The tyre has just blown. After getting out to check that it is the tyre, the driver continues on his way accompanied by more banging noises. A few miles on, he stops at a garage. The bus stops again and the driver gets out.

Not a word has been spoken to his passengers. No estimated repair time or even what's wrong. If this were the UK, it would have gone something like this:

Coach driver: 'Ok folks, unfortunately it seems that we've got a burst tyre. We will be endeavouring to change it at the next service station so I'm going to drive you all on a damaged wheel for the next few miles. I'm not sure how long it's going to take to fix it but I will keep you updated'.

All the passengers: 'Oh no! I don't believe it! This is terrible!'

Cue lots of worried phone calls being made and disapproving Facebook statuses.

Here, everybody starts eating snacks.