How to tell a person's true nature

MY PAPER MONDAY MARCH 28, 2011, PAGE A13, VIEWPOINTS,
From http://epaper.mypaper.sg/cnd/fvxen/fvxp/fvxpress.php?param=2011-03-28
Source Website: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Mailbox/Story/A1Story20110328-270445.html
By Geoff Tan, my paper, Mon, Mar 28, 2011



PHOTO: So as it is written in all that is conveyed to script, love thy neighbor, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, good forward, good backward. (Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2010)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcSpJ5gSEiVwed8WFbDN225a9dE6yiJZCd2TlzrYtn7UL_YDJ8YdtlUS4r-dMkiSTkq43Kz9DmXQv5MCaXEeI-dxyEE5BokuRdrcGNsB-bPGfp7UYnmMqHKGaXnSVJdzTOQh57xAJS6ww/s1600/friendship+photo.bmp
http://messagedays.blogspot.com/



PHOTO: Geoff Tan
The writer is a senior vice-president of Singapore Press Holdings’ marketing division.
MY PAPER MONDAY MARCH 28, 2011, PAGE A13, VIEWPOINTS,

RECENTLY, I went on a six-day trip with a group of friends. It was the first time we were holidaying together.

During the trip, a member of our 20-strong group remarked that one can tell the character of a person by observing how he interacts with others in unfamiliar situations.

That reminded me of what my father once said: There is nothing like a round of golf to bring out the best or worst in a person. My aunt holds the same opinion but with regard to a totally different game - mahjong.

Whether it is playing 18 holes with someone new, or stacking and throwing tiles across a square table, it puts someone in a situation he is not accustomed to.

Organisational-behaviour consultant Robert Sutton said that "the best test of a person's character is how he or she treats those with less power".

Indeed, it is easy to see why someone would go the extra mile and put on a certain persona for a superior.

So, how someone interacts with those who are lower in status is most telling.

The self-centred ones may pretend to put others first if they stand to gain but, as soon as there is nothing of benefit to them, they treat others like dirt.

What else reveals a person's true nature? Some say a good test is to look at what a person finds funny or how he treats a waiter.

PHOTO: The Perils of a Catholic Upbringing Recalling my old pastor, Father Mike, who always admonished me to 'care for the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the naked,' I was moved by some powerful inner urge to reach out to this unfortunate person.
http://static.zooomr.com/images/6400196_e0d78852f0_o.jpg
http://morecoolpictures.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

Then, there are some who say that the true test is seeing how a person behaves when he is pulled over by police while driving.

The funniest test I have heard is to look at how a person treats his parents or, better still, his in-laws.

Someone once told me that "you can tell a person's character by how often he uses the bcc function in work-related e-mail".

And how about this one which you have probably heard often - a person's true character is revealed by how he handles good fortune or unplanned wealth.

I make up my mind about a person's character in a few ways.

Firstly, I tend to want to check out who the person's friends are, and social-media networks like Facebook makes this easy.

PHOTO: The intension of mindfulness meditation is gain insight as to the true nature of reality and therefore also called insight.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/10/13/mindfulnessmeditationtorontobaystreetyoungwomanmeditating_2.jpg
http://healthmad.com/alternative/can-meditation-control-pain-yes-says-mindfulness-meditation/

Secondly, actions speak louder than words, so I observe what the person does, instead of just listening to what he says.

Lastly, I find that it is very helpful to look at a person's attitude to life.

For example, I would steer clear of a person who gravitates towards blaming the world, instead of taking responsibility for his actions, and are always pessimistic.

By Geoff Tan, my paper, Mon, Mar 28, 2011


HELPDESK
我的字典: Wǒ de zì diǎn

Character: 人品 - rén pǐn
Self-centered: 自私自利的 - zì sī zì lì de
Unplanned wealth: 横财 - hèng cái
Attitude: 态度 - tài du



Reference

• MY PAPER MONDAY MARCH 28, 2011, PAGE A13, VIEWPOINTS,
• http://epaper.mypaper.sg/cnd/fvxen/fvxp/fvxpress.php?param=2011-03-28
• http://news.asiaone.com/News/Mailbox/Story/A1Story20110328-270445.html
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcSpJ5gSEiVwed8WFbDN225a9dE6yiJZCd2TlzrYtn7UL_YDJ8YdtlUS4r-dMkiSTkq43Kz9DmXQv5MCaXEeI-dxyEE5BokuRdrcGNsB-bPGfp7UYnmMqHKGaXnSVJdzTOQh57xAJS6ww/s1600/friendship+photo.bmp
• http://messagedays.blogspot.com/
• http://static.zooomr.com/images/6400196_e0d78852f0_o.jpg
• http://morecoolpictures.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html
• http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/10/13/mindfulnessmeditationtorontobaystreetyoungwomanmeditating_2.jpg
• http://healthmad.com/alternative/can-meditation-control-pain-yes-says-mindfulness-meditation/

Japan Disaster - Japanese inspired, angered, resigned

Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, Page 8 (Japan Disaster)
From http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20110315/1503HNP008.pdf
Source Website: http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110315-0000255/Japanese-inspired,-angered,-resigned
By Agencies, 04:46 AM Mar 15, 2011



PHOTO: Japan earthquake and tsunami
From Mypaper, Monday, 14 March 2011 (Chinese Section), Page B1

TOKYO - While images of brutal destruction wreaked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami have stunned the nation and the world, the Japanese are finding both inspiration and reasons to vent in the aftermath of the disaster.

One sentiment that is emerging is that such a calamitous event could occur again at any time, in any place.

PHOTO: Residents buying food at a temporary supermarket in Sendai. REUTERS
Copyright © MediaCorp Press Ltd
http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?300&450&f=2223&img=2223_352750.jpg&h=300&w=450
http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110315-0000255/Japanese-inspired,-angered,-resigned
Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, Page 8 (Japan Disaster)

"We don't know when it will happen to us," said Mr Masatoshi Masuda, 52, a seal carver in the south-west city of Kagoshima, far from the deadly, 3m-high waves that surged across farmland, villages and cities in Japan's north-east on Friday.

PHOTO: Twin shocks at stricken nuclear plant A grief-stricken woman amidst the destruction in Natori, northern Japan. AP Copyright © MediaCorp Press Ltd
http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?271&450&f=2223&img=2223_352754.jpg&h=271&w=450
Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, News, Page 1 (Japan Disaster)

Mr Masuda noted that an active volcano, Mount Sakurajima, spews ash onto Kagoshima almost daily. And not far away is Shinmoedake, another volcano that began erupting in late January in its most significant activity in some 300 years.

"We're worried about what will happen next time," Mr Masuda said. "But whatever happens, it won't be a surprise."

A clearer picture of the deaths from the massive quake was emerging with estimates reaching at least 10,000, and damage at least in the tens of billions of dollars.

PHOTO: Buildings burn in Yamada town, Iwate prefecture (state) after Japan's biggest recorded earthquake hit Friday. ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.toledoblade.com/image/2011/03/11/800x_b1_cCM_z_%232235/Japan-earthquake-damage-fire-Yamada.jpg
http://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2011/03/11/Major-tsunami-damage-in-northern-Japan-after-quake.html

Letters to the editor printed in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Sunday ran through a range of emotions, from praising the spirit of extending helping hands to strangers to fuming about why infrastructure could collapse in this technologically-advanced country.

Ms Akiko Takushima, 46, of Yokohama, which neighbours Tokyo, said the tragedy brought out the best in people. She was forced to walk for more than six hours to get home on Friday night when train service in the Tokyo region was shut down.

PHOTO: Japan-Earthquake-3 Tsunami Hits Japan After 8.9 Earthquake! By Adele | Published March 11, 2011 | Full size is 980 × 552 pixels
http://thatgirladele.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Japan-Earthquake-31.jpg
http://thatgirladele.com/?attachment_id=4404

"It was terrible but I was touched by many warm hearts along the way," she said, singling out people who served passers-by tea or recharged mobile phone batteries.

Others found things with which to find fault.

Mr Naohiro Hoshina, a 47-year-old worker with a shipping company in Fujisawa, west of Tokyo, wished tsunami victims a swift recovery but fumed at how local mobile phone systems had failed. "Isn't the basic point of having a mobile phone to make phone calls?" he asked.

PHOTO: The globe was rocked by the news March 11, as an 8.9 earthquake in Japan caused widespread destruction and set off a 23-foot Pacific tsunami. This has been called the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history.
http://bionicbong.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Japan-Earthquake-3-580x369.jpg
http://bionicbong.com/featured/ways-japan-massive-earthquake/

Government aid efforts have also fallen short, Ms Akemi Kanno said on Sunday in Rikuzentakata, a town in the north-east prefecture of Iwate that was devastated by the tsunami.

"At the quake response headquarters, they are not providing food. All the lifelines are down," Ms Kanno, 53, told Reuters.

"I went to the headquarters but the mayor was standing outside laughing, and that made me upset," she said. "I do not know what the national government is doing."

PHOTO: Earthquake hits Japan
http://www.bharatchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/japan-earthquake-tsunami5.jpg
http://www.bharatchronicle.com/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-pictures-videos-12648/japan-earthquake-tsunami5

Ms Naomi Shioda, 52, from Niigata City, said she trusted the authorities. "I think the government understands the best. So, it is in the best position to speak and to save lives."

While some Japanese living near one of the nuclear reactors have fled their homes, most people, however, do not have anywhere to go and are stuck where they are until help arrives.

But spirits remain high among people.

PHOTO: Japan earthquake and tsunami
http://www.aolcdn.com/photogalleryassets/newsuk/991412/japan-earthquake-tsunami-14Mar2011-24.jpg
http://news.aol.co.uk/article/pictures-videos-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami/19878244/20110314/

"People are resilient here and used to earthquakes," said Mr Robert Murphy in Fukushima City, the capital of the prefecture and home to the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant, where the threat of a meltdown looms large.

"But I have to say that this quake, and the tsunami and nuclear incidents, have startled people far more than usual."
By Agencies, 04:46 AM Mar 15, 2011

PHOTO: The devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami across Japan.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/201131114364961738_8.jpg
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/live-blog-japan-earthquake



Reference

• Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, Page 8 (Japan Disaster)
• Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, News, Page 1 (Japan Disaster)
• http:http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20110315/1503HNP008.pdf
• http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110315-0000255/Japanese-inspired,-angered,-resigned
• http://www.toledoblade.com/image/2011/03/11/800x_b1_cCM_z_%232235/Japan-earthquake-damage-fire-Yamada.jpg
• http://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2011/03/11/Major-tsunami-damage-in-northern-Japan-after-quake.html
• http://thatgirladele.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Japan-Earthquake-31.jpg
• http://thatgirladele.com/?attachment_id=4404
• http://bionicbong.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Japan-Earthquake-3-580x369.jpg
• http://bionicbong.com/featured/ways-japan-massive-earthquake/
• http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?300&450&f=2223&img=2223_352750.jpg&h=300&w=450
• http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?271&450&f=2223&img=2223_352754.jpg&h=271&w=450
• http://www.bharatchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/japan-earthquake-tsunami5.jpg
• http://www.bharatchronicle.com/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-pictures-videos-12648/japan-earthquake-tsunami5
• http://www.aolcdn.com/photogalleryassets/newsuk/991412/japan-earthquake-tsunami-14Mar2011-24.jpg
• http://news.aol.co.uk/article/pictures-videos-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami/19878244/20110314/
• http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/201131114364961738_8.jpg
• http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/live-blog-japan-earthquake

Don’t get swept away on life’s journey

MY PAPER, THURSDAY MARCH 3, 2011, VIEWPOINTS, PAGE A24
From http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya030311cnd_opf_files/mya030311cnd.js&ver=Gen
Source Website: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110303-266210.html
By GEOFF TAN, my paper, Thu, Mar 03, 2011



PHOTO: Too hetic brings associated inconvenience, leading to frayed nerves
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/bottlenose-dolphins-surf-072709-sw-thumb-500x375.jpg
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/



PHOTO: Geoff Tan
The writer is a senior vice-president of Singapore Press Holdings’ marketing division.
MY PAPER, THURSDAY MARCH 3, 2011, VIEWPOINTS, PAGE A24

THE start of the year has been, to say the least, very hectic for me.

Aside from the heavy demands of my work, there's the family to contend with. My daughter quit her job and I felt responsible to suss out career opportunities for her.

We also had our 15-year-old apartment renovated and had to put up with all the associated inconvenience, leading to frayed nerves among members of the household - that's something I probably never want to go through again in my lifetime!

Then, I had a speaking engagement at a Dubai conference which I had to prepare for.

PHOTO: Spirited Away – trip to the world of spirits
http://www.spiritwithinall.com/wp-content/uploads/10_3_orig.jpg
http://www.spiritwithinall.com/spirited-away-trip-to-the-world-of-spirits/

Meanwhile, a good friend of mine died recently of a heart attack, at the age of 59, while a long-lost acquaintance phoned me to ask for help as he and his family were in dire straits - they had been forced to sell their Housing Board flat and were staying at Changi Airport in the meantime.

COE prices have shot sky-high, at a time when my car needs to be replaced. My water heater is leaking.

The cost of living has escalated, and I can certainly feel the effect on my pocket. I am concerned about my health. The list goes on...

This somewhat-unnerving period has made me realise that it's easy to get caught up in the rat race, and plunge headfirst into an unending barrage of occurrences without spending time to prioritise them.

PHOTO: When you step back and stop rushing through life, you understand that the destination is to be found not at the end of your journey but within your journey. As Albert Einstein once said: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
http://successdiva.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/road-heaven.jpg
http://successdiva.wordpress.com/category/alexis-wingate/

It is sad, as unnecessary tasks can take a toll on one's health and state of mind. Over time, I have learnt to make a reality check every so often, to ensure that I don't take the wrong route and end up demotivated, stressed and fat.

I'm not sure if it's because my age has crossed the half-century mark, but the last year or so has been really nice.

Having been blessed with good health, a wonderful family and a job that is enjoyably challenging, I'm now trying to tackle what Martin Luther King Jr referred to as life's most urgent question: "What are you doing for others?"

PHOTO: Someday, rested we shall all be, we will live. Live, we all shall, and doves will fly.
Roads to Peace, Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:36:00 +0000
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolio3/b/beyonddream/Rural_Children_Playing_Together-1151804994l.jpg
http://www.feedage.com/feeds/1770184/yatra-a-journey-through-life

Lest you think that my life is a bed of roses, let me say categorically that it isn't. To me, it's not so much the issues that crop up, but how they are dealt with.

As Albert Einstein once said: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

I've taken the path of the latter. Wanna join me?

By GEOFF TAN, my paper, Thu, Mar 03, 2011

The writer is a senior vice-president of Singapore Press Holdings' marketing division.



PHOTO: "Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current. No sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept away. Another takes its place, and this too shall be swept away."
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (not a Buddhist)
April 11, 2008 11:49 AM
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/pacificnorthwest/MetoliusRiver/images/metolius_river_pine_lg.jpg
http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=14557&pst=1130815



HELPDESK
我的字典: Wǒ de zì diǎn

Frayed nerves: 神经紧张 - shén jīng jĭn zhāng
In dire straits: 困境 - kùn jìng
Rat race: 无意义的竞争 - wú yì yì de jìng zhēng
Miracle: 奇迹 - qí jì




PHOTO: "Better than a thousand words, is one word that brings peace." - Buddha
http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/km/pics/kirk/landscapes/images/norway-flord.jpg
http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=14557&pst=1130815



Reference

• MY PAPER, THURSDAY MARCH 3, 2011, VIEWPOINTS, PAGE A24
• http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya030311cnd_opf_files/mya030311cnd.js&ver=Gen
• http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110303-266210.html
• http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/bottlenose-dolphins-surf-072709-sw-thumb-500x375.jpg
• http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/
• http://www.spiritwithinall.com/wp-content/uploads/10_3_orig.jpg
• http://www.spiritwithinall.com/spirited-away-trip-to-the-world-of-spirits/
• http://successdiva.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/road-heaven.jpg
• http://successdiva.wordpress.com/category/alexis-wingate/
• http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolio3/b/beyonddream/Rural_Children_Playing_Together-1151804994l.jpg
• http://www.feedage.com/feeds/1770184/yatra-a-journey-through-life
• http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/pacificnorthwest/MetoliusRiver/images/metolius_river_pine_lg.jpg
• http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=14557&pst=1130815
• http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/km/pics/kirk/landscapes/images/norway-flord.jpg
• http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=14557&pst=1130815

Time to celebrate my Chinese roots

MY PAPER, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2011, PAGE A10, LIFESTYLE (VIEWPOINTS)From http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya010211cnd_opf_files/mya010211cnd.js&ver=GenSource Website: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asian%2BOpinions/Story/A1Story20110201-261438.htmlBy JILL ALPHONSO, myp@sph.com.sg, Tue, Feb 01, 2011, my paper

Time to celebrate my Chinese roots

MY PAPER, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2011, PAGE A10, LIFESTYLE (VIEWPOINTS)
From http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya010211cnd_opf_files/mya010211cnd.js&ver=Gen
Source Website: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asian%2BOpinions/Story/A1Story20110201-261438.html
By JILL ALPHONSO, myp@sph.com.sg, Tue, Feb 01, 2011, my paper



PHOTO: I was raised in a modern way, and my parents did not hold me to tradition. But one unspoken rule was this: Turn up at the reunion dinner, come hell or high water, because po po and gong gong like to have their grandchildren there.
http://travelerfolio.com/travelerfolio/photos/hallstatt_austria_03-590x442.jpg
http://travelerfolio.com/hallstatt-austria/



PHOTO: JILL ALPHONSO
MY PAPER MONDAY MARCH 1, 2010, A13 - A14, MY TRAVEL

EACH Chinese New Year, I have cause to reflect on exactly how Chinese I am - which is to say, not very.

Yet, I participate in the annual reunion dinner with my maternal relatives, and show up at my granny's house from day one to day three like a dutiful grandchild.

It is the one time of the year that I actually feel, for want of a better word, "Chinese".

I am of mixed stock. The "Alphonso" in my name will hint that I am officially classified as Eurasian - a term I don't particularly identify with. I refer to myself as hapa, a Hawaiian term used for people of mixed descent.

For me, it seems to imply lesser ethnic leanings since it generally refers to an Asian or Pacific Islander who is "half" of something else.

It appeals to me as I was raised pretty much colour-blind. Really, there was no other choice.

I am somewhat Chinese, my maternal grandfather having come from Taiwanese stock (so we were told).

My grandmother came from China, but was raised by an aunt in Sitiawan in Malaysia.

From my father's side of the family, I get Japanese, Sri Lankan and Scottish blood. I look, apart from my 1.83m frame, wide hips and large feet, Chinese.

Cab drivers attempt conversation in Mandarin with me, and are often met with confused silence.

Hawkers look to me for an order in Mandarin, and are baffled when I cannot respond.

When I need to, I am able to ask where the toilets are and tell waiters I would like a table for two in Mandarin.

Anything other than that is a stretch, especially since in secondary school, German - and not Chinese - was my second language. I'd failed Chinese over and over in primary school, and had had it with the humiliation.

But language doesn't define how one feels, and a part of me does identify with my Chinese heritage. This was most apparent when I felt as though I was losing my grip on it.

Going to university in Hawaii, and subsequently working in Seattle in Washington state, I missed all things Chinese.

Sure, both American states have healthy enough Chinese populations. I re-learnt the basics of the Chinese language in college, and I could order char siew pau, if I wanted to, from a 24-hour dimsum place in Seattle.

But I missed the culture I'd grown up in terribly, while to missing my family terribly at the same time.

Within my mother's family, the world made a certain kind of sense.

My non-traditional mother, despite all her rebellion and moxie, had strict values passed on to her from her parents - values she held me to and, in holding me to them, was passing them on to me.

And the hierarchy in our family was clear - elders first, always, and in all things.

None of this existed for me away from home.

And at home, Chinese New Year was a touchstone where I would see cousins turning up at the reunion dinner to pay their respects to their elders and spend time with them.

On the following days, I would get to see extended family members whose names I'd forget during the rest of the year. I would enjoy their company for those few hours.

During my years away, I missed all that with a horrible vengeance, feeling like I was far away from my roots.

That included the sense that I am, at least, somewhat Chinese.

Sure, I was raised in a modern way, and my parents did not hold me to tradition. But one unspoken rule was this: Turn up at the reunion dinner, come hell or high water, because po po and gong gong like to have their grandchildren there.

I have not, except in extraneous circumstances, disobeyed.

I will expect my children, when I eventually have them, to abide by the same rule, no matter how hapa they are.

So, to answer my own question of "How Chinese am I?" I say: Not very.

But the part of me that is sings very loudly during Chinese New Year indeed.

Gong xi, everybody.

By JILL ALPHONSO, myp@sph.com.sg, Tue, Feb 01, 2011, my paper



PHOTO: And at home, Chinese New Year was a touchstone where I would see cousins turning up at the reunion dinner to pay their respects to their elders and spend time with them.
http://travelerfolio.com/travelerfolio/photos/hallstatt_austria_01-590x442.jpg
http://travelerfolio.com/hallstatt-austria/



HELPDESK
我的字典: Wǒ de zì diǎn

Dutiful: 顺从的 - shùn cóng de
Heritage: 文化遗产 - wén huà yí chǎn
Non-traditional: 非传统的 - fēi chuán tǒng de
Unspoken rule: 潜规则 - qián guī zé



PHOTO: JILL ALPHONSO
http://static.relax.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/relax/329118/topImage/Life_s_a_beach_on_Lakawon-topImage.jpg
http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/features/329118/Life_s_a_beach_on_Lakawon.html


Reference

• MY PAPER, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2011, PAGE A10, LIFESTYLE (VIEWPOINTS)
• http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya010211cnd_opf_files/mya010211cnd.js&ver=Gen
• http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asian%2BOpinions/Story/A1Story20110201-261438.html
• http://travelerfolio.com/travelerfolio/photos/hallstatt_austria_01-590x442.jpg
• http://travelerfolio.com/travelerfolio/photos/hallstatt_austria_03-590x442.jpg
• http://travelerfolio.com/hallstatt-austria/
• http://static.relax.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/relax/329118/topImage/Life_s_a_beach_on_Lakawon-topImage.jpg
• http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/features/329118/Life_s_a_beach_on_Lakawon.html