Receiving top grades on my Psychology and Sociology exams, I'm supposed to understand people's mental states very well. However, my knowledge of how people think and behave doesn't necessarily protect me from offending others because I often state my opinions in a straight-forwarded way that upsets some people.

For example, I once said,"I am not interested in luxurious goods. I don't need them to lift my social status and self-confidence. If I do buy luxuries,  mostly it is their material attributions that attract me rather than their symbolic values. Besides, I know how the large firms and mass media go hand in hand to manipulate consumers, so I don't fall for their tricks."

Such statements will definitely displease many people because the truth hurts.

 

Since I started attending college, I've been trying to figure out with whom should I hang out? mature adults? college students? Chinese? American?
Being much older than most of my classmates, I have a hard time to find my peer group. Academically, my classmates are my peers. When it comes to social life, college kids don't like to play with someone who is more mentally mature just as what I did when I was 20.
So, my classmates are not my real peers.
How about my old friends? Nowadays, my Chinese friends and I seem to be on different paths. When they sit in their offices in China, I'm burying my face in textbooks in the states. Obviously, there is a physical gap between me and my old buddies. When time elapses, a cultural gap emerges as well while my stomach digests more and more hamburgers and my brain absorbs more and more western literature.
Who are my peers?

I love Japanese food. However, preparing a real Japanese meal can take hours since Japanese people are so quality-oriented. That's why Japanese families need a full-time housewife. 
I learned how to cook Japanese curry rice when I was in Japan. The reason why I like it because it not only satisfies my taste buds but also requires less processing time. Actually the genuine way of preparing Japanese curry rice is more complex than the way I use. I boil all materials at once instead of stir-frying them step-by-step.
To me, my version of curry rice is good enough to please my stomach. I hope Japanese people will allow me to call it Japanese curry rice.

 

The other day, I found a piece of paper attached to my car. "Call me at ....".

I made the call. The man told me that he scratched paint off my car and was willing to take the responsibility. Surprised, I got off my car immediately to check the damage. However, there was nothing wrong except the scratch on the surface of the right passenger door, which was caused by my own mistake before. I said," thank you for being responsible and honest, but I think you didn't hit my car. What you mentioned was damaged by myself. So, don't worry about it and have a good day."

Later, I told a Chinese classmate about this incident . She said, "you are such an idiot. If I were you, I would have asked him to fix the car. "

I was speechless. Definitely, we don't share same moral standards. If being regarded by her as a wise person has to do something that violate my personal values, I prefer being an idiot.

I just moved in. This new dorm looks clean and cozy.