I’m living in a multiracial country with 3 major ethnic groups – Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Each of us have different cultural background living different lifestyles. My business enables me to mix around with all these 3 ethnic groups which gave me the opportunity to observed their lifestyles and their illnesses as well. 

It is interesting to find out that although we are living in the same piece of land with the same climate, but each ethnic ground tends to have higher tendency towards getting some specific illnesses. Some say it is because we have different genetic or DNA combination, but I disagree with that argument because I have discovered a more logical and scientifically way to explain this phenomenon. 

Lifestyle, is the answer to the mystery. Here’s the fact… Malays tend to have higher frequency to suffer from Diabetes and Coronary Disease compared to other races. When I look at their eating habits, I was surprised to see that they love high cholesterol meals and sweet drinks. At least 30% of the food they put into their mouths are fried or oil processed. And they love sweeten tea or coffee and syrup juices after every meal. 

On the other hand, the Chinese who thought to have healthier eating habit have about 4 times more Colon Cancer cases compared to other ethnic groups. At first, I couldn’t figure out why… But as I read more and observe more, I’ve finally discover the cause of higher Colon Cancer cases among Chinese. 

As you can observe when you visit Chinese Restaurants, Chinese love to eat their food while it’s still hot especially when they are drinking the slightly below boiling point hot soup… Suuuupp suuuuppp! So hot until they are sweating like nobody business during the meal! That’s what we (Cantonese) called “Chi Geek!” which means Fun! or Exciting!

Imagine what will happen to the food that is inside your digestive track that is not properly digested. It will be just like the meat that left on the table overnight which rots and turns sour in less than 24 hours. This is exactly what happens inside some Hot Soup Fan Chinese’s colons. Those foods they put into their mouths at high temperature has destroyed most of the enzymes that plays an important role in breaking down the food to nutrients that can be absorbed into the blood stream. 

Instead of being broken down by the enzymes, those abalone, shark fin, Kung Pao Chicken, etc have become a feast for those notorious bacteria and microbes hidden inside the digestive track. And the toxic by-products or wastes produced by these tiny devils have made the colon become very acidic and lack of oxygen which is the optimum environment for Cancer cells to grow. 

Slow down Kungfu Master! Wait until your soup cools down close to room temperature before you drink it! Your best Kungfu can never win Mr. Cancer! If you find it hard to change that habit, try drinking Ionized Alkaline Water minimize the damage.

First of all it is Big and it’s getting even bigger. How big?

• It is the largest air company in the US in terms of boarded passengers, number of destinations and fleet dimension.
• 14 million+ passengers in October 2010;
• 750+ aircraft up and running;
• One of the 9 only world airliners to serve all 6 continents – 66 countries and 367 destinations!
• They currently employ 75,000 people.
• The flight attendants have a Union.

If you are ready to start a career as a flight attendant Delta is an opportunity. For the moment they have only 14 open positions for flight attendants that are fluent in second languages as Cantonese, Hungarian, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic, Swedish, Japanese, Danish, Greek, French, German and Italian. Rumors from inside are that there will be more than 500 flight attendants to be recruited until the end of 2010. To apply for a Delta job the age is 21 years minimum and the educational requirement needed is at least a H.S. diploma. You must of course possess authorization to work in the U.S.

“Must have valid passport or equivalent travel documents to freely enter & exit all destinations where Delta flies.

Must exhibit good judgment, strong work ethic & excellent customer service skills.

Must attend & successfully complete anticipated 8 week paid training at one of our training facilities. Must maintain Delta uniform standards & all appearance guidelines; no visible tattoos or body piercing permitted; neat, professional demeanor.

Monthly Training Pay $1,746″ – from the Delta Internet page.

The rewards for career holders of Delta jobs are extremely attractive. The Delta compensation package consists of competitive pay and a range of benefits that include medical and dental coverage. Of course Life Insurance and an employee assistance program and lifestyle benefits such as gift programs, paid vacations, higher education programs and employee discounts on a variety of products and services.

So, please sit down, fasten your seat belt, prepare your career for take-off and get ready to embark on an amazing journey.

Looking for restaurants in Oakland? You’d be glad to know your choices are wide and diverse. One of the major things to enjoy in Oakland is the various restaurants that cater to all kinds of guests with varying food preferences. There are numerous Oakland restaurants at different locales of the city. If you are here for a short trip, be it for leisure or business, delicious and sumptuous Oakland food is something you just can’t afford to miss.

The Downtown region of the city has several eateries like Restaurant Peony, an eatery on the East Bay popular for serving dim sums and Cantonese dishes; Golden Lotus, another restaurant in the same area, serves high quality Vietnamese vegetarian food; Battambang, offers delicious Cambodian cuisines; Shanghai Restaurant, known for Shanghai-style preparations, which even rivals food served in Shanghai itself; Breads of India, as the name suggests serves best of Indian cuisines.

Grand Lake, lies on the outskirts of Oakland and offers a brilliant variety of restaurants, ranging from fine and luxurious eateries all the way to budget drive-in restaurants. Such places include Mezze, a fine restaurant serving high quality Mediterranean dishes; Spettro, a multi-cuisine restaurant known for serving Thai, Mexican, Italian and other ethnic foods; Mijori, another popular eatery, situated at the Bay Area and offers Japanese cuisines and many others.

Old Oakland, USA also has a lot to offer when it comes to eating. Some of the popular and best Oakland restaurants in the region include Le Cheval, Caffè 817, New World Vegetarian, TJ’s Gingerbread House; such restaurants are known for serving a variety of traditional cuisines from different ethnicity.

Above mentioned are just a few of the many restaurants that Oakland city offers. Other sections of the city like North, West, East Oakland and many of its neighborhood regions host a wide variety of eateries, which are definitely worth a try. So, make the most of what the city has to offer, especially when it comes to food and you sure won’t be disappointed.

Chinese who believe in FengShui are extremely superstitious about the figures they choose as their telephone number, house, car number and the like. The categorization of some numbers as lucky and some as unlucky depends on the way they sound when spoken. For instance, in western numbers ‘eleven’ sounds like ‘heaven’ or number ‘eight’ sounds like ‘weight’ or number ‘one’ sounds like ‘son’.

Numbers considered unlucky by the Chinese:

No. 4 (pronounced as Sei) is known to be a bad number because in Cantonese it sounds like the word ‘death’. NO.13 is unlucky because it adds up to 4. Apart from this, number 24 and 104 are also unlucky for the same reason.

Figures considered lucky

Nos. such as 108, 168, 99, 88, 84, 80, 68, 54, 48, 38, 28, 18, 8, are all good numbers. The main reason why 8 is lucky because if you pronounce the word (patt) it sounds like “faat” which denotes “prosperity and abundance”

Consequences of some lucky figures and combinations:

• 289: Long-term prosperity
• 5: myself, me
• 518: I will flourish
• 5189: I will flourish for a very long time
• 516289: I will tread a long, smooth wealthy road
• 5918: I will prosper soon
• 6: smooth and easy
• 7: together
• 8: prosperity or sudden fortune

The cure

If you have a house or businesses with 4 or 13, then just draw a circle around that no. The circle is tremendously powerful and captures the ill-fated effects of the negative number. There are two ways of doing it, one way is to go to the local hardware store and find a ceramic door number that can be customized with a circle. However, if you cannot afford to shelve out too much money then a simpler method is to simply go out and make a circle around the number. Also note, if you live or work at a place that has an unlucky number but is outside of China, consider how that number sounds in the native language of that particular country.

How seriously should one take these figures? If you’re still looking for a house, office or car number then make sure you comply with the norms set by feng shui. However, if you already have bought one with number 4 or 13, don’t worry too much, just use the cure provided above or consider changing the number to a name like “rose cottage” “your company name” etc.

Many people feel that Chinese, as a language, is tough to learn. This is because the spoken language is easier to gather than the written version. What is important in most of the languages is to imbibe the culture of the language before learning the language itself. The different regions of China have different dialects such as Beijing or Singapore Chinese, or Mandarin or Cantonese. Some of the dialects are only spoken whereas they use the mainstream Chinese characters for writing purposes.

Character Systems: Chinese as a language has two different character systems – the Traditional Chinese and the Simplified Chinese. The latter is easier to learn as it has less complicated characters.

Learn Chinese Online

Learning Chinese is a part of the curricula for a lot of people, whereas some may like to take it up as a hobby. Touted as one of the most difficult languages to learn, Chinese can be learned from experts. The best and easiest way is to learn the language online. Although the language requires plenty of efforts, it is best to devote your time and commitment for improving your chances of employment, enhancing your travel experience and negotiate internal business agreements. More and more people are turning to learning the language online.

The Chinese written system is based on a series of written characters or pictograms. Different tones are used to add different meanings to an individual word. Any online tool that helps you learn the language will help you understand the culture of the people and their way of life. Numerous websites are dedicated to learning the language online. The benefit of online learning or e-learning is that you can access ample information regarding the basics of the language. Different courses are available for learning the language and these may be in the form of video courses, audio courses or programs conducted by the best teachers of the country.

Online training will make you acquainted with different alphabets of the language. Start by mastering the pronunciation of the alphabets. The first step through which you can learn the language is through the Chinese Pinyin which comprises all the phonetic Chinese alphabets that are required for pronouncing the Chinese characters. Students can learn to distinguish the various tonalities of the language by paying keen attention to the different types of reading the Pinyin letters, initials, finals, or other tentative combinations.

Audio courses are available and their benefit is that they teach you everything about the accents and phonetics of the language. You may listen and learn the different languages of the simple Chinese vocabulary to sharpen your fluency in grammar usage by attending the online classes regularly. The modern audio and video courses offer an updated and convenient option of writing and reading Chinese.

The online Chinese programs are prepared by experienced teachers and each of them starts with the basic aspects of the language, gradually promoting the students to attend different levels of smooth and confident communication.

If you want to ensure perfect interpretation and communication then select user friendly translator headsets. Conferences are mainly based on technology which assists in building the gap between the presenter and the audience. The differences might be because of hearing problems or linguistic reasons. With the best professional translation systems you can reach those who have been otherwise lost in the audience. One can even purchase or rent translator headsets depending on your needs. These devices assist in making the sound clear so that the audience can listen to the words of communicator clearly.

There are large numbers of professional translation systems available in the market. You should make the most of the multi-channel conference audio device which permits the listeners to select the language on their personal receiver. If overseas visitors are going to attend the event, then it is very important to install translator headsets. One of the most unique features of translator devices are they decrease background noise along with reverberation in order to encourage successful communication. There are large numbers of online stores that sell wide varieties of such systems at discount prices. Look for a store that offers discount pricing, perfect knowledge and reliable customer services.

Translator headsets are used for translating languages like Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Korean and more. The unique thing about these translators is you can carry them wherever you want. There is no need to worry regarding the frequencies as there is no need to adjust it. They are self-adjustable. Listeners can ask questions related to tour guidance and while arranging factory tours. The professional translation systems are used as digital, wireless and push to talk mikes for various round table conferences. These instruments are designed for carrying out various functions that are needed for simultaneous interpretation of nearly fourteen languages. It is perfect to be used in medium or small sized venues like meetings, presentation conferences and churches. In such types of events, portability and wireless device is very much needed.

The tour guide equipment improves effective communication between group members and tour guides. With the various kinds of translator headsets found in the market, you can easily avoid background squabble as well as distance from guide. This particular device can also be utilized in factories, tourist attractions, museums and bus tours. With the varieties of translation equipment, you can easily facilitate better and improved comprehension along with hearing assistance.

When it comes to ensuring perfect communication and interpretation, choose user friendly translation equipment. Conferences depend on technology and this helps bridge the gulf between the audience and the presenter. The divisions may be due to hearing issues or linguistic issues. With the best translation devices, you can reach out to those members of the audience who would have been lost otherwise. You can rent or purchase these devices, according to your needs. The tools help in assistive listening or interpretation. The best equipment is available from different brands.

Make the most of multi-channel conference audio equipment which allows listeners to choose the language on their personal receiver. If there are overseas visitors attending the event and you are in need of appropriate interpretation, choose the different translator headsets. The inventory of assistive listening devices is an expert in hearing assistance technology. The special feature of these devices is that they reduce background noise and reverberation for encouraging successful communication. Online stores sell the equipment at discounted rates. Go for a store that provides discounted pricing, good knowledge and proven customer services.

The equipment helps in the translation of different languages like Cantonese, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Korean, Japanese, Russian and more. The specialty of these devices is that they are portable and this is why they can be carried anywhere. You need not worry about the frequencies as they need not be adjusted. They can be adjusted on their own. Listeners can ask questions which are good for tour guidance and conducting factory tours. Specialized translation equipment helps teachers, tour guides and interpreters to work seamless as a team.

The devices are used as wireless, digital and push to talk microphones for different round table conferences. The devices are designed to carry out the different functions that are required for simultaneous interpretation of a maximum of 14 languages in which a common language or floor is used. It is apt for using in small or medium sized group venues such as churches, meetings and presentation backed conferences. In such events, wireless equipment and portability are required.

The tour guide devices enhance effective communication between tour guides and group members. With the translation equipment, you can avoid the background squabble and distance from the guide. The equipment can also be used in factories, bus tours, tourist attractions and museums. With the translation headsets and wireless intercom headsets, you can facilitate better comprehension and hearing assistance.

Purchasing a gift is not always easy especially it is for someone from a different culture. This article provides some interesting information if the gift is for a Chinese.

As China is a big place with many provinces, the culture can vary depending on which province the person comes from; but there are some general themes that can be followed to avoid some embarrassments.

What you need to know?

To the Chinese, anything that brings prosperity, longevity or good fortune are fine and anything related or ‘sounds like’ death must be avoided. This rule applies to both numbers and colors that are being used in almost any occasions.

Note: The pronunciation is referring to Cantonese.

Bad numbers – number 4 is the most unwelcome number simply because it has a similar pronunciation as ‘death’.

Good numbers – number 8 sounds like prosperity and number 9 for longevity. Series of 8’s or 9’s such as ‘888’, ’99’ are even better. Numbers ‘168’ and ‘138’ are also very popular for they sound like ‘continuous fortune’.

Bad colors – black and white are usually for funeral or mourning. Therefore, you should only send white flowers to a funeral and the gift wrapping paper should not be plain white or black.

Good colors – red and gold are for celebrations such as birthday and wedding.

Items to avoid – sharp objects such as knives or scissors as they would ‘cut-off’ a relationship. Umbrellas resemble separation. Clock sounds like “attend a funeral”. Handkerchiefs are for mourning. Books are not for Cantonese people who love gambling because it sounds like “loss”, otherwise is fine.

Exceptions: although wearing black or white to a wedding is not a tradition, it is acceptable if the wedding ceremony is held in a church which follows the western style.

Do not be offended if your hosts do not open the gift in front of you as it is not polite in the Chinese culture unless you insist. Also, they do not normally accept your gift immediately in case you feel they are greedy.

What are the popular items?

Cash

Cash can be used in almost all occasions. For happy occasions, it should be put inside a ‘red envelope’ that has some words of blessing pre-printed on it. Red envelopes can easily be found at most Chinese grocery stores; always check with the staff to find one for the occasion you want if you do not understand the Chinese characters on the envelope otherwise you might give away one for the wrong occasion.

The amount inside the envelope should follows the numbering rules as mentioned before i.e. use even numbers except number 4. Also, if you are a couple then you should give two envelopes instead of one to cover for both.

If it is used in a funeral, which is normally used for donation to the charity or assist the grieving family financially, you can put small amount of cash in ‘odd’ number in a normal ‘white envelope’.

Food

There is no doubt that Chinese love foods, this is always a good bet especially for older people. When visiting someone in person, it is always a good manner to bring a food basket containing fruits, biscuits or nice table wine. If he or she is a smoker then a good brand cigarettes is also fine. In the upper range you can give away food such as dried oysters, dried seafood, mushrooms or bird’s nests. For individual fruits such as oranges or apples, count them in even numbers e.g. 6, 8 or 10 pieces.

Jewellery or ornament

Normally given in big celebrations such as wedding, new born baby, 21st birthday, 60th birthday, 90th birthday and so forth.

Baby – parents like to host a banquet for their new born baby after one month of birth. Jade, gold or silver bracelet or necklace is a good gift, otherwise baby clothes.

Birthday – If you know the person’s Chinese zodiac sign, another hot item is a gold plated Chinese zodiac figurine represents the animal sign of the person.

Wedding – jade or gold bracelet or necklace resembles long lasting relationship.

What sort of gifts for festivals?

There are many festivals in China, but you will most likely be invited to join a family celebration in the following festivals:

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) – this is the most important festival for the Chinese people which brings family members, friends and relatives together. It is a custom to give money in a red packet from married couple to single people or children. If you are single it is considered to be polite to bring a food/fruit basket to your hosts.

Mid-Autumn (Moon) Festival – This is the day when people would sit down with family and friends to watch the full moon and serve moon cakes and other type of food. Therefore, bring some moon cakes or food along to your hosts is the best gift you can offer.

Dragon Boat Festival – Rice parcels as big as a purse are made during this festival to honor a patriotic scholar named Chu Yuan who drowned himself to protest against the emperor. Before his body was recovered, people make the rice parcels and threw them into the water to stop any fish eating his fresh. Another saying is dragon boats were used to scare away ‘water spirits’ because dragon is the God of the oceans. Rice parcels are made out of glutinous rice, pork and egg yolk wrapped with bamboo leaves which are sold in most shops during the festival.

If you are interested in cooking, bring along some home made rice parcels will surely impress your hosts.

Other occasions

Return from a vacation – small souvenirs to your neighbors, friends, colleagues and relatives when returning from a trip.

Farewell – cash in a red packet or small gift such as a sailing boat meaning smooth sailing to the new destination.

Visiting someone at home – food basket.

Visiting someone in the hospital – food plus health drinks (e.g. Ginseng) that will help speedy recovery.

Conclusion

Generally speaking, dealing with people from a difficult culture requires understanding. Some of the traditions have been practiced for a long time but are diminishing in the new generations. Chinese people are normally understandable in terms of culture conflict since they have over 2000 years of history and have different culture from different province. It is beneficial to know the customs but do not need to be strictly followed so long you stay away from the ‘death’ business you should be safe.

The Chinese have an obsession with numbers. They believe in auspicious numbers and whenever they purchase a new car, they always try to obtain an auspicious Feng Shui car number. The importance of lucky numbers is not restricted to license plate numbers, the Chinese also look for auspicious numbers in almost everything in daily life.

Auspicious numbers are used in determining marriage dates and in determining the compatibility of couples. It is also used in birth conception. Some couples try to ‘time’ the day their children are conceived, hoping the child will be born at a lucky time.

It is important to understand what numbers are auspicious and what numbers are considered to be unlucky. This is especially so when giving gifts. Some superstitious Chinese are easily offended by gifts that may bear an ‘unlucky’ omen.

The Chinese place heavy emphasis on a good Feng Shui car number. This is because they want their vehicle to be ‘lucky’ and safe on the road. The emphasis on car numbers is so heavy, that some Chinese believe that cars that have been in accidents must now be lucky numbers due to karma; since something unfortunate happened to a vehicle of that number, that same number must now be due for some good luck.

The process in determining a good Feng Shui number, or any number for that matter, can be long and convoluted. Feng Shui Geomancers use an elaborate system of checks and balances in trying to balance karma and achieve the optimal lucky digits. Some numbers that are unlucky for some may be lucky for others. Therefore, there is no definitive guide or set of numbers that will universally lucky for everyone.

The one exception to the rule is the number 8. In Cantonese the pronunciation of 8 sounds like the Cantonese equivalent of prosperity. Hence, a series of numbers that end with 8 are generally considered lucky. The more times 8 appears, the luckier the numbers are.

To the Chinese, the number 4 is the Western equivalent of 13. The Chinese regard the number 4 to be unlucky because of its pronunciation. The number 4, when pronounced in either Cantonese or Mandarin, is a dead ringer for “death”. Hence, a series of numbers that end with 4 or have multiple occurrences of 4 are considered unlucky. The number 4, in its very essence, is the embodiment of death.

These numbers are important to the Chinese. To prevent a faux pas, it is imperative that you avoid giving the Chinese any items that are 4 in quantity. Conversely, it is considered extremely polite and thoughtful to give the Chinese items in quantities of 8.

The examples listed above are microcosms of the various systems the Chinese use to determine lucky numbers. If you want to determine a tailor made set of numbers that were designed for you, you will need to delve deeper into the realm of Feng Shui Geomancy. Consulting a Feng Shui Geomancer is one sure way to ascertain the best Feng Shui car number for you.

Playing Mahjong Online may not be like playing the game with your friends as online gaming is slightly more difficult. It’s important to know the proper rules and terminologies used in the game to advance in the online world. If you are an absolute beginner, you’ll find a lot of information is essential for your success. The main issue that haunted many Mahjong players is the lack of information in English as most of the original rules are still available only in Cantonese and Japanese.

To begin with, let’s stay away from uncommon rules and regulations as it can be quite puzzling for the newcomer. Building a hand plays a very important role when it comes to Mahjong and let’s see how this is done effectively!

• Hand – Each player has to deal with 13 tiles and when his/her turn comes, they have to either keep or discard tiles. It’s very important to maintain observation on available tiles so that you can plan your future move ahead. Use the last tile or the one you drew to form the winning hand. Obviously, the rule is pretty simple but the right implementation makes all the difference.
• Mentsu – You have to create separate groups of three tiles and other pairs, which is called Mentsu. Since Mahjong tiles look quite identical, keen observation is necessary to understand whether you’re picking up the right one or not. You can form Sequence, Sets and Triplets to win the game. You also need a Kantsu, a four tile pair that’s counted as a meld.
• Luck Vs Skill – Arguably, luck is very important in the game but it’s not necessary that only the lucky ones win. As a matter of fact, most successful players are the ones who deal with their tiles consciously. For instance, when your opponent is making the draw (computer for online games), you can use it to pon if in case you have the same tile. This will also help you to discard one tile that’s absolutely unnecessary for your hand. You can complete a Shuntsu if the player is at your left!

Winning Mahjong is all about dedicated observation and an eye for detail. You can’t afford to miss even a single second’s attention from the game because a minor mistake can take the game away from you. This is the same with Mahjong Online too. For a dedicated player, winning Mahjong is quite easy with these tips!