Part 2: So . . . how do you like it here?

Of course as western foreigners here we often get asked 'the grading question' that every culture I'm sure asks of those who are invited in to their home culture.
"How do you like it here?"

If you reflect on it a minute, it really is a difficult question to answer. I began by answering truthfully. It didn't take long for me to work out that the person asking the question rarely wants to hear exactly what you think. It is more one of the quiver full of standard questions that any native born asks the alien among them.

Of course the real inquiry behind the questions is "What do you think of us?"

That has helped me to answer the question both truthfully and appropriately. I was reading Jenell's blog this morning and she thought over the whole idea of perfection. Why, for example, high achieving students when presented with a grade of 97% will often beat themselves up over the 3% they didn't get.

The same principle is at work with "the question".
No matter how well you try and answer the question, it will be the missing 3% that people will walk off with in memory.