Dialogue 1

M:  How was your trip to France lase week?

F:  Do you think it was a successful trip?

M:  In regard to our business I had planed to get done,  I think it went pretty well,  I visited both branch offices in Paris and Nice,  but there were a lot of thing to get used to that I didn't expect. 

M:  Like what?

F:  For one thing,  I got kissed more in the three days I was in France than the last ten year's living in Beijin. 

M:  What? kissed,  what are you talking about?

F:  The french people usually kiss as a formal greeting when you first meet person,  or when you see a freind.  It's not a real kissing,  it's just like a little pack on both sides of your face,  on the cheek,  or what's more common is air kisses,  which is just making the sound of kissing instead of really kissing your cheek.  Because I'm used to just an nice form of handshake,  it took a little kidding used to the kissing type of greetings in France. 

M:  Anything else,  that was different. 

F:  Yeah,  they also tend to stand a lot closer to you when they talk,  the space barber arround you is a bit smaller,  I had to be careful not to subconsciously back up when people got closer than I'm used to. 

M:  Why would backing up be bad?

F:  Because people might interpret it to mean you don't like them when in reality,  it is because of social customs and conditioning. 

Dialogue 2

M:  Did you hear? after all the work and effort we put in securing deal with our Japnese counterparts,  the contract was off. 

F:  What? What happened? It seems so solid,  I can't imagine that they would back out on us. 

M:  It's quite simple,  really,  it was a bonehead from our executive commitee that screwed everything up,  you know they went to Tokyo last week to see off the deal and sign the emerge contract. 

M:  Yeah,  don't tell me things went sawer after the meeting. 

F:  Not after the meeting but before they got even started,  the lead guy there to do the talking,  he obviously didn't do his homework about the greeting customs and Japanese culture,  he walked right up to Japanese CEO and gave him a big slam on the back,  then he put one arm on him and continue talking,  just like they were good old buddies. 

F:  Oh,  gees,  that probabaly would ever to find in USA,  most people would think he's trying to be casual and freindly,  but I bet the Japanese boss would feel pretty uncomfortable. 

M:  Yeah,  uncomfortable's call off the whole deal.