A couple years ago, Bryan and I went to Beijing to visit my extended relatives (my maternal great-grandmother had 12 children, so I have a lot of grand aunts and uncles!) We had a big family reunion in Beijing, and during dinner, everyone took turns talking to Bryan and testing his Chinese. They were pleasantly surprised by how well Bryan can communicate in Chinese, but when they complimented him on his language skills, they quickly saw that he didn't fully understand Chinese culture. When one aunt said "Your Chinese is very good," Bryan responded like a true American and said, "Thank you." She immediately corrected him by saying that he should have responded, "No, it is not, I still have much to improve upon!"

(selected from 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2012)