Not really. Just the title hook I used to try and get your attention. Now that I have done so ….

I have made many gaffes in China, and here in the US when interacting with overseas Chinese. One of my first gaffes was to assume my Chinese friends and colleagues were as open to discussing their or a family member’s illness as I was used to in the USA.

Wrong assumption. I quickly learned to look before I so leap or so speak.

See this very good front page Wall Street Journal article [subscription required], In Some Cultures, Cancer Stirs Shame, to learn more about why.

Your thoughts? Any similar experiences or gaffes out there we can learn from?