Interesting but terrible situation at work

The following situation happens to a friend of mine lately

Huahua is a new member of Nestle company here in Singapore.Because she's new there,it's reasonable that she wants to build the friendship with her colleagues since she will be there for at least the next 2 years.So she tries to start with some small talks.

One day,during lunch time,she happened to hear the age of mandy(one of her female colleagues) from a conversation,in order to cut in that conversation and gain mandy's favor,she said:"oh,i think i am almost at the same age as your child."Then after a short silence,mandy replied:"sorry,i don't have child."Huahua was so embarrassed that she immediately came up with an excuse which made her situation even worse:"oh,it's quite a fashion that many couples don't want to have children."After a longer silence,mandy replied:"sorry,i don't get married".Now,you can imagine how embarrassed huahua was,how terrible her situation was,how humiliated mandy felt and how potentially awful her working life in that company will be.

It's possible that we will fall into this kind of awkward conversation one day.If it's you,how will you fix it?

Effective Communication Skills

When i was young,at the age of primary school,i was a quiet obedient little girl,listened to my parents' orders,behaved well in front of those adults,didn't create much noise,always kept neat and smiling,helped other classmates when they needed help,got high score in school.Even though i didn't talk much with my classmates,my teachers,my neighbours,my relatives,my parents' friends,most of them liked me and always spoke highly of me.

When i was a teenager,at the age of junior to high school,i wasn't as quiet as child anymore.
I began to initiate some small talks with those adults,chat with my parents,talk something about my school life,about their work,tried to share my parents' burden and pressure spiritually.
I began to cultivate the friendship,go out with my friends,share my deep feelings about family,about friendship,about love,about future with my friends,study with my friends,even skip classes with my friends......We laughed out loudly when we are happy,we cried out fully when we needed to spare ourselveswe.
I began to query teachers about academical questions,run for some positions in class,help the teachers deal with problems and routines in class.
However,i still kept smiling,being kind and helping each other whenever who needed help.
So most of my friends,my teachers,my neighbours,my relatives,my parents' friends still liked me and always spoke highly of me.

When i was in my home University,i changed again.I wasn't even quiet
I began to speak out my opinions to get other people's attention and recognition.
I began to learn to be independent at some necessary time
I began to understand some unsaid rules and meanings in certain situations
I began to care about my parents' health and work by calling back from time to time,make some decisions on my own.
However,i still kept smiling,being kind and helping each other whenever who needed help.
So most of my friends,my teachers,my neighbouts,my relatives,my parents' friends still liked me and always spoke highly of me.

Now, i am here in NUS,a totally new,competitive and cosmopolitan University.I know i need to change again in order to cultivate the new effective communication skills in English.

In all,i think the effective communication skills are different at different periods of your lifetime.You need to always update the new effective communication skills inorder to adapt to the new period of your lifetime,inorder to make your life more wonderful,more successful and more meaningful.
But there are some things that will be useful for communicating effectively forever,that is smile and being kind!No matter where are you from,no matter how old are you,no matter you are female or male,no matter any situation,they are the beginning of your effective communication! These principles i will bear in mind for all time.

2009-1-6 to 2009-1-19 so far,it is great......

Just as a memory for my first two weeks in Singapore.

On the arrival of Singapore,it was already 00:10 am,my feelings were so
complex:excited,tired,curious,fearful......anyway,i was really and succefully setting foot in Singapore,no matter how tough i got here!Singapore,i was here to explore and love you!

It's the first time i take the airplane and alone.
It's the first time i go abroad and alone.
It's the first time i have this kind of strange mixed feelings.

2009-1-6

It's the first time i take the taxi that the driver speaks Singlish which i hardly understand

It's the first time i feel the friendliness of Singapore people when the taxi driver helps me find the Blk 5 of PGP and doesn't include those driving cost into the driving fee.

It's the first time i am in NUS,in PGP,in a dormitory that has kitchen.

It's the first time i take the free internal shuttle bus

It's the first time i go to NUS's canteen.
I

It's the first time i get lost in PGP...

2009-1-7

It's the first time i go to the COOP on the first floor of Central Library.

It's the first time i enter the Central Library of NUS and astonished by its beauty,grandness and modern.
It's the first time i enjoy the peaful and breath-taking scenery by overlooking from the window outside Central Library.

It's the first time i take the bus and the first time i take the double-decker bus in Singapore
It's the first time i go to Habourfront and Vivocity guided by my dear yifan(my friend's friend's ex-girlfriend.)who is so kind and cute and smart and beatiful!!
It's the first time i try the delicious Taiwan food in Singapore.

It's the first time i buy clothes in Singapore.
It's the first time i wander in Singapore's supermarket...

2009-1-8

It's the first timei go out with foreign exchange students and speak english for a whole day.

It's the first time i take the MRT

It's the first time i go to Commenwealth.
It's the first time i go to Orchard Road and go window shopping at so many international luxury shops.

It's the first time i go to Emerald Hill and surrounded by so many special architectures.

It's the first time i go to China Town

It's the first time i go to this little delicated bookstore.

2009-1-9

It's the first time i sit in NUS's hall with so many foreigners from so many different countries.

It's the first time i try so many delicious Singapore snacks for free......

It's the first time we meet the Internation Relationship Office's staff.

It's the first time i become a member of the international volunteer organization:Red Cross.

It's the first time i know something about Singlish by attending the Cross-culture awareness lecture.

It's the first time i know so many foreign students and introduce myself for so many times and remember so many foreign students' names and do not go back to PGP until midnight.

2009-1-10

It's the first time i meet the handsome,gentle and zealous boy Liboxu from Xi'an of China at the bus station.

It's the first time i know how to print in the Central Library.

It's the first time i go to Little India.

It's the first time i visit the mosque barefoot.

It's the first time i try Indian snack

It's the first time i listen to so much Indian English.

2009-1-11

It's the first time i go to the esplanade theater.

It's the first time i am immersed in the concert.

It's the first time i meet the so so so excellent huahua and so so cute bailin

It's the first time i see the biggest ferris wheel in Asia.

It's the first time i have ice-cream in Singapore.

It's the first time i have coffee in Starbucks.

It's the first time Singapore's symbol:the lion with fish tail.

2009-1-12

It's the first time i have classes in NUS.

It's the first time i try the famous waffle in PGP

It's the first time i'm mixed-up by the confusing buildings' structure in NUS.

2009-1-13

It's the first time i eat the birthday cake in Singapore due to neus' birthday who become my best friend now.

It's the first time i celebrate a foreigner's birthday abroad.

It's the first time i go to night safari park.

It's the first time i take a picture with toni,the cute,handsome but always can't understand me spanish boy.

It's the first time i am so close to so many wild rare animals at night.

2009-1-14

It's the first time i wear boots in Singapore.

It's the first time i go to dbl O,a club near Clarke.In fact,it's the first i go to the club.

It's the first time i dance in the club.

It's the first time i have cocktail,the one that mix orange juice with vodka.

It's the first time i go back to my dormitory at 4am in Singapore.

2009-1-15

It's the first time i go to apply for the visa to Malaysia.

It's the first time i buy muffin to my dear neus

It's the first time i spend a peaful night listening to the alive guita and lute performance.

It's the first time i feel i care about neus so much.

2009-1-17

It's the first time i do the volunteer job in Singapore named Rice Project,organized by Red Cross

It's the first time i sit in the back of a van without chair to some place.

It's the first time i get carsick.

2009-1-18

It's the first time i take the cable car

It's the first time i take the light railway

It's the first time i go to sentosa.

It's the first time i watch the underwater world in Singapore.

It's the first time i watch the pink dolphin show

It's the first time i have lunch on the beach.

It's the first time i have so much fun with Chinese exchange students.

It's the first time i see a man with snake around his neck.

2009-1-19

It's the first time i take Brad's class.

It's the first time i meet my blogging buddy jaenatte.

It's the first time i create a blog account.

It's the first time i go to the sushi restaurant in Singapore.

It's the first time i go to the bar called walawala in Singapore.

It's the first time i have experienced so many first-time in such a short time in my life time.

But i know it will be just the beginning,not the end

There are a lot more first-times waiting for me to taste

There are a lot more blank spaces in my life waiting for me to fulfill

There are a lot more precious moments waiting for me to capture

There are a lot more kindly and awsome people waiting for me to get to know

There are a lot more impressive stories waiting for to touch....

Life is too short to be wasted

so i am trying my best to make it as meaningful and gorgeous as it can be.