As I explained here, in this semi-regular feature, we will be exploring two books I found in China that aim to teach Chinese people about America, so that we too can learn about America from the Chinese point of view.

Today we’re looking at the book “Aspects of Contemporary American Life” (whose cover suggests that contemporary American life is pretty much just about pizza and beer).  Flipping through it, I find a chapter called “How to Mixing Work and Romance.”

My natural question: well, how do we “mixing work and romance”?  The book’s answer: you must never mixing work and romance!  It demonstrates this in a helpful little dialogue (slightly abridged):

Marco: Hey Jen, would you like to go to dinner with me?

Jenny: I don’t know.  You know what they say about office romances.

Marco: No.  I don’t know.  What do they say about office romances?

Jenny: They say you shouldn’t mix love and work.

Marco: Hey, it’s the 90s.  People fall in love with people they work with.  That’s a fact.

Jenny: You’re sounding like we’re already married.  It starts with dinner, but then it gets out of hand.  Besides, haven’t you asked out every woman in the entire office?

Marco: I like company.

Jenny: Company?  I heard about you from Linda.  She said you were an octopus.

Marco: What can I say?  I’m a passionate guy?

At this point (and I’m totally serious here) Marco starts trying to pressure Jenny into going out with him – before asking her if she has any sisters.  So this is why you should not “mixing work and romance”?  Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem like that’s not really the issue here?  Isn’t Jenny just using that as a pretense to brush off Marco and his “octopus”-like ways?

Related:

• Why Does Poor People Be Poor? (Engrish as a Second Language)