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A humorous column in the paper this week has caused ructions, begging the question: Why do foreigners always take us so seriously? When a Chinese person uses comic irony, others tend to be confused. But sometimes, it is the best option to get a point across. An American friend of mine once had a vigorous argument with me over what was important to learn in the United States. My feeling was that appreciating fast food was an entre to American culture. "It's really stupid of you to gorge yourself on so much fast food," he said. "But it's important for me. If I cannot distinguish between a KFC burger and a McDonald's burger, my credibility as an American-trained Chinese will suffer. Nobody back home will believe I spent so much money and effort in the birthplace of fast food," I defended myself. "But this is junk food. It'll kill you," he warned. "Where I come from, the Golden Arches are the symbol of the best American cuisine," I said. "But that's wrong. You should try something else." "Other burgers?" "There is more to American cuisine than burgers." "Like what? French fries? I thought they were from France." My friend is a serious guy, not the typical American with a strong sense of humor. Had he adopted a different approach, say comic irony, I would have had an easier time accepting his point. For example, he could have extolled the virtues of US fast food thus: "There's no point trying our burger, you'll never get our culture. You think it's just a burger, but it's the quintessence of American gastronomy - munchable Americana, so to speak." | 
