What memories of your own cross-cultural experiences did this book trigger?
What places, people or events struck you most while reading? What details about China seemed the most foreign to America? What seemed most familiar?
How might you have reacted during the author’s first week in Beijing?
When have you felt the most homesick? What did you do to cope?
What words might describe China as it is depicted in this book? How does this depiction confirm and/or counter your prior impressions?
What aspects of Chinese culture and/or language appealed to you most?
What insights can you glean from the author’s experience of being illiterate and a minority?
Evaluate the author’s performance as a cross-cultural emissary. What impression of Americans do you believe the Chinese developed through interacting with him?
From news and other media, how do you think China has changed since the timeframe in this book (1993-1994)? How might the author’s experiences have differed in a post-Olympics China?
What did the author not discuss that you still would like to know about China?
What is your interpretation of the book’s title? What “smelling like milk” realizations have you experienced?
Please contribute additional questions below!
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