We express gratitude so many times a day whether we realize it or not. For example, someone holds the door open for you, takes your food order, or offers to carry your bags to your car. These are just a few of the examples. But what if someone expresses gratitude to YOU for doing something for them? What are the different ways you could respond? 

This list shows just a few of these examples. The first three (you're welcome, my pleasure, happy to help) are a little more formal than the rest of responses on the list. In everyday casual settings, I usually just respond with "no problem." You can, of course, choose to respond in any way that feels familiar to you.  Although some are more formal and some are more casual, I have heard all of these used in either settings. So don't stress out too much over which one to use as all of these are good manners! 

The term "selfie" or "selfies" is a fairly new internet slang known as a picture taken by yourself with a camera phone or a digital camera. It's usually uploaded to a social media site, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Selfie (plural: selfies) is a noun. These days you'll probably hear a lot of people say, "Let's take a selfie!" 

Why do people take selfies? To show off? Get attention? Because it's fun and camera phones are so easy to use? We all have our reasons but it's definitely a phenomenon, so it's an important word to know! 

Here is a funny read on eight types of selfies you should never take!! 

This weekend is a special one for my husband's family as his younger brother will be getting married on beautiful Whidbey Island, Washington. Weddings, graduation, new baby and other celebrations can be fun and exciting but it can also be intimidating especially if it's a formal one. Are you familiar with the names of these tableware and the order of how to use these utensils? 

In a formal setting, we always use the utensils starting from the outside. This means we use in order of soup spoon, salad fork, dinner fork, and dinner knife. When we're finished with dinner, we move to the dessert fork and spoon placed on top of your plates.

This is similar to your wine and water glasses. We begin with the white wine, move to the red wine and then the water glass.

The cup and saucer is usually not brought to your table until it's time for dessert. That's my favorite part! No matter how full I am, I always look forward to the dessert. As my husband says all the time, "There's always room for dessert." 

**Place settings can vary across cultures

A few years ago, a Japanese student I was tutoring shared an interesting cultural experience with me. She had attended a dinner at an American friend's home. While he was still preparing the dishes, some of the other friends began to eat. The problem was, in her culture it's impolite to begin eating if your host hasn't started, so she sat there waiting patiently for him. However, this made the host think that she didn't like the food that he made. This is the difference between cultures. If we don't understand, then we could possibly insult people, even when we're not trying to be rude.

Although we're just learning English, it's also important to understand culture  because culture and language are very much intertwined. To learn a language better, we must become part of the culture too!

Of course Chinese, French, and Korean aren't the only important cultures to know, but I'm hoping the image above will show you that every culture has its own differences and you should be aware when you travel abroad, meet new people, or do business.

In your culture, is it OK to eat before your host eats?

Summer is a really popular time for weddings, especially in Seattle because the weather is so beautiful and comfortable. I've always had a lot of students ask me about wedding etiquette in the US because as you know, weddings are so different in every culture. If you're invited to one, it's a good idea to be respectful to the culture of the bride and groom. So I thought this would be a great time to talk about common wedding etiquette's in the US.

Above are seven important tips as a wedding guest. These are good manners and your efforts will definitely be appreciated!

1. Once you receive an invitation, most likely there will be an RSVP card asking if you will attend or not attend. Make sure to send these back to the bride and groom as soon as possible because it makes things a lot easier for them!

2. Most couples will "register" for gifts at a variety of stores. Usually you can see the items they want by visiting their wedding website, checking their invitation, or just asking! You can order these gifts online or in stores to be mailed directly to the couple.

3. If you can't attend the wedding, it's a good idea to still send a gift from their registry.

4. In a lot of cultures, wearing white to a wedding is OK, but it's definitely not a good idea to an American wedding. You don't want to compete with the bride! The color black is acceptable to wear.

5.Never bring extra guests (even your children) if the bride and groom don't know about it! This will be a big frustration for them as they'll have to arrange for extra seats on the day of their wedding.

6. A wedding is a celebration and there will be lots of alcohol. Don't drink too much and embarrass the bride and groom!

7. If you have to, wait until the bride and groom cut the cake before leaving.

Are there different wedding etiquette in your culture that is different from American weddings? Are you allowed to wear white to a wedding in your country?