Ox: good or bad?

An ox may mean stupidity or luck, depending on which country you come from. An amusing lesson learned during my days in debating. By K...

An ox may mean stupidity or luck, depending on which country you come from. An amusing lesson learned during my days in debating.

By Karn G. Bulsuk

When I was still in university many years ago, I was an active member of the debating society. One of the benefits of this society was that we were often sent internationally to attend debating tournaments, where we went up against the best the world had to offer, while enjoying a side trip here and there, tasting their cuisine and learning about other cultures.

Once I was in Manilla for such a tournament, and at the end of it all each team was given a "friendship ox". What I was told was that in Phillipino culture, an ox was considered lucky.

The funny thing about the ox is that in Thai culture, an ox is seen as stupid and to be called one is akin to being called stupid. The Thai teams that were there all laughed at it though, with one team member quipping "I wonder if our hosts are trying to tell us something?"

The ox now sits at home and it constantly reminds me to always be very open minded at different cultures, and to stay positive with differences.