15 Contextual Understanding of Myanmar symbolize the washing away of last year’s bad luck and misdeeds. The whole country is on vacation for two weeks during water festival. 2.6 FOOD CULTURE Burmese cuisine centers around oil-based curries, salads, and soups and nearly every meal includes rice. Common herbs include ginger, turmeric, garlic, chili, lemongrass, green onions, and coriander. One of the most famous Burmese dishes is mohinga, a dish of thin of flat noodles eaten in a fish-based soup broth. It is especially popular as a breakfast. Other snacks include chappatis, fried insects, and Chinese pastries. Burmese not only drink tea made from dried tea leaves but also eat pickled tea as a snack. Tea shops are found in every city, town, and large villages. These establishments are important locales for social gathering and provide free wi-fi also. Street stalls sell a variety of foods in the cities and towns. It is a local custom in Myanmar to chew betel nut. 2.7 LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION Burmese, a Tibeto-Burman language whose alphabet is derived from south Indian scripts, is the national language of Myanmar. The largest ethnic group that speaks Burmese is the Myanma; there is a smaller Burmese-speaking ethnic group known as Baramagyi (or Barua). There are other less common languages like Arakanese, Intha, and Taungyo (or Tavoyan) and shan. Many educated urban residents speak English as a second language, but English is not widely spoken among the population as a whole. Lungyis Burmese names are preceded by a number of different titles. Ko is the general title for an adult male, while U (pronounced oo) precedes an older or well-respected man’s name, and Aung is used for younger men. A woman’s name is preceded by Daw. 2.8 DRESS CODE Among the Burman, both men and women wear the traditional sarong-like garment (lungyi) known as htami (women’s) or pa-soe (men’s) that is knotted at the waist. Men wear collarless shirts (ingyi) and a round-necked jacket (taibon). Women wear short fitted blouses. The color and designs of the clothing vary among ethnic groups and by gender. The Burman lungyi uses Tanatkha paste