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| Even if it's busted. |
1. No discount; fix it yourself. Zara was having a ridiculous sale a few weeks ago and I found a lovely top for more than half off. One problem: there was a small tear on the cuff of one arm. Naturally, I asked for a discount, as I would in the U.S. and most likely would've gotten on. Not here. The saleswoman's response: I can't give you a discount -- and you can sew it yourself!
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| Don't make the mistake of asking. |
2. Don't ask if it's free. I was listening in on my husband's Chinese class the other day when our teacher told him it's embarrassing to ask if something is free. Instead, you're supposed to ask if there's a small fee -- even if you know it's free -- to be polite.
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| Take your pick from Swedish meatballs to spaghetti at IKEA. |
3. People go to IKEA just for dinner. Scott recently moved offices and needed to get some supplies at IKEA. Knowing from previous visits that it's a nightmare to go on the weekends, we opted to go during the week. We also decided to eat dinner there. We were joined by lots of other Chinese, who came just for the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce, and then left, sans purchases.
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| Nice n' fake flower maze outside Raffles City. |
4. Fake flowers are just as good as real ones. With spring in the air, and it feeling more like summer by the temperature, many malls and large gathering places in Beijing put up displays. Outside my office is a large maze, made up of all fake flowers and each day throngs of people stop to take pictures in front of them. Some even pose like they're stopping to smell the flowers. There also are fake bougainvilleas outside our apartment building. Oh China, I adore your copycat ways.
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| No more fan fandom. |
5. Fans blowing directly on you are bad. Or so my Mandarin teacher says. The other day in class I was warm and she warned me not to have the fan face me directly. She said not only is it uncomfortable, it can cause your muscles to tense up. Go figure.
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