Your say

You betcha!

Laura Stevens was late for an event so she bet her taxi driver in Beijing that he couldn't make it to the destination in 10 minutes. "He said that I didn't have to pay if he didn't make it," Steven says. "He took 11 minutes so I got out and didn't pay."

Helen's salad days

Not being able to read a Chinese menu can lead to problems for foreigners but sometimes expats can get lost even in the same language.

"I didn't know what to eat so I went for the safe option," says Helen Boyle reminiscing her first trip to China.

"When the waitress brought out the fruit salad they brought out a bowl of fruit with mayonnaise on top," she said.

No doubt there would have been a few cherry tomatoes on that "fruit salad" too.

Speed dating

Beijing taxi drivers are known for their friendly banter, but as Mary Smith found out, some can be friendlier than others.

During her usual chatting with taxi drivers, the Beijinger asked her on a date in his local drawl and refused to take her money.

"I said I would pay, but you can give me the money," she said.

Mary said she was busy.

Student's smart focus

Learning Chinese is not only academic. Student Sam Mathews, when shopping for her daughter was able to avoid a classic foreigner mistake of being charged Westerner prices.

"I wanted to buy a camera and the assistant tried to change the lens to a cheaper one and charge the same price," she says.

"I understood what they said and told them to put it back."

Santa never out of season

"They've already taken the Christmas tree down in our company," said Peter Davis, a 45-year-old American who has worked in Beijing and Shanghai as a foreign trade consultant for five years.

"And now they're hanging up the red New Year lanterns, but in some places here it's Christmas all year round. My favorite dumpling shop and my barber have Santa pictures up all year round.

"It's not unusual for me and the employees to sing 'Jingle Bells' in July."

(China Daily 01/05/2009 page10)