For a real start to China life, begin to see 2 as 8

The big strawberries on the Beijing market remind me of my first spring here back in 1991. These dark red fruits of different shapes and sizes made my mouth water, and I thought of making several jars of short-cooking and low-sugar strawberries. The strawberry man put up his thumb and index finger as if raising a pistol at me. "Only 2 mao (0.2 yuan)," I thought, and asked for 10 jin (5 kg), taking 2 yuan from my wallet.

Handing me the big bag, the man said: "Ba kuai (8 yuan)." I was surprised, but then remembered that raising these two fingers resemble the Chinese written character "8", while for us Italians they indicate "2".

One can learn a language in a classroom, but no textbook can ever teach social and cultural nuances the way experience does.