Few days ago, cfgt sent me an email, about being Chinese. It was a list of 28 + 4 things on how to know if you’re Chinese, and here’s the list, + my comments

1. You unwrap gifts very carefully, so you can save and reuse the wrapping (and especially those ribbons).
   So true. It’s habit. Plus, you can reuse (though I’ve since thrown away lots of wrapping paper)! My housemates also have this habit, including the American girl, so, go figure.
2. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has move out.
   Definitely. I don’t have an adult child yet, but my parents stock up a lot of toilet paper. So do I. I get them when Purex is on sale in Coles or Crazy Clarks. But no, I don’t buy a 100 rolls.
3. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.
   For chinese tea, definitely. But my house has a very quick boiler, so not needed, though I have a Thermos in my room. Its no longer filled with hot water though. Filled with cocoa sometimes.
4. You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers. You use the grocery bags to hold garbage.
   Yep. I even blogged about it.
5. You hate to waste food
1. Even if you’re totally full, if someone says they’re going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you’ll finish them.(Your mom will give a lecture about starving kids in Africa)
   You mean your mom didn’t lecture you on the ‘poor starving kids in Africa’? My housemates know that everytime I throw food down the bin, I mutter ‘the poor starving kids in Africa’… LOL
2. You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing
   So true. So true. I had one leftover chicken thigh (lemon baked chicken, cooked in 20 mins!). Smallest amount of rice ever kept is 5 bites of fried rice.
6. You don’t own any real Tupperware-only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, take out containers, and jam jars.
   LOL. Why buy real Tupperware when Don ham already give you nice boxes? Tupperware is overkill anyways. There are many airtight microwavable plastic containers out there (parental units, you didn’t read the word microwavable)
7. You have a collection of minature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel.
   Yep. I paid for them, so duh, take it. But I also threw most out recently. Clutter… LOL
8. You wipe your plate and utensils or wash them in a small basin of hot water before you eat every time you go to a restaurant.
   If the hot water is available, yes. Like in yum cha places. Otherwise, no.
9. You own a rice cooker and a slow cooker.
   Prior to coming to Australia, my mom insisted I get a slow cooker. Alas, my bag was heavy enough as it is, so I didn’t bring the slow cooker over.
10. You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it.
    Only weird people don’t. Or caucasians who are trying to cook rice the first time. C’mon! Rice needs to be washed. Many times!
11. You fight (literally) over who pays the dinner bill.
    Yeap. There’s something called ’saving face’ you know. You don’t want to look like you’re just there for a free meal.
12. You have a teacup with a cover on it.
    For the awesomeness of chinese tea. But I drink like a horse, not like a civilized person, so I don’t have a teacup. Yet. (If you didn’t get the ‘drinking like a horse’ reference, you’re not chinese yet)
13. If you’re under age 20, you own a really expensive walkman if you’re over 20, you own a really expensive camera.
    HAHA! I have neither! I DO want an expensive MP3 player, and an expensive dSLR, but I’m far too stingy for that.
14. You’re a wok user.
    True. Only when there’s space on the stove though. But woks are awesome, because they have depth, which allows a lot of 3D movement.
15. You only make long distance calls after 7pm.
    Erm, not really. I’m on a 3 plan. No difference if I call before or after 7. I only call after 7 if I want to get a person in the USA. Even so, I’ll call about 11 or 12 a.m. (that being 5-6 am there)
16. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached - it means they’re fresh.
    Don’t really eat shrimp or prawns. But yes, when I do, if they have their heads and legs, it means they’re fresh.
17. You never call your parents just to say hi.
    Why waste money! There’s MSN if you want to idle chat with your parents. Wait.. who idle chats with their parents?
18. If you don’t live at home, when your parents call, they’ll ask if you’ve eaten, even if it’s midnight.
    Typical of Chinese people. Normal chinese people don’t say ‘ni hao ma’ when they greet each other. That’s an Americanized version of Chinese culture, or at least it started as an American view of how Chinese people greet each other. Normal chinese people ask if you’ve eaten yet. But globalization has now taken place, and its quite common to see people saying ni hao.
19. Your parents tell you to boil herbs and stay inside when you get sick. They also tell you not to eat fried foods or baked goods because they’re heaty (yeet hay in Cantonese).
    SO TRUE!!!!!! And yes, I do drink those leung char (cooling herbal tea) when I feel ‘heaty’. It works. But I can’t keep away from eating fried and baked foods. Neither can I seem to keep away from heaty foods. Can you stay away from chocolates and Hungry Jacks? No, right? (actually, staying away from Hungry Jack’s is quite easy… just don’t go to the City)
20. You e-mail your Chinese friends at work, even though you only sit 10 feet apart.
    Email? Nah.. IM works. This isn’t limited to chinese people only though. I MSN everyone. Near or far.
21. You always cook too much.
    This used to be a problem. I solved this problem already. For the past 6 weeks, random housemates of mine have been invited to dinner with me. This solves the problem of cooking too much and having too much leftovers to keep. Even with 4-6 people having dinner with me, there are always still leftovers.
22. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don’t eat the last piece of food on the table.
    Duh. You don’t want to look greedy, do you? It’s called politeness and restraint.
23. You starve yourself before going to all you can eat buffet.
    Don’t you? Of course you starve yourself before eating in a buffet. Its value for money! Especially if you paid for it.
24. You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewelry or electronics, computers.
    On computers, yes. On jewelry, no.
25. You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.
    Nope. I don’t own it, but I think I’m one of the few in my house that actually use it. I love using those. Sharp, and precise.
26. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin.
    Why waste toothpaste? Speaking of which, I need to get a new tube.
27. You know why this list consists of only “28″reasons.
    Er… yee fatt?
28. You take this message and forward it to all your Chinese friends.
    Nope. I don’t forward messages.
29. You wrap with napkins all the knives, spoons and forks of the airline that you fly on and put in your travel bag as souvenirs
    You.Paid.For.Them. (And that’s why most planes use cheap plastic forks and knives. That and Al-Qaeda)
30. You never forget to take with you all the unused bath and facial tissues when you check out from the hotel because you believe that you have paid its all.
    You.Paid.For.Them.
31. You will laugh at yourself when you read all of them
    LOL, yes.
32. And you will always proud because you’re Chinese
    Agree

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