"别跟我来这一套!"

A culture that recoils from "thank you"s is a fascinating one to me. I had lunch with a Chinese friend today, and she was frank with me about her frustrations with China after six years of living in the States.

For one thing, Chinese people don't think much of "thank you" or "please." That type of culture of etiquette, to a large degree, doesn't exist in China. That's not to say that the Chinese aren't thankful. They just don't express it in the same way we do--by saying so. And when they do, it's often an adornment, something that's somewhat 过分, or "over the top."

My friend described her first return back to China after her time in the U.S. Back at home, she began to use words such as "please" when asking for things and "thank you" when receiving things. It wasn't long before her mother became angry with her. “你怎么搞的？怎么一下子是“请”，一下子又是“谢谢”？我又不是陌生人--你别跟我来这一套！” I've heard similar accounts from other friends, and it reminded me of the strange mix of cultures that I come from.

It also reminded me of how American I am. Nevertheless, Happy Chinese New Year. 年糕万岁!