Bad Habits

I've picked up some bad habits in China. One is pushing around people. I was afraid I would push people after I left so I've been very careful. But at the buffet the other day I wanted to get a plate. A woman with her small child were standing in my way. The mother was pointing at all the choices of dessert and saying each one to her child. I thought to myself, this is taking way too long, and sort of stuck my hand past her, invading her personal space and grabbed a plate. I didn't even apologize. The problem isn't that Chinese people are rude (or maybe you can say they are), it's that if you don't push, you'll get pushed, and you'll wait forever. The second bad habit is leaving my trash on the table at fast food places. At Starbucks, as we were leaving, I left my empty plastic cup on the table. My cousin had to retrieve it. In China they have people whose job it is to clear the tables and my friend was actually scolded for doing it herself. So I got used to just leaving it.