"It's better for you..."

... to not have a ceiling fan in the living room, to pay extra and get things we dont want for the new motor bike, to book a flight on a day we cannot leave, to not at all have the dining table made anylonger, although I paid deposit two months ago and was just waiting for delivery. Et cetera. There is so much I dont understand in this culture, but by now it is pretty clear that whenever you here the "it's better for you"-phrase - and you do quite often - you can be sure it's not.
And I try to not get frustrated, as I wont be able to get upset, much less angry, anyway. That will only make the already strange stranger look even more silly!
Then, I am reading. "Geography of Thought. How Asians and Westerners think differently... and why" and think I learn some. Not only about context and detail, group belonging and individualism and why strangers are being seen as so strange, but also about Confucianism, Taoism, the old Greeks ... and Buddha, of course.

Oooooooooooooooooommmmm.......