Consider this advice, should you fancy moving to China: say
what you actually mean. It sounds simple enough, I think. We’re not liars, are
we? We don’t mutter ‘Not!’ under our breath when we compliment someone, or
reply ‘NASA’s biscuit-testing laboratory’ when people ask us where we work. We
don’t go around telling big fibs about anything and everything, our noses
growing longer by the second, do we? I was born with this nose by the way, smart
arse.
However, I’ve realised I say things like, ‘Let’s go for a
drink sometime’ or ‘We should go out for dinner soon,’ which, while not exactly
lies, aren’t always straightforward. Sometimes I really mean it, sometimes it’s
a vague notion that spending more time with that person isn’t the worst idea in
the world, sometimes it’s kneejerk politeness. Say one of those things in China
and, in our experience, people reply, ‘When? Now? Tomorrow?’
