An old habit....

 In China it's often hard to get small change; even more so now that most people use their cell phones to pay for things instead of using cash. It seems that the whole country instinctively knows about the lack of small change because they do it everywhere. It's hard to break small change. Even though it's been two years now since I moved, yesterday this habit came back. I went to the used book store by the library and bought a few things that were $6. I didn't have a $5 and a $1 so I gave her a $10 and a $1. That way she could give me back a $5. In China, this would be super normal. They wouldn't want a $10 because they'd have to give you back four $1s. They'd much rather prefer a $10 and a $1 so they just give you a $5. However, I'm not in China anymore and the lady looked at me with a confused look: why did I pay $11 instead of just $10? It really threw her off! She gave me back 5 $1 bills.