#61 Wrapping your head around China's hongbao and gift giving culture

It's no secret: gifts make China go 'round. As 'laowai', we can choose to play by the cultural norms of the land, or choose to dig our heels in and, well, not! There's loads of grace to go around for the unknowing foreigner, but why choose to be that laowai if we don't have to be. I truly believe that the basics of gift-giving (understanding and avoiding what is sure to offend at all costs) is actually attainable and is a worthy endeavor during our time in China. In this episode, we check out a couple of my own favorite cultural gift-giving failures and successes to get to the bottom of the basics that you need to know.