Just Say No

Over our first month of travel, I realized that I wished I had packed somewhat different clothing. The long dresses I brought felt dirty since they would get really hot and stretch out and drag on the ground. I had opted for dresses and skirts instead of shorts, thinking that they might be more culturally appropriate. But women have been wearing shorts everywhere we’ve been, and with lots of shopping opportunities in Hong Kong, we headed out while we were there to find me some shorts and send my more uncomfortable clothes home. Yay!

Once at the mall, we learned that customer service while shopping is a little different in Hong Kong. What’s considered the best service involves the sales ladies following behind customers, hot on their heels, to suggest and pull many things for them to try on. For someone like me who has trouble saying no, this kind of customer service can result in, well, a fashion show. In a store where I ultimately did find some shorts to buy, the sales ladies enthusiastically found me as many things to try on as possible, and John laughed to himself (and at me) as I struggled to turn away all of the options. Although I didn’t have the budget or space in my bag to buy anything besides shorts, I found it impossible to “disappoint” the sales ladies by refusing to try on the things they brought to me. I guess I believed that it would be easier to try on all of the clothes that they were bringing me and then turn them down rather than just politely decline what was offered. This rationale resulted in me trying on this totally awesome outfit (which would be more than a little stifling in Hong Kong summer weather of 90 degrees and 10,000 percent humidity): skinny jeans, a white sequined and studded t-shirt reading “I like my sneakers,” and a pink pleather motorcycle jacket. John, getting a huge kick out of the spectacle, snapped a picture of my ridiculousness.

I almost caved to buying the t-shirt, but fortunately, in the end, I walked out of the store with two pairs of shorts and nothing else. And next time I’ll do my best to buck up and just say no to all of the things I’m not interested in trying on. But, well, trying on clothes is fun, and that jacket was pretty fantastic!