Our holiday in China is fast approaching and with it the requests from the Chinese family. Each time we go to China some of my wife’s family members got some interesting ideas/ requests. Usually it is something very simple such as certain food supplements, medications, clothes or small electric gadgets. Usually my in-laws are not planning to renovate and move into a new apartment as well. While as Granny, Aunty and the rest of the crazy bunch just asked for small things my dear Chinese mother-in-law has some other ambitions.
The first few requests were not even that bad as they were small items such as few tubes of silicone for the bath or checking for light switches. But MIL wouldn’t be herself without escalating rather quickly by asking us to bring kitchen cabinets, sofas, a toilet, flooring and wallpaper with us. Yes you read right those are all things she believes we can just take with us when flying to China. Some similar ideas she had already back in Finland when visiting us for three months. After my wife told her that it is impossible she told us that we could just have them on our lap when flying…I am serious, she really said it! Who in their right mind would ask others to take a kitchen sink from Germany to China?
Up to this point MIL does not understand why we won’t do such a thing. She is asking all of this because she is 100% certain that all these things are so much cheaper in Germany than in China. Needless to say she was shocked to hear the prices we told her and she accused her daughter to check only in expensive shops. I really do not know how she can still asks us to take these items with us after two months of my wife denying any of those requests. We can handle some small items but what she has on her mind is just ridiculous.
For some reason she also got some weird ideas about how the apartment should be equipped. She really wanted us to get some high-tech toilet such they have in Japan and take it all the way to China. Yes such toilet is incredible expensive and huge. We convinced her that we would not buy such a thing and that it is a real waste of money. She listened and did not ask us about the toilet any longer and simply bought one in China. Somehow I am scared to think how the new apartment will look like when it is finished next year. All I know thus far is that Nathan will have tons of fun pushing all those buttons when going to the toilet.
Has anyone ever asked you to take some stuff with when flying to another country?
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I think the biggest thing I had to take was this huge air purifier to my friend in Germany. And then she asked me to bring a second one. I swear, my suitcase was all air purifier and barely any clothes. And then it was so heavy Lufthansa left it behind.
Also, every time I think I have a handle on your MIL, she steps up her game with things like, I don’t know, a KITCHEN SINK. I think you should ask her to bring an Ikea cabinet to Germany next year and hold it on her lap.
MIL is full of surprises. Today she managed again to mess things up. We have some of our company money in China and we wanted to use that account to pay the flight tickets to japan with it. Well MIL had to buy today furniture for the new apartment and use the card from that account for paying for it. That resulted that we were few RMB shy to pay the tickets today. It was resolved by forcing a customer to pay some bills but still it was so annoying.
Perhaps we should ask her to get us a life sized terracotta warrior 😀
Maddening and indeed, terra-cotta warrior worthy!
your MIL is right – Nathan is already big enough to have his own seat so if you try hard enough you would be able to bring all the stuff she wants!
bad son in law!
Indeed very bad son in law. I am surprised she didnt ask us yet to bring a bed with us…
take the one from the airplane, from the first class :D!
Here in Australia many Chinese like to bring back tins and tins of powdered baby formula, and the grocery shops here have to limit 4 tins per customer. There are even Chinese shops set up specifically to wrap and post it all back to China. Ugg boots and purple lavendar bears are also popular items to take back, and not as bulky.
I’m not one for bringing back things for others while on holiday. My relatives love Aussie chocolate because it’s more creamy and claim the Aussie milk used to make it is better 😂 My mum is the one who likes go bring them back kilos of blocks of Australian-made Cadbury chocolate blocks and M&Ms…all carry by hand luggage because she doesn’t want the sweet stuff to melt in the cargo 😊😂
Well baby formula we also bring along but usually we send packages with them ahead of time to China so we can distribute them when we arrive 🙂
Chocolate is also something MIL loves to take home from Germany. I’d say 3/4 of her luggage are chocolate and snakcs!
Baby formula is so heavy to carry yet some people do it…like you lol. Very nice of you 😀
This is definitely something we have encountered when going back to China. Usually, we bring things such as vitamins, fish oil supplements, Nike shoes, ginseng. My cousin had a baby a year ago, so my dad was shipping baby formula to them as well. It’s funny because my uncle’s family lives a lot more lavishly in China than we do here. They drive a Mercedes and a Range Rover, my aunt only wears designer brands, and they have a housekeeper and a nanny (although labor is much cheaper in China because there are so many people). But we’re still considered more “well off” just because we live in America.
I almost laughed out loud when I read that your MIL wanted you to bring furniture and a toilet and to just carry it in your lap. I thought my mom was unreasonable, but there is no comparison there!
Haha yeah we know such people as well. Few friends in China have just too much money so they don’t even know what to buy next or how to waste it but strangely always imagine that we have it so much better 😮
I can’t believe your MIL asked you to casually bring a sink with you – stored on your lap during the flight 😀 Once you move to China you do really appreciate the good quality products from Europe, especially German… but I think Chinese products are getting better and better and shouldn’t be underestimated. After all, I guess it’s all about the ‘prestige’ for the Chinese and having something imported just sounds really special.
She is a rather interesting person. Pretty much everyone I know in China always want Made in Germany products. Thing is though that most are these days only “Designed in Germany” and you get the standard ” Made in China” label somewhere hidden 🙂
Ha, taking an entire toilet on your lap when flying halfway across the world. That is hilarious! I cannot understand how anyone could expect that. And isn’t that more of a Japanese thing, furthermore why go all the way to Europe for those?
I dont know why she wants suchg toilet suddenly, I guess she saw it at some friends place as she explained “everyone is having them now!”
We have some similar in Germany from some luxury brands but I havent known about it till I googled it…
Laughed out loud at your first paragraph – I guessed what was coming but really had no idea your MIL asked for these amazing things to be brought…too funny….thanks for the laughs.
I think she will aks for something more weird yet to come in the next weeks. There is always more going on in her head even when we tell her that we wont do anything like that
Bwahahaha you could totally bring a sofa with you! Then on the plane you can sit on it and get a discount because you don’t need seats xD
The first times we went abroad C.’s mum asked us to bring some lotions to give her friends, but she hasn’t been asking for anything lately. My husband has to bring presents for dozens of people every time, though… normally chocolate. But we also get little gifts when his colleagues travel somewhere.
MIL always has requests and when she is flying we need to find tons of chocolate and clothes for her friends -.-
I cannot imagine anyone asking us to bring things like that! Some people have asked us to buy things like cosmetics, but a toilet or cabinets? I feel for you.
Yeah cosmetics, special food or similar small items are no problem but my wife’s family is just on another level. Few years back her aunt asked to buy a sofa and transport it from Germany to China for her when flying there…
I’m always very conscientious of suitcase space. And when it comes to gifts or if I’m asking for someone to bring something back, I make sure it’s small. Your MIL takes the cake, and the baker and the shop…
We have never heard anything similar from any other people. We always here that our friends are getting asked to take small items with them but my wife’s family? Oh no, make it as huge as possible. Next thing will be probably a car!