What's Wrong With Napkins?

Whenever we were on our way out of a restaurant, I used to be really embarrassed when my grandma would stuff the unused napkins into her purse.  The whole Chinese people being cheap stereotype would suddenly ring tremendously loud and clear.  I always wished she would just leave them but more concerning was that nobody would see me.  If I ever did anything that let on I was a bit mortified, my grandma would make an even bigger deal about it.  The Chinese way is to be cheap but not to be ashamed of it, we hold our heads up high and boast of all the money we saved (even if it's not really that much).

I always wondered why my Chinese grandma was so adamant about taking those napkins.  It's not like we couldn't afford napkins on our own.  We had plenty of napkins.  

Buffets were another thing.  Despite the signs saying we were forbidden to take food out, big purses and napkins spoke otherwise.  

In fact, I used to be really ashamed.  I also used to think cheapness was a Chinese thing.  And then I grew up and I realized, my grandma wasn't always being cheap.  She was being frugal, smart, and green (okay, maybe not with the buffets so much but the restaurants would just throw the unused napkins away anyway).  I also now recognize that cheapness doesn't discriminate.  On top of that, I myself have inherited quite a bit of those habits that used to drive me crazy.  Am I cheap?  Or am I Chinese?  It's debatable... 

Plus, we really love our napkins.  Though we weren't wealthy by any means, we also weren't poor.. and yet, growing up, the bathrooms in our house would more often than not, run out of toilet paper and my mom would always forget to buy more.  So most of the time, a pile of napkins would be the only solution.  My brother and I used to bug my mom about it, and whenever we did.. she'd reply with, "What's wrong with napkins?!"  

A good Chinese daughter would say nothing.  But I'm not always a good Chinese daughter...