My strange dream...

took place at some sort of fast food establishment. There were several Asian-Americans in front of me in the line to the cash register. The worker at the front would hand them their food then exclaim a loud "shi-shi," butchering the Chinese word for thank you, "xie-xie." Each time, I would cringe and shudder uncontrollably, the butchering being THAT offensive and unneccesary, at that. Why not just say "thank you?" They obviously spoke English, as they ordered in perfect English. When I approached the counter, I did everything in my power to act as "American" as possible so he wouldn't assume that I too needed a Chinese thank you at the end of my order.