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One dish? One dish?! In my part of the world, that's a joke, questioner.India is a diverse country, and doubly so when it comes to food. It would be presumptuous to pinpoint a list of dishes for the whole country, so I'll stick to my part of it - Bengal, where food is more important than oxygen, and that's not even an understatement I'm making. I'm pretty sure this answer would come along sooner or later, but as a proud Bengali, I must advise you to try the following -1. Rasgullas. (Roshogolla)The quintessential sweet in our part of the country, and almost synonymous with the word Bengali. While Sandesh (another type of sweet) is just as famous, the Rasgulla's where it's at. It's made of a sort of Indian cottage cheese called chhana, with a light sugary syrup. Variations, of course, are present in the dozens. Given below is the basic version -2. Mishti doi (Sweet Yogurt)As the name suggests, it's a type of sweetened yogurt which is generally served chilled, and tastes heavenly. A friendly piece of advice - make sure you get a mouthful of the top of the yogurt if you get the chance. The top, as you can see below, has a different consistency from the actual pudding, and a slightly higher concentration of sweetness. The clashing textures in a mouthful have been known to make grown men weep.3. The Kati RollThe Kati Roll, or simply the roll as it is now known in Kolkata, originally consisted of meat packed inside flatbread, but now extends to any sort of filling. And of course, you can get an addon - the egg, which coats the inner side of the bread on your demand.4. The fish. The fish, rather. Hilsa, or Ilish, as it is known in Bengal.The common stereotype amongst North Indians - however much they deny it - is that Bengalis cannot live without their Maaccher Jhol (fish curry), and they wouldn't be far from the truth.Fish has been an integral part of Eastern India's diet, and the Hilsa is the crowning jewel of it all. Indeed, it feels criminal to call it the Hilsa, when it's rightful name is Ilish. (Eel - ish). Preparations vary, but the one below is my favourite - Shorshe Ilish - or Smoked Hilsa with mustard seeds. Divine. Wikipedia agrees that there are 108 distinct ways to cook this beautiful fish.5. BiryaniI'm sure that this has been mentioned before, but Kolkata's got a whole new take on it, which is in my opinion, superior to the rest. Hyderabadis will disagree. Indeed, intense debates have occurred and even wars have been waged over this matter. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. Or maybe not. Kolkata's biryani must be consumed with its trusty sidekick, Mutton or Chicken Chaanp (a savoury meat dish with a thick curry), which is basically the Indian equivalent of a heart attack on a plate. But it's as good for the soul, as it is bad for the heart.6. PhuchkaWhich came first, the Panipura or the Phuchka? It doesn't matter, because ask any Bengali and he'll claim that the latter's the one that tastes better, and that's that. Phuchka consists of a crispy outer covering, filled with tamarind chutney and flavoured water, with a filling of potatoes, spices and chillies. It's the mother of all street food in Kolkata, and intense competitions have been waged over who can eat more, which has resulted in many streaming noses, teary eyes, and broken friendships (when the time comes to pay). It's simple street food at it's very best. And yep, it's served in cups of dried Sal (a type of indigenous tree) leaves, so it's eco-friendly as well. Just saying. Take that, Panipuri.Of course, I've barely scratched the surface here. Food is one of the ultimate forms of love for Bengalis, and I speak from the heart as a try Bong - as our nickname goes. The list of dishes is endless, from Potoler Dorma (Stuffed Pointed Gourd) to Chingri Maacher Malaikari (A coconut-y preparation of prawns which is frankly the best thing ever made). Add on to the fact that Bengal, for the longest time, was the cultural capital of India during British rule, and the food here is a fantastic explosion of the best of Western and Eastern cuisines. But a complete Bengali dish would be something like this -There's a little bit of love for everybody.PS - Because I can. Yes, that's a Tiger Prawn Malaikari right there, and it's the best damn thing I'll ever taste.

Problem BuyersYes, difficult customers exist everywhere, but on eBay things are a bit more complicated than they are for most retail venues. eBay customers can't inspect goods before purchasing, yet the range of goods to be found on eBay (new, used, top quality, discount import quality, recent, vintage, complete, parted out, etc.) means that customers don't know what to expect from eBay goods in the same way that they do from items at a big box retail store. At the same time, customers' certainty that they're about to get a fabulous deal, the distances that are often involved between buyer and seller, and the fact that buyers can publicly leave negative feedback or poor detailed seller ratings that can sink your business all make eBay retail particularly susceptible to the "problem buyers" problem.eBay sellers have to take extra care to use great photos and item descriptions, to provide clear condition information and disclaimers, to handle refund requests with their best customer service foot forward, to invest in and protect their feedback, to win the buyer protection battle if necessary, cope with chargebacks, and to block problem buyers from ever turning up in their backyard again.Lockout Due to Feedback or ChargebacksOf course, all the measures in the world won't completely eliminate problem buyers or the chargebacks and poor feedback that they can create. These are a particular problem for eBay sellers not just because they're inconvenient, embarrassing, or affect cash flow, but because they can actually lead to the effective inability to carry on day-to-day business. Both eBay and PayPal are known (regrettably known, if you're a seller; happily known, if your a buyer) for locking or suspending accounts that see poor feedback or repeated (or very large) chargebacks.Once this happens, your doors are closed—you items are delisted, you can't create new ones, sales grind to a halt and/or all of the funds in your PayPal account and linked bank accounts become unavailale to you pending resolution of all outstanding customer complaints. Sellers that reregister after getting suspended aren't doing themselves any favors, since they're likely to be locked out almost immediately once again thanks to eBay's deep database cross-referencing abilities while at the same time doubling eBay's determination to keep them out.This is why the best policy for eBay sellers is that "the customer is always right," even when a problem buyer is very, very wrong. The alternative is often just the end of an eBay business or the long, arduous, and uncertain process of account reinstatement.Non-Transparent Ebay SanctionsThe arrival of best match search placement and detailed seller ratings in recent years has led to a shadowy set of rules and criteria by which eBay seems to make some sellers effectively disappear or suffer—by moving auctions to the absolute end of search results, preventing them from appearing on category pages for common items or even in search results, ending fee discounts and/or increasing fees, limiting access to customer service for sellers that previously had enhanced access, changing the buyer protection calculation based on past performance, and so on.At times it isn't enough to monitor your seller performance rating and dashboard; some sellers have been shocked and confused to find themselves "punished" in these ways, often losing a large percentage of their volume and revenue, even after years of determined attention to detail and customer satisfaction. On eBay, at least at times, it appears that the motto "Caveat venditor!" ("Let the seller beware!") is one that sellers need to take to heart, perhaps by ensuring that they have eBay alternatives amongst their selling partnerships to pick up the slack, should eBay decide to get fickle on them.Poor Shipper PerformanceAs a "mail order" business in the most basic sense, eBay selling relies heavily on shipping carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and others for the success of its sellers and the satisfaction of its buyers. Unfortunately, as we all know, shippers are a third party in this game, their performance often beyond the control of both buyers and sellers. Transacting and shipping promptly when a listing closes can help to mitigate things like weather delays, traffic delays, absentee deliveries, natural disasters, strikes, and other things over which shippers have no control, while packing carefully, using great packing materials, considering shipping insurance, and taking care to use a shipment method that provides package tracking can help to limit shipper damage and/or its effects on the seller-customer relationship.Fulfilment ProblemsSellers that use a fulfilment partner or service or that work with a drop shipper have to work with an additional layer of uncertainty in their transactions, as their performance is closely tied to the performance of their fulfilment or drop shipping partner. While most of the time full-on fulfilment services like ShipWire perform fabulously, ad-hoc fulfilment "partners" that are actually other retailers (orders placed directly on Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more, Bedding, Furniture, Electronics, Jewellery, Clothing & more, http://Buy.com, or other similar outlets and shipped directly to your customers, for example) are much more uneven, while drop shippers can be notoriously spotty and (if chosen poorly) can spell disaster for your fulfilment process. This is why it pays to carefully weigh the risks associated with various eBay business models, particularly the no overhead models, and to pay special attention to drop shippers and drop shipping best practices if this is the eBay business model you choose.Already overwhelmed? Don't be. We're just halfway through. Read on for the other five risks that every eBay seller should monitor and manage.Counterfeit goods.Buyers have trouble believing that sellers often don't realize that the goods they're selling are counterfeit until the buyer discovers that they are and returns to the seller in fury, but of course too many sellers know this to be all too often the case. When you're running a business, your goal is always to source as cheaply as possible, then to turn around and sell with the best markup you can manage. Sellers aren't necessarily experts in the goods that they sell or in verifying authenticity for many kinds of high-valuye items; if a supplier or partner tells you that the goods are real, more often than not you'll simply take their word for it. But it still pays to attend to many of the same tips for avoiding counterfeit goods as you source that apply to buyers as they shop, and to take some of the same measures if you suspect that you've been affected. Of course, when a buyer discovers that you've sold them something that isn't quite the real thing, it's also important to make them whole as quickly as possible so as not to negatively impact either your feedback or your ability to sell on eBay in the future.Unwittingly illegal activity.eBay sellers sell a mind-boggling variety of goods sourced from a mind-boggling array of suppliers, and they ship these (or have them shipped) to a mind-bogglingly assorted, global population of buyers. With these as the parameters to work with, it can be an impossible task to keep track of what's allowed and what's forbidden for any particular locale from which a buyer plans to make a purchase. After all, no seller is an expert in the local regulations the world over. This is why it's important to use common sense about what not to sell on eBay and to check eBay's prohibited items policy on a regular basis. There are some kinds of illegal activity that sellers can prevent of their own accord, however—so be sure as a seller to register and/or license your business, pay your taxes, and avoid engaging in borderline fraud or software and media piracy, even if bending the rules about these things seems tempting. After all, the alternative may be the loss of your business and income.Poor business choices.Because of the global-yet-single-market nature of eBay, sellers on eBay are particularly susceptible to losses that result from poor business choices that wouldn't harm most brick-and-mortar retailers, at least at the local level. eBay sellers need to be aware of supply and demand and the timing of their selling at all times and to avoid eBay-specific pitfalls like overusing eBay's listing promotions, competing against themselves or listing more to pay due fees in a marketplace of limited size, or letting their eBay fees get out of control and sink them.Identity theft through phishes and spoofs.This is a venerable risk that isn't quite as serious as it once was since the public today is more educated about this risk and since many computer protection software packages now include tools to mitigate against this risk. Nonetheless, it deserves a mention because it continues to be an issue for eBay buyers and sellers alike. Phishes and spoofs are email messages that appear to come from eBay but actually don't. Their purpose is to get you to think that you've received an email from eBay and trick you into either attempting to "log into eBay" within the email message itself or click on a link in the email message that takes you to what looks like an eBay login page, and get you to try logging in there. In either case, you won't be supplying your login and password to eBay (for purposes of entering the eBay website) but in fact to a third party impersonating eBay, who simply wants your eBay login and password. They'll use these either to begin selling as you on eBay, from your eBay account (fraudulently selling, that is, in order to leverage your great feedback to scam buyers while directing the blame to you), or they'll use them to immediately try them out on every big bank and ecommerce site in the world to see if they can empty your bank accounts into theirs. Either way, the result isn't fun, so be sure that you understand everything that there is to know about phishes and spoofs before you take any action (even a simple one like clicking a link) on an email message that seems to come from eBay.Unhappiness and depression.There are certain realities in the eBay retail business that aren't to be found in many other small businesses or forms of retail. As an eBay seller you're not just at the mercy of suppliers and carriers as is the case for most brick-and-mortar shops; you're also at the mercy of fulfillment partners, the eBay website and marketplace, and PayPal, eBay's payment processor. That's a lot of control not to have. In fact, when it comes right down to it, a lot of what an eBay business amounts to is clicking on website buttons and forms and hoping that they do what you want them to do and that it all works out as you expect it to in the end. But the result really isn't up to you; it's up to these other organizations, not just at the level of performance, but also at the level of their policies. When things do go wrong, eBay sellers can find themselves not only feeling as though that new rule or that non-transparent decision somewhere inside eBay is unfair, but also as if there's nobody to turn to for support, since life inside an eBay small business is often a matter of one person sitting at one computer, with no co-workers or regular face-to-face contacts to speak of. There are ways to try to chase away the blues that can come from this kind of business, but at the end of the day only certain temperaments and personalities are well-suited to the typical eBay business organization, so it pays to be aware of the unhappiness risk that can lurk inside one.

For Finland:You’d better sort your trash / recyclables according to the bin layout of your apartment building’s trash room, or the bin layout of the nearest municipal sorting station, or some of the little old ladies in your neighborhood will get very angry at you.Most beverage bottles and cans – including liquor or wine bottles bought from Alko, the state monopoly liquor store chain – have a deposit on them which is refunded to you when you return them to a reverse vending machine.Such reverse vending machines are typically located in the entrance area of every grocery store or supermarket, or sometimes in the back of the store. The per-can-or-bottle deposits (and subsequent refunds) range from €0.10 to €0.40 according to the size and material of the bottle. The machine will print a receipt which you can cash or use for paying purchases in the store where the machine is located.Finns dutifully return their deposit bottles and cans as part of their normal grocery routine. Unlike in some other countries, this is not seen as something best left for “the poor” to do. It is generally seen as irresponsible to put the cans or bottles in the “normal” trash or toss them away, or just leave them lying about.Public transit is excellent within the capital area (you don’t necessarily need or want a car), sort of OK-ish in the second and third-tier cities, and, well, available in the countryside (in the form of long-distance buses), but there you need to plan ahead, and mostly cannot use public transit for commuting but need a car as a necessity of life. Railroad service is quite good if you live in an urban center along the main tracks of the network, but the rural stations are now mostly inactive and the trains will not stop at them. In any case, public transit is all quite clean and safe, orderly, and again, it’s just another means of travel for normal people – there’s no “poor people” stigma attached to it as there is in some countries. E.g. in the capital Helsinki, school kids commonly travel alone to and from their school using public transit.Finns – kids and adults alike – eat lots of candy. Any larger supermarket will have a huge pick-and-mix candy aisle in addition to an aisle with candy bags – and at least one third of the available varieties will usually be salty licorice, or salmiakki, in its different forms – the unique “salt” flavoring here being sal ammoniac, aka ammonium chloride, not table salt. Almost any mixed candy bag sold in Finland will also have salmiakki candy in it so better get used to it!The local TV networks show lots of imported foreign shows and movies. These are mostly bought from the Anglosphere countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia), but you also get some Scandinavian shows, classic German cop/detective shows, and an occasional Italian or Spanish show. All are shown in their original language, but with Finnish subtitles. The same goes for foreign-language interview segments in news and current affairs shows – they are subtitled, not dubbed or voice-overed. (Dubbing is seen as “dumbing down” and something only suitable for kids: Finnish TV channels generally only dub animated shows meant for kids under reading age.)Finns are fond of coffee and consume lots of it, but not in the hipster-artisan-barista-coffeeshop sense. Typical Finnish coffee is lightly-roasted drip-filter coffee sold in half-kilo packs in a supermarket and brewed at home (or in an office) in a Moccamaster, or some such.Back in the day, a common form of Finnish socializing used to be to go and visit someone in their home, sit down at a table and be offered a cup of coffee and pulla while relating the latest news. A pack of ground coffee was something you commonly brought as a gift with you when visiting somebody in their home. Finns were also something of traditionalists in the sense that most people would really only appreciate a couple of well-known “good” brands from the biggest Finnish roasters, such as Paulig’s Presidentti or Juhla Mokka, and think that you’re being stingy and cheap if you bring Saludo or Gevalia. Darker roasts or more exotic blends were something an ordinary older-generation Finn would not touch simply because coffee should be this one, standard thing, and why complicate things for no reason. (OK, the now bygone generations ground their coffee themselves using manual coffee grinders, and brewed the beverage on wood-burning stoves in coffee pots made of copper, but it’s mostly been drip-filter coffee ever since the 1970s or so.)In the recent two decades or so, the variety of blends and degrees of roasts has exploded in the stores, and some people even grind their coffee themselves once again, so Finns have gotten at least a little bit more adventurous. Also, many younger weaklin… people have turned to teas, instead. What is more, people generally no longer just pop at someone’s door uninvited, so the rules of conduct in Finnish socializing have changed. It is at least good to be aware of whether the person you’re visiting is a coffee person or a tea person, to determine whether to bring a pack of coffee or tea with you… yet, you should be fully aware of the perceived prestige and quality of the different brands in order not to make yourself look like a cheapskate.While fresh drip-filter coffee brewed at home is OK, regular coffee served in cafeterias, workplaces, marketplaces etc. is often quite horrible. This is generally since it’s been sitting far too long on the hot plate, not brewed on order, and nobody seems to be responsible for maintaining a good cleaning regime of the equipment. If any alternatives are available, better have something Italian-sounding that is made on order, or brewed using single-serve pods instead of the bitter, black, oily poison scraped from the bottom of the hot-plate pot which has been sitting on that counter for who knows how long.At workplace, the hierarchy is generally low and people are on first-name terms regardless of their position. In most places, you’re expected to function autonomously and use your own judgement and proactively bring things that need attention to the attention of your supervisor and suggest improvements instead of just silently doing as you’re told and ignoring anything that’s outside the requirements of your current task.When using public transit, your natural seating arrangement is whatever scheme will give you the greatest distance from the other passengers that are already there. If it helps, pretend that each of you has a different but equally lethal contagious disease.No tipping in restaurants – or anyplace else for that matter – unless you get truly exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime, bend-over-backwards service, and a blowjob. Unlike in some other countries, here people in the service and hospitality industry generally get paid for their work and do not need to resort to alms for survival.The panhandlers in the street corners that look Romanian, are professional, internationally-traveling Roma beggars from Romania; quite a recent phenomenon in Finland, their traveling being enabled by the Schengen treaty. They usually return home for the winter time to emerge again the next summer. The occasional bums that look Finnish (and likewise want your change, which you generally don’t have since you use plastic money for all purchases) are Finnish; typically homeless alcoholics. The teenage girl or young woman who has lost their bus/train ticket and needs your (monetary) help for acquiring a new one has not actually lost her bus/train ticket or keeps losing it suspiciously often.