Things I just don't get,.. or getting into the cultural-shock part of things
Why is the basic assumption that the human being as such is stupid
and unable to learn? (excpetions are god-like creatures, eg.
CEOs,university professors and some random people picked by the
individual)
Why, with such an assumption, does any conversation with an
individual older than oneself turn into a class (on how to
clean your plate, cross the road, buy oranges...)
Why is money so much more important than anything else? (anything,
including sleep, friends, time, even food and that's quite an
achievement in Hong Kong!)
Why, if money is so important, would you rather die than shop in
Shenzhen?
Why do you life with your Mum at the age of 42? (I am not talking
exception here... and "living with", is to be read as "never
having lived anywhere else and Mum is doing the washing and the
cooking... though one usually pays for staying)
Why, if family is the most important thing in life, nobody wants to
have kids?
Why does every second item you buy in a supermarket need a own
plastic bag? (10 items, 5 plastic bags, no kidding)
Why is there no such thing as a salad on menus? (and if there is,
does one have to drown is in mayonnaise untill a tomato salad
turns white?!?)
Why is the answer "cannot" or "don't know", before I even finished
my question?
Why does being colonized make you superior? (frequent statement
"you know, people in Hong Kong are just higher quality than in
China" What?!?)
Why is it wrong to sit together around a table to find a solution?
Why do you explain me how to cook something, if you have never
cooked in your entire life? (especially with the introduction
"oh, that's really easy...")
Why do you still assume that English is my mother tongue, even when
you know that I am from Germany?
Why do you discriminate against yourselves? (seriously, as a white
person, you still have quite some priveligious... even in HK)
Why do you consider being "Chinese" as an insult for everything
backward, while you still think it is the only existing culture
on earth?
Why is everything, all the time "not save"? (like oranges, wooden
chop-sticks, pork, everything produced in PRC (so basically
everyting)...)??
Why is the normal drinking water you buy distilled? (and why hasn't
anybody died of it? This is what I've been told as a kid, would
happen if I drunk it...)
Why do you never, ever, ever loose your temper? (and even if you
do, why does it still look like you don't?)
Why are you unable to accept compliments? (but are offended if you
don't receive any... and anyway, what is one supposed to say,
when you are making a compliment?)
Why has everything connected to social activity to be sooooooo
complicated that you don't feel like doing it at all?
Why is the only thing you can book at a travel agent a "packet"?
("I only want a flight" - "I have a packet for you including
hotel at a completely different date" - "No, I just want a
flight" - „Cannot“)
Why is it more difficult to find tourist information on Shenzhen,
than tourist information on Honolulu?
Why does everybody tell everyone about everything, except there
person concerned? (like a broken vending machine... why not
just tell the guy,who is paid to fix it????)
Why, if everybody knows anyway, has everything to be confidential?
(like, having a Christmas party, getting married, giving a
gift, going for dinner together...)
Why is the city decorated with Mickey Mouse for the beginning of
the year of the earth rat? (especially, if you hate the
DisneyLand you have on your own territory?)
Why do you always order extra plates at Dim Sum, when everybody is
already full?
And, why oh why!, does the question "why" not exist? - The only answer one receives, is a puzzled look...
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* Disclaimer: I like my colleagues, they are very willing to help and most of the time also very helpfull... it's just that sometimes..., you know
Samstag, 19. Januar 2008
