A lot can be learnt when you ride MTR in Hong Kong, as I have already mentioned in another post.
Here are two extra lessons I'd like to share with you.
Morning Lesson at 8:18 a.m.
I found my octopus card needed to be replenished, when my card beeped at the gate.
At the machine, I heard a roaring noise hitting my way. Then I saw a man and a kid were coming my way.
That immediately caught my attention, as the man was howling in English.
"Didn't I tell you ... never speak English in front of people... People will get jealous and they will hit/ hate you..., you know?", the man said.
That's the only sentence I heard the father said, though I am not sure if he said "hit" or "hate".
Obviously the father was giving his son a life lesson.
Besides, I can tell the man was from Singapore, from the father's accent.
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Side note:
How do you tell when someone is a non-Hong Konger?
It's difficult to explain but it's easy to tell, when you have lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years.
Besides, Singaporeans speak English with a different accent.
The best analogy would be... some native Mandarin Chinese would ask me if I was from Hong Kong when I spoke Mandarin.
This always put me to shame.
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His father might fear that his son's schoolmates would discriminate his beloved son, based on his superiority in English ability. (English is the mother tongue in Singapore.)
The father's worries could be valid.
But then, I think he was asking too much for a 7 or 8 year-old to have the ability to protect himself from this "language induced" discrimination.
Another lesson happened in the evening at 6:05 a.m.
People trolled MTR compartments for seats during rushing-hours.
(Click hereto see a picture what's like during peak hours.)
This evening, two ladies walked in front of me inside a MTR compartment.
Obviously, they had the same mission as mine - in search for a seat.
Suddenly, an empty spot popped up within sight. I am sure they also spotted it too, but they digressed.
"An obvious empty seat is right there, why don't they take it?"
A single-eyed man sitting next to that empty spot was the answer.
His provoking look made space for himself.
I usually had no hesitation regarding to *look*, so I sat down.
For the next ten minutes, the word "discrimination" hovered over my head and I was doubting if I had made the right move...
A funny smell was there and I suspected it was from that person, which I was not aware of before taking the seat.
Well,... I thought I did not discriminate, but then, my noise was too good.
Whoever said "Discrimination does not exist in developed countries or city" never had to read this page.
