28 days = 4 weeks = 1 month! …and I’m still alive 🙂 To celebrate the fact I’m still breathing, here are a few things I still cannot figure out about this country in which I’m now living:
- Why does the “rule” of biggest mass win out on the roadways? Pedestrians here have less chance at crossing safely than deer caught in headlights on a back country road.
- There’s a definitive lack of acknowledging others while out in public. Walking down the sidewalk while being heads down involved on one’s cellphone, not moving slightly to the side to let someone approaching you pass without physically brushing by, and pushing to get onto a bus or elevator seems to be the norm. Speaking of elevators, no one seems to know what to do when you’re in the back of it and you say “excuse me”; no one moves! 对不起 (duìbúqî) is the phrase for “I’m sorry” in Mandarin…
- Why waiters (服务员/fúwùyuán) hover over you the MOMENT they give you the menu as if you magically know what you want to order… I need to learn “give me a moment”!
- And the most confusing issue of all, why does wine cost so much here?!? After moving from California where, depending on the current drought conditions, wine is sometimes cheaper than water!
Many thoughts on #2 above but the bottom line is that most Asians in general are rude and pushy. Even here in London I’ve been pushed and run over by several. After living in Korea for 2 years I’ve learned it’s the same everywhere.
Finally caught up on the blog. Glad work is good, bank and phone are good and you’re good. And alive. ☺
Where I’m living, the pushy behavior is more of the rare exception than the rule and only seems to be limited to getting on transportation type things: busses, trains, elevators…