Having been in HK for some time now it never ceases to amaze me the multitude of idiosyncratic behaviour exhibited by asians, or at least in this case Cantonese people. Perhaps the hectic daily lifestyle and lack of general humour in daily social life causes relief to be found at the misfortune of others. Admittedly, initially being the ignorant foreigner I have been the subject of such ridicule, but am progressivel finding myself at the other end of the spectrum - and horrifyingly, loving it.
An example: MTR subway system (literally translates to be Mass Transit Railway) has thoughtfully tried to humanize (by this I mean differentiating humans from animals) the state of people catching this mode of transport by clearly designating exit/ entry points with colour coded uniformed "human" ushers to keep things in check.
Now picture this: Wanchai MTR at 6pm. The clearly designated "queue lines" have disappeared, what was previously a relatively empty station suddenly not much different to a can of sardines. Survival of the fittest really does come into play here, and I can now attest that in Hong Kong at the very least when it comes to battling for seating or getting to the front of the queue, that the elderly are NOT disadvantaged. My concepts of "giving way" to the elderly were shattered the day an elderly citizen bolted faster than an over-steroid-laden Olympian who had just knocked down 20 grams of speed. If being elderly can achieve that, then surely count me in.
Example 2: Running late for work, its pouring down with rain and you have just bought breakfast - hands are full with food and umbrella. You see the lift to your office ahead of you, with one person inside. Normal courtesy would call for the person to momentarily hold open the door.
Now consider yourself the person inside the lift. In Hong Kong, time is of the essence.
That slow person (hardly can be classified a fellow human being) who is holding breakfast and his umbrella running for the lift is obviously wasting you precious time and keeping you from reaching your office 1 second earlier, so u can rearrange your pencils before you boss can say"Good morning", so you decide in all rationality to press the "Close Door" button before they can reach the lift door. Whoever told you to buy breakfast? Its your own damn fault for not being more keen about your job.
Afterwards, i innocently tried that lift trick (i felt guilty as hell), but it felt great. I even laughed out loud in the empty elevator. And then I realised that in all my years of being asian, only now for the first time did I really experience what I hated most.
