It is a common complaint that Hong Kong people are simply loud and rude. It would be a lie to say I haven’t gotten a fair share of eye-rollings and raised voices since living here. People bark at people, services without smiles, customers are not always right…. the list is long.
But, I began to notice a minute difference between downright rudeness and less-polished politeness. A few days ago, I went for a haircut and was assigned a young stylist. Initially, he spoke very softly… in fact, so softly that I could barely hear him. The fact that he spoke really fast made it worse. (The following lines were in Cantonese)
“Weshallstartwithawashfollowedbythecut.”
“Howdoyoulikethetemperature?”
“Canigetyousomewater?”
I made him repeat numerous times. Everytime he had to repeat, he upped his volume, and paused at every single word.
“We.shall.start.with.a.wash.followed.by.the.cut.”
“How.do.you.like.the.temperature?”
“Can.I.get.you.some.water?”
So rude, I thought irritably. There wasn’t any eyes-rollings. There wasn’t any smile on his face either. However, by the time I made him repeat the third line, I realised that he had noticed my heavily English-laced Cantonese. He also seemed to have some problem understanding me in English. The reason why he emphasised every word louder was because he was actually trying to make it easier for me to understand him!
Leather Pumps 