Leave me alone please

If getting married goes beyond the issue of two individuals and involves two families, then being single is not quite a personal issue but involves at least one's whole family.

In my case, my singlehood somehow concerns my mum (unfortunately) and anything that concerns my mums concerns my whole family, plus a bunch of relatives from both of my mum's and dad's sides.

Sounds like an catastrophe? Indeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed.

Chinese New Year is a perfect occasion for relatives to gather and exchange bits and pieces about this and that (and for my mum to talk about bits and pieces about me). Being the eldest girl in the family with one married younger sister and dating younger sisters, I have just committed a sin by remaining single at my age.

Despite repeated clarification, my mum somehow hooked my singlehood to my desicion to quit my job and study overseas and half-jokingly asserted that further education lazed my youth away and killed my dismal chance of getting a boyfriend. My mum also grumbled that I said I would never get married though I can't remember saying anything alike, let alone that's not what I think.

Is that all they are concerned about? Getting married and having babies?

So suddenly I become a desperate-aging-highly-educated-but-about-to-go-jobless-girl-turning-spinster.

The more I want to explain myself, the more they think I am desperate. The fact is, I am made desperate instead of genuinely feeling desperate in the first place.

But maybe I should be glad about one thing: if becoming a spinster is my family's only concern over my decision to quit my job and study, then it's not really a concern at all. Anyway, I may end up the same keeping my job here.

You may be rich, but you're not cultured--enough

I was frozen in awe with my mouth falling agape when I watched from the TV news what was happening at the entrance of the HK Disneyland after crowds of visitors with valid tickets were locked out because it was overbooked. It's not another WTO protest staged by Korean peasants but a Disneyland protest staged by our Mainland counterparts.

I believe kind of Chinese-red-guard type of revolutionary spirit runs in their blood. After being informed the Disneyland was full and declined entrance, some visitors were so discontented that they crawled over the gate and successfully landed in the territory of the Magic Kingdom in the roaring triumphant chant; whilst some sobbed in disappointment.

Luckily, it happened in Hong Kong but not other tourist attractions spotting all over the world (partly because only HK Disneyland can be so crappy in administration).

Thanks to the economic advancement in recent years, an unprecedented number of Mainlanders are now able to travel to other parts of the world. However, the kind of social development which allows them to act in harmony with others' culture seems to be lagging far behind. They act in the big-bossy way back in their homeland where the rich and big spenders are the kings and are bound to do whatever they like.

I'm not a racist who look down on our own people but I'm highly aware of our reputation as a race. There were reports that some restaurants in other countries refused to entertain Chinese travel groups because of their I-am-the-King attitude and embarrassing table manners (well...it was reported that they flushed their nose with the expensive table cloth in a classy restaurant).

Like Japanese tourists in the 60s, it takes some time for the social development to catch up with the booming economy and for us to learn the right tourist attitude (though I believe HK tourists can also be embarrassing in other cities).

Back in town, it takes some time for the HK Disneyland to learn that the kind of American arrogance does not work here and to realize that they may be a prestigious brand name, but they're not respectful to visitors--enough.