most of the time, when we enter into an eatery, we are greeted with either angry or bored faces. and during busy lunch hours, we sometimes have our clothes soiled with food or soup spilled by clumsy service staff. initially, i was forgiving, but lately, i realised i have been putting up the kind of impatient faces the local customers give, a frown or a stare. i guess angry faces are infectious, especially when people around you are all like that. i must learn to be more gracious! the waitresses all work long hours everyday. i learned this because it’s always the same people serving at the places i frequent, no matter what time or day i go. i do admire these poor girls. for one, i wouldn’t be able to work that kind of long hours because, as many of you know, i am not someone who can吃 that kind of苦. and i think it is really admirable these girls strike an honest living, however hard life might be. in a place like shanghai, it is all too easy to succumb to temptations of good life and nice clothes, and turn to selling their bodies in exchange for material desires. these girls choose to keep their dignity, instead of becoming a 坏女人. for that, i think they do deserve some patience from us. --- shanghai is often touted as the most advance city in the whole of china. and the shanghaineses are proud of this fact. that’s why, when compared to people from other parts of china, they often seem to be more conceited and unfriendly. (generalised view, there are nice shanghaineses too…) in many of the eateries and restaurants that we go to, the shanghaineses are often the managers or captains, while the waitresses and waiters are people who came from the poor countryside or smaller towns. they probably have left their hometown because there were few opportunities to find jobs back home. (sounds like me huh? hurhur...) anyway, it is very common to see these captains of eateries and restaurants shout and scream at the waiters and waitresses, right in front of all the customers. and it is very clear who are the bullies and who are the ones being bullied. there are obvious social classes between shanghaineses and the rest of the chinese nationals. according one singaporean, because of the existence of such classes, it is only right that we also shout at the shanghaineses when satisfactory services are not provided, because in their society, we are in a higher social class since we are “white-collar workers” and foreigners. so he will often scold these people in the service line, be it in eateries or shops, in a very big boss manner. it’s sad behaviour, don’t you think? ok, the service really sucks sometimes, and i can’t stand the way they bully the country people too, but there’s really nothing much you can do. scolding the people who are supposedly one class lower might even result in the anger being passed down to the poor country people. i’d rather be civil, even if i have to stomach some anger. afterall, i am so lucky i was born in an affluent place and received education, and don’t have to suffer like these poor people do. i must really remember all the poor people i meet here, so that for the rest of my life, i won’t forget how lucky i am. do remind me if i ever forget, ok?