Chapter 35 Why don't you try "do as the Romans do"?

The "rule" in Hong Kong is to spread the net, which controls both Hong Kong people and outsiders. The locals do not reject the "vulgar" of Hong Kong, those from the Mainland are "not vulgar", have their own personalities, and don't like to follow others' advice. When they are newcomers, they may not all be willing to bow their heads. After I was stationed in Hong Kong, I gradually realized that "do as the Romans do" is really a topic here. After thinking about it, I felt that there are two levels of objective objective in this matter: first, the primary stage of "doing as the Romans do"—if someone comes to Hong Kong occasionally , traveling, shopping, and visiting relatives and friends. At this time, "do as the Romans do" is just polite to him: a little respect for the customs of Hong Kong, a temporary "pretend" with every gesture, and there is no need to force yourself to change the original style; but "do as the Romans do as the Romans" has another The second stage, the advanced stage - this is a difficult problem for people who have settled down or are here for a long time. For example, I have been working in Hong Kong for a period of time, and I can’t leave if I want to. If I don’t "do as the Romans do", what will happen Call me Zhener, if I want to do my own way, the environment will say "no" to me. This environment, that is, "conventional", no relatives, no reason, no smiling face, just like a steel brush, combing my messy hair every day hair until one day straightening them out one by one—

I have been in the station for about half a year, and the "brush" in Hong Kong has already repaired me to the point where I have no temper inside and out.At the beginning I didn't want to "follow the crowd". I didn't try to prove that I was a character with "personality". Frankly speaking, I didn't like Hong Kong very much. Why?There are too many reasons, and a two-year-old child can’t count with his fingers. For example, Hong Kong is a place with a small sky and a lot of cars and roads. For Yankees, the food is unpalatable, the language is difficult to learn, and the climate is hot and humid for seven or eight months. Whenever they go to the streets, there are as many people on the streets as toad bones by the river, swarming continuously... So When I first came to Hong Kong, I was not used to, adapted to, or accepted everything here. In a word: I didn’t want to “do as the Romans do”.

However, I "don't" do as the Romans do, and I didn't get any good things: "embarrassment", "trouble", "angry from embarrassment", and in the end, I almost took my life. It's a bit precarious to say that, as if to scare people? Let me talk about embarrassment first-- There are many people in Hong Kong society, but isn't the thought of humanity spreading everywhere?Aren't there escalators everywhere, above and below ground, in shops and subways?Everyone is very self-disciplined to enjoy these special "human" facilities. If there is no urgent matter, the user will usually stand on the right hand and leave a foot-wide space for the left hand for those who are in a hurry to run up and down.If you don't know this "vulgarity" and don't follow this "vulgarity", you will become a rascal instead of a fool in the eyes of the locals.Once on the escalator of a flyover in Hong Kong, I was pointed at by a little boy (Hong Kong dialect: a child) and asked her mother: "Mommy, can someone explain? Paint the line?" (Hong Kong dialect: "This person What's the matter? Is there something wrong?") I turned my head and saw that the little girl's little finger was still standing upright in the air, and at the same time, I realized that I was indeed standing on the left hand of the escalator stupidly, alone, motionless, blocking run with others.Immediately, I felt ashamed and quickly dodged and hid behind the mother and daughter.This incident made me taste for the first time the embarrassment of "not" following the Romans in Hong Kong.

Let alone the trouble—— In the climate of Hong Kong, the average humidity on many days in summer is above 95%. What does this 95% mean?It means that if every household in Hong Kong does not close the doors and windows, and does not turn on the air conditioner or dehumidifier, the walls will cry.How can the wall "tear"?There is too much moisture in the air, hanging on the wall, it can't be stored when it is hung, and it flows down like human tears.Before I came to Hong Kong, how did I know what a "dehumidifier" is in Beijing?It's funny to think about it, Beijingers only know "humidifier".Once my husband called and asked me to hear what he was doing at home in Hong Kong.There was a bang from the phone receiver, and I immediately responded: "Flush the toilet?" My husband said, "That's right!" Then he asked me what kind of water I used?I said how could I guess?He yelled on the phone: "Dehumidifier!" The "dehumidifier" pumped water for a day and saved a full box, at least more than 1,000 milliliters... I didn't believe it was true at the time , Hong Kong people flush toilets with water accumulated in the air?I heard they don't use sea water?Later, when I also arrived in Hong Kong, I often carried the water box of the "dehumidifier" to the bathroom to do this. The first time there was a bang, I also stayed by the toilet.

Of course, conventionally speaking, people in Hong Kong still use seawater to flush toilets, and flushing toilets with water extracted from the air by a "dehumidifier" is just for fun.But at the beginning, when I was in Hong Kong, I often bickered with my husband about whether to open the windows at home and how long it took to breathe.My husband asked me to turn it on for a while and then turn it off, but I didn't listen, thinking why would it be so trendy?Later, my husband and I were away from Hong Kong for 20 days. He said to give the key to a friend. It is the rainy season, so friends often come to help us turn on the air conditioner and dehumidify?I am troublesome, the last thing I want to do in my life is to owe favors.Did not listen to him.As a result, when I came back in 20 days, when I opened the door, my god, there was a musty smell in the room, needless to say, the leather sofa turned into "fleece", all the leather shoes were drawn from each belly, and the suits and suits in the closet were also gone. It's all moldy, what's the use of calling mom again?Everything is ruined!In hindsight, who is to blame for this exasperating trouble?I can't blame Hong Kong, the emperor and I can't make the decision about the weather, the troubles are purely self-inflicted!

There is a saying in old Beijing that young people are most disgusted with. It is called "If you don't listen to the old people, you will suffer in front of your eyes."When I arrived in Hong Kong, especially when I started to write articles, I often wondered what the "old man's words" in this saying refer to?In fact, it is just one word - "vulgar"."Don't" do as the Romans do when you enter the country, that is "excitement", and you have to pay the price if you are exuberant. Because I don't want to "do as the Romans do", I have caused embarrassment and troubles in Hong Kong once or twice."Don't" do as the Romans do in the small things in life, and at worst you will end up asking for trouble. In some cases, "doing as the Romans do as the Romans do" has no conditions to talk about in Hong Kong, such as traveling, try it if you don’t believe me, once I Just "try" to the road, and people can imagine endlessly. This is the "almost life-threatening" that I have "scared" people there in the previous article——

Hong Kong and the UK are a bit like cats and tigers. The traffic here is not only three-dimensional and well-designed, but also motor vehicles are just the opposite of those in the mainland. All shuttles travel on the left.People who are new to Hong Kong are often warned by their friends: Hong Kong is small and the roads are narrow, but the cars run fast. You must be careful when crossing the road. You must cross the zebra crossing and wait for the green light! In fact, at the beginning, I still dare not "follow the Romans" on the road.Because the first time I went to the street, I found that what my friends said was right. Motor vehicles in Hong Kong only recognize red lights but not people. At some intersections, no cars have passed by for half a day, and the red lights are flashing endlessly there. I am impatient. People raise their legs and are about to rush over, but they don’t know that this is a life-threatening situation. They don’t know that when a Hong Kong car comes, it’s like a rabbit. half dead.

I experienced such a "death game". The time was around the spring of 2005. I went out for an interview. The location was the Grand Hyatt Hotel, just behind the Wanchai Government Immigration Building. The "zebra crossing" on the road was far away from me. At that time, seeing that there was no car, I thought I would just charge once. My legs and feet were numb and it would take less than five seconds.However, in the fifth second, there was a squeak of the brakes, and the "rabbit" was already in front of me. At that moment, I was so frightened that my scalp was still numb when I went home at night.I didn’t have a nightmare in the middle of the night, but I just woke up suddenly, and I thought about the “cause of the accident”: the force of habit, crossing the road during the day, my judgment was correct, no matter what car was on the road at that time, it would not pass in five seconds. Nei rushed in front of me, but I forgot when I panicked at the time. Before starting, I looked carefully at the right side of the avenue. Cars in Hong Kong drive on the left. On the contrary, following the buttocks of the car to see the disappearance of the car is quite clean, so, how can there be no mistakes? !

"Do as the Romans do" moved to the road, and things immediately became serious. But mainlanders, as far as I know, many mainlanders do not wait for the green light to cross the road when they arrive in Hong Kong (of course, there are Hong Kong people who do this occasionally).Some mainlanders ridicule some small roads in Hong Kong, and pedestrians can cross them in only five or six steps, but there are also traffic lights installed in a serious manner?It's like a simulated classroom in a kindergarten.Then they would be very happy to say: Don't worry, the speed on such a small road will not be fast, and nothing serious will happen until the green light passes.

It is true that the traffic lights on many small roads in Hong Kong really look like "decorations", but the "poor people" in Hong Kong are not displayed on the street for people to see.If you cross the road without waiting for the light to turn green, once you are hit by the police, you will be fined 1500!In the past, when I heard people talking about this matter, I always wanted to join in the fun: "Really! It's so cruel! Make a fuss out of a molehill!" But since "Near Death", I regret that I didn't let the Hong Kong police punish me beforehand?If the police in Hong Kong had fined me one day earlier, I would have completely "followed the customs" and there would be no luck at all. 1,500 Hong Kong dollars, who doesn't feel bad about being fined?But if I had been fined by the police earlier, and I crossed the road again, I made sure that I would not leave without seeing a green light, so that I would not be controlled by the force of habit on the road, making jokes, and kissing cars.

Half a foot, only half a foot away, the heat from the "rabbit" rushed to my face that day...