Josh, my classmate in The
Essay, posted a status on facebook that has been liked by numerous
people since it was put up; he wrote:
Omg! These Chinese tourist
treat us Harvard students like celebrities!! Lol. I have never
taken so many picture with strangers in my
life!!
And the next day, Paige,
a girl from Thayer, also wrote a similar post, complaining about a
similar experience in science center. My friend Jason also told me
that once they were having biology course in one of the lecture
halls in the Science Center, a bunch of Chinese tourists opened the
door and sat at the back of the hall and talked loudly. The
professor then hushed them out.
I was really embarrassed
when listening to these stories. As a Chinese myself, I feel
ashamed of my motherland being called "the land of etiquette",
while her citizens are all over the world, breaking the
peacefulness of the public and embarrassing other Chinese. I could
understand the psychology of their behavior, and I have to say that
sometimes when I'm traveling with my parents or grandparents, I
feel very embarrassed to see them doing things that are considered
as impolite and rude. For one thing, when they see something that
amaze them, they tend to become very surprised and loud. I
personally prefer to appreciate the beautiful view in front of me
quietly, since there are other people around me who are also
enjoying the view. It would be very interrupting if I exclaim
loudly. Everybody deserves a little space of his/her own in public,
and it's very rude to invade that tiny space.
Funny thing is, although
my white or black friends are all complaining about being forced to
take pictures with the Chinese tourists, I haven't been invited
once. It's discrimination against Asian among Asians themselves!
How interesting is that!
It's probably because
there are so many Asians out there, there's no point taking picture
with a person with a face too familiar. And I can understand the
psychology of that behavior as well.
Every time when I'm
walking with my parents (especially my mom) and a foreigner (or a
bunch of foreigners) is/are walking towards us, their gazes will be
instantly fixed on those foreigners and for some weird reasons, my
mom will tend to start to talk to me in
English.
Come on, not all the
foreigners are from English-speaking country, and they way they
look at the foreigners are exactly like the way they look at an
alien. I feel sorry for those foreigners, for their tiny private
spaces have been brutally invaded by the curious and excited gazes
from other native citizens.
Fifteen minutes before
Law and Psychology class starts, I typed down the paragraphs above
in Lamont library, with Chinese tourists outside of it, taking
pictures and trying to have a glimpse at what's inside of a library
in a university like Harvard, talking loudly and rudely.
Shush, my fellow Chinese;
for others and for yourselves too.
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