Expat communities?

[erictby]

I tend to agree with carangs last post.

But in HK there is a man is king mentality, ring an insurance company for a quote on car insurance and mention that your significant other is to be the policy holder. If your spous is not employed under a career capacity, and listed as a "housewife", the insurance company in Hong Kong, will not issue a policy. Regardless that her husband may earn more than enough, or the fact that the policy is pre paid. It's very aparant of what the attitude toward women among local men really is. Not having a career in the eyes of the insurance company means that you are stupid, so you are more likely to have an accident. I got this info from a well known xpat specilist insurance company.

Another point also, most Hong Kong people do not cook at home, what is Eric prattling on about ?

I do most of the cooking at home, or I share the cooking with my spouse, I cook local dishes, infact I just finished cooking Yang Zhou Chai Farn in the wok. But we also have a fully equipped kitchen at home thats bigger than most locals bedrooms.

The stereotype about HK people cooking just isnt truthfull, xpats are 100 times more likely to cook/entertain at home ( especially in Saikung/DB/Gold Coast) and a fair percentage of them would be men sharing the cooking/cleaning duties.

We don't have a maid, nor would we ever require one, not unless we have a larger than 5000ft2 home, that possibly might warrant the need for staff, we are most comfortable in our roof top 1400ft apartment.

Erics comments did get up my nose, I must confess, especially as I have lived here long enough to develope our own individual clique.

Locals have their cultural way, westerners have theirs, and to be honest, we enjoy spending time at home, inviting our multi cultural friends over for BBQs at our home, something I have never seen a local request. Locals like to invite people to dinner at a restaurant, not to their home, which doesnt sit well with my on a cultivation point of view. I like to see people in their native habitat, warts and all, and if they think I wouldnt enjoy the company of dinner with their parents and possibly grand parents, just show's how superficial most locals are....

I love the community in the Gold Coast Tuen Mun area, really awesome people over here, free of the pretension and 3 decades past stereotypes.

COOKING

SkyHook, where you get the fact that "most Hong Kong people do not cook at home"? Do you mean they didn't cook at their house, they cook in somewhere else. But I pressumed most probably you want to say most HK people didn't cook.

If "most" HK people didn't cook, then most of the fresh market stuff will sell to expat, is it? Then why local hanging around in market and fresh & frozen area in supermarket? Just go there to observe expat buying their cooking stuff? Or local like to hanging around in market...This is a BIG NEWS that I just realised. I visit market or supermarket twice a week to buy some fresh fruit, I saw a lot of local people but only a few expat, I thought local go there to buy fresh stuff to cook. Thanks SkyHook, because you just let me knows a very special local people's hobby~hanging around in market but not buying cooking stuff.


CLIQUE

Form my early post in this thread, as I mentioned, a lot foreigner told me they feel like live in separated community from local.

You maybe enjoyed your clique lifestyle. But that is the main reason you are separated from local. As you mentioned, you are lived long enough in HK, but why still don't know local different behaviour? That's because you live in your own clique.

Local tend to having restaurant dinner, Westener tend to have home dinner for celebration, because of this 2 main reason.

1. Different culture. Westener enjoyed freedom, simple,... lifestyle; Chinese will think more and complicated. For general Chinese, they have perception, having dinner in restaurant reflexed their status in social. More expensive, luxurious dinner shown they are higher in social status. So rich and have ability people, will compete among themselve. This is a non-verbal compete, nobody will voice up or mentioned whom the competitor take part in this contest, but the other (invited or not invited people) will do the judgement. Chinese are much more compliacted for their social activities. There still have a lot other different culture, did you realise?
   
2. Physical limitation. As Carang mentioned, most of local lived in very small apartment. How you expect them to invite you for dinner at their house? Even though can't have a dinner, but the apartment space is more than enough for 2-3 housewife gather to exchange their skill.

Why family member being invited in company dinner?
Why people you meet didn't cook?
Why most man didn't help for household work?

If you still can't figure out these question answer, just let me know, I will let you know next time. Ha...ha....what's a lived long enough and 3 decade ahead expat!!!

For insurance problem, I think you should refer to local insurance act. Different country have their own act. Your origin country act maybe not applicable here, don't try to bring your act to apply in other people country. There was no "generally" if related with act.

And I confused who stereotype while make a comment?

[ontheroad]

Even though can't have a dinner, but the apartment space is more than enough for 2-3 housewife gather to exchange their skill.

Again with the housewives exchanging skills. Do you know any women at all or are you just writing this to create controversy?

[muse07]

Dear "Those who get offended by Eric's use of the word housewife":

One could assume that in Eric's native language it would also be the case that the word housewife doesn't carry negative connotations and that he merely translated the word to English from his native language. Understanding this would lead one to give the benefit of the doubt to Eric and save oneself the trouble of being offended.
Xavier

I think you may be right. Eric do you mind saying where u are from originally? are u a local i guess? as far as I am aware the local equivalent for the word is 'tai tai'? presumably not all wives are 'tai tai's' in the slang sense?

[erictby]

Again with the housewives exchanging skills. Do you know any women at all or are you just writing this to create controversy?

As I mentioned in pervious post, expat wife whom working also, they are expat. I used housewife to differential the different group of people we talking about. (I am confused whether you missed it or you can't understand my writing style. Even I leave a question in my post, but the answer for the question is the point I want to say.)

Why "housewife" so irritative to you? Do you have any bad experience related with this word? Housewife is well accepted word for female whom take care the household as their "fulltime" work. Even my school teacher told us to put "housewife" in mother's occupation column while fill up family member's particular. That's not my duty to use the word you like, you prefer. I have right to use any word I like as long as the word didn't have any "anti" mean.

I think you may be right. Eric do you mind saying where u are from originally? are u a local i guess? as far as I am aware the local equivalent for the word is 'tai tai'? presumably not all wives are 'tai tai's' in the slang sense?

I am not the one who started the word "taitai", please refer to pervious post. I am not HK local, not mainlander also. Who am I? Leave it as secret until I join you all at geoexpat group drink. Mysterious feel...I like it!

[ontheroad]

Why "housewife" so irritative to you? Do you have any bad experience related with this word? Housewife is well accepted word for female whom take care the household as their "fulltime" work.

It is not the word housewife that irritates me: it is the idea that they have nothing more interesting to do than exchange "skills". Cleaning skills, cooking skills, sewing skills? I don't know any that would be interested in doing that. Do you exchange skills with your mates? If so what kind of skills.

[Skyhook]

It is not the word housewife that irritates me: it is the idea that they have nothing more interesting to do than exchange "skills". Cleaning skills, cooking skills, sewing skills? I don't know any that would be interested in doing that. Do you exchange skills with your mates? If so what kind of skills.

so if Eric is not a HK local, how can he even give an experienced opinion about this topic ?

I am with ontheroad on this one.

When we invite people over for a BBQ, wines and carlsbergs all round, Steely Dan playing loudly on the 90 inch wide screen projector, lifes good, no male/female rules, or skill sharing lol.

Just a bunch of us, having a few drinks and maybe the odd political debate or discussion about world/local issues. Very interesting after a few drinks I tell you..

Women are generally more chatty anyway, so I don't relate to Erics views about this at all.

Where ever it is that you are from Eric, the equality ideology that western expats live by certainly hasnt influenced your persona.

Oh well, you get that, but birds of a feather do flock together, fortunately we out number those nationalities that don't think our way.

Nothing irritates me more than some guy who objectifies women, see's them as a possesion, or thinks that women are any less intelligent/important than men.

[sunniefaith]

erictby,

Why "housewife" so irritative to you? Do you have any bad experience related with this word? Housewife is well accepted word for female whom take care the household as their "fulltime" work. Even my school teacher told us to put "housewife" in mother's occupation column while fill up family member's particular. That's not my duty to use the word you like, you prefer. I have right to use any word I like as long as the word didn't have any "anti" mean.


Now, we use the word, homemaker, these days. And that's like ages ago. Have you heard of the term politically correct?

[back2HK]

Why need an expat communities?

I always heard from others foreigner say that they feel they live in a separate community from local community. Why this happen? Local separated you?

So, who asked for this lecture? As far as I can see, the OP just wanted help with identifying some expat areas.

I have a feeling you are deliberately instigating people here - whats that "T" word again? Also, what an extraordinary command of the English language !!!! It almost did my head in. This is also a deliberate ploy?

[ontheroad]

So, who asked for this lecture? As far as I can see, the OP just wanted help with identifying some expat areas.

I find this happening more and more on this forum, people asking for advice and getting an earful instead. People are going to be afraid to ask anything!

[erictby]

=>Skyhook :so if Eric is not a HK local, how can he even give an experienced opinion about this topic ?

Why a non HK local can't give opinion about this topic? How many here are HK local? As long as I mix up with a lot of local and expat, then my comment are much much more "expereince" than any expat or local live in their own clique.



=>Skyhook :When we invite people over for a BBQ, wines and carlsbergs all round, Steely Dan playing loudly on the 90 inch wide screen projector, lifes good, no male/female rules, or skill sharing lol.
Just a bunch of us, having a few drinks and maybe the odd political debate or discussion about world/local issues. Very interesting after a few drinks I tell you..

I didn't say Western lifestyle not good. I mentioned dinner issue in pervious post because you are criticism local behaviour. That is a very impolite manners. You or your spouse are here for career but critic local behaviour which you are not sure with. Is this a correct practice from an expat (or their family member)?




=>Skyhook :Where ever it is that you are from Eric, the equality ideology that western expats live by certainly hasnt influenced your persona.

Where expat should live definitely not influenced my persona, as I mentioned in pervious post, I just hope Paul can think twice before make final decision. Is it become an "EXPAT", then they can't take any kind advise from others? From beginning I always try to give my own opinion, but how "Expat" react, check back yourself.



=>Skyhook :Nothing irritates me more than some guy who objectifies women, see's them as a possesion, or thinks that women are any less intelligent/important than men.

Which of my sentence objectifies women, see them as a possesion? I didn't say or think women are less intelligent/ important than men. I mean you only. You as a foreigner (I am not sure you are an Expat or not) living in HK long enough, as you mentioned, but come out with such impolite and very particular comment, I have doubt about your i*t*l**g***. Don't try to gain others women support by biased my original means.

I find this happening more and more on this forum, people asking for advice and getting an earful instead. People are going to be afraid to ask anything!

Why this happen? If nobody bias my comment toward "antiwomen", "anti expat" or...., will this happen?

Clap one hand won't sound.

Did you do any statistic for "People are going to be afraid to ask anything"? I saw a lot of questions still being asked in this forum. I you didn't have the statistic to prove this, are you intented or tried to use your above false statement to insult somebody?