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A few days in HK so far and I hate it. Tell me I'm being ridiculous.

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  1. #111

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    Feb 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by bibbju:
    Eh? Most of Calais speaks pretty good English ESPECIALLY the supermarket check-out ladies. Go to any Calais hypermarket on a Sat and you'll find more Brits than Frenchies!!!
    Well to be fair I haven't been there since the 80s and they certainly couldn't speak back then.
    bibbju likes this.

  2. #112
    Quote Originally Posted by applejacks:
    Things I Hate About HK
    -blatant and sanctioned classism/racism
    -self-racism/white worship (I myself am asian american, specifically mainland chinese american)
    -materialism, someone described it to me as locals are more "presentation" oriented
    -pollution
    -housing $$$
    -fellow women seemingly mostly into either face whitening or shopping

    Is basically everyone just living here for career/job/money reasons?
    You don't want to know some HK local parents that I'm dealing with.

  3. #113

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    Quote Originally Posted by karen09:
    Me and my hubby are trying to find new things to do at the moment. Can anyone suggest anything (No rude remarks thank you:0)
    take a peek at www.meetup.com
    Lots of activities in there indoor and outdoor - active as well as sedentary.
    chris_yang22 and HK_Katherine like this.

  4. #114

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    Quote Originally Posted by Swannie:
    So because it's an official language, you think the general population will/should speak it? There's absolutely no good reason for most locals to speak English so why should they? HK is now China, the majority are far better off learning mandarin than they are learning English.

    French is an official language in Canada and I can tell you that that HKer speak far better English than most Canadian speak French.

    I have kids who speak native English, and all my local friends want their kids to learn English. It is very important to locals that their children learn English. Like it or not, Cantonese only speakers are very limited geographically in where they can live and the language itself could be slowly phased out by the masters in Beijing.

  5. #115

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    Quote Originally Posted by closedcasket:
    I have kids who speak native English, and all my local friends want their kids to learn English. It is very important to locals that their children learn English. Like it or not, Cantonese only speakers are very limited geographically in where they can live and the language itself could be slowly phased out by the masters in Beijing.
    Make sure your local friends are learning proper English not the inferior American version
    HK_Katherine, Natfixit and elle like this.

  6. #116

    Haha re; the whitening creams...I spent ages on the beach in Sydney trying to work on my tan and I get here and mistaken for a Pilipino domestic helper!


  7. #117
    Quote Originally Posted by whatuphk:
    Haha re; the whitening creams...I spent ages on the beach in Sydney trying to work on my tan and I get here and mistaken for a Pilipino domestic helper!
    LOL. Good one!

  8. #118

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    Nov 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by closedcasket:
    I have kids who speak native English, and all my local friends want their kids to learn English. It is very important to locals that their children learn English. Like it or not, Cantonese only speakers are very limited geographically in where they can live and the language itself could be slowly phased out by the masters in Beijing.
    Yes the more ambitious ones WANT to learn English as well as mandarin because speaking more than one language is an asset to anyone though most of the English speaking world often forgets about it and expect the world to revolve around them.

    The point remains that this is China and they don't need to learn English if they don't want to and won't really need it in their everyday life unless they are part of the minority who comprises the upper class.

  9. #119

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    Quote Originally Posted by Swannie:
    Yes the more ambitious ones WANT to learn English as well as mandarin because speaking more than one language is an asset to anyone though most of the English speaking world often forgets about it and expect the world to revolve around them.

    The point remains that this is China and they don't need to learn English if they don't want to and won't really need it in their everyday life unless they are part of the minority who comprises the upper class.
    In a society where everyone seems to want to advance, why wouldn't you learn it? Sure, if you never leave China, Mandarin is more useful. But the minute you leave China, English is far more useful!

  10. #120

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    Quote Originally Posted by Swannie:
    Yes the more ambitious ones WANT to learn English as well as mandarin because speaking more than one language is an asset to anyone though most of the English speaking world often forgets about it and expect the world to revolve around them.

    The point remains that this is China and they don't need to learn English if they don't want to and won't really need it in their everyday life unless they are part of the minority who comprises the upper class.
    Well, like it or not, the world does somewhat revolve around the English language!

    It's far more important for a Cantonese speaker to learn English than for an English speaker to learn another language. That is why you can't walk 50 meters in this city without seeing an English language tutoring school.

    While learning English is not necessary for local kids, it would be an enormous disadvantage for them not to.

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