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I have to say that I think the Chinese are improving in queuing. We have visited China several times since 1988 and my sisiter lived there for a while. On our last trip we saw really long lines waiting for taxis.
Italians and French can be pretty good at cutting into lines too.
We try to be considerate tourists in the US with tipping. But we sometimes simply do not know that a tip is required when it is not a restaurant. On the other hand we do not appreciate Americans ignoring our culture by overtipping, albeit from generosity.
But look, we welcome tourists in Australia. I guess we do not have enough to cause a lot of friction, because of the cost and distance. We own an apartment in Queensland and the increasing Chinese market has made a tremendous boost to our returns. If they make a few social errors it is a small trade off for the economic and social benefits.
Yup, not only Chinese but Asian women from overseas in general are the worst when it comes to not moving out of the way. It's not hostile, just more like either them expecting you to move, even if you're already at the edge of the walkway, or just being oblivious to the world around them. Actually in my observation women in general are most guilty of this for the reasons I gave above. Guys can do it too, but IMO there's a greater chance it's some kind of subtle male dominance kind of thing .
When I encounter this (and it’s not always a problem with Asians), I either march straight into them or simply stand still while holding my ground and staring right at them. I won’t give way for such rudeness.
I can relate to your daughter's experience. My wife is from China and I've gone to China numerous times to visit. The difference is that I'm Asian, not Chinese but they can't tell I'm not Chinese. I also speak no Mandarin except a few words. The thing is people rarely get upset when it appears someone cuts in front of them. There are lines but there are usually people trying to squeeze in from the sides or even slowly, stealthily, cut in front of the person in front of them. The first time I went to China I didn't say or do anything.
To me this is the most frustrating thing about China, the line cutting.
I've been at the train station and people just keep cutting, nobody says anything. At fast food sometimes when I get to the counter someone will shout an order from behind me and try to hand money over my shoulder. Where subways have the indicators of where to line up for each train door the line usually starts to form but once it gets longer people just start crowding around the front of the line on either side to push their way in. One can't leave a security respect space at the ATM since it will keep getting filled in by someone else.
Some train stations in China have stuff to try to prevent the line cutting, like a corral type dealie with one-way turnstiles, those work pretty well although people will still sometimes try to slide past you inside the corral lanes. The worst at pushing are the Aunties. If I'm in a crowd and feel hands pushing me in the back to try to make me move I usually know without turning around it's going to be a tan middled aged woman with a short perm dyed black.
My son asked a German park security person.. "Why are all the warning signs in German, EXCEPT "STAY OFF the newly planted Grass!"
Guard says... "Only Americans traipse across newly planted grass" ...
Not true, at least not for meadows in an area that was being restored at Yosemite. We pointed out an international sign to some Germans/Austrians/Swiss (I can recognize the German language as I lived in Europe for a year) prohibiting walking across a meadow in the process of a restoration, They looked at us dumbly and continued walking crushing the struggling grasses. I left a nasty note on their windshield.
I can relate to your daughter's experience. My wife is from China and I've gone to China numerous times to visit. The difference is that I'm Asian, not Chinese but they can't tell I'm not Chinese. I also speak no Mandarin except a few words. The thing is people rarely get upset when it appears someone cuts in front of them. There are lines but there are usually people trying to squeeze in from the sides or even slowly, stealthily, cut in front of the person in front of them. The first time I went to China I didn't say or do anything. However, ever since then I always loudly speak up, sometimes even pushing others out of my way when they try to cut in front of me. The shocked looks I see on their faces is priceless. Imagine a Chinese looking guy yelling at them in English to not cut in line. After the initial shock they either timidly back down, or yell something back in Mandarin, then I yell back in English. Whenever I do that I draw stares from all those around me but it appears to work as once that happens they don't cut in front of me.
Once while waiting for the baggage carousel at the airport someone tried to subtly push me out of the way while waiting. I suddenly pushed back like an basketball player battled for a rebound. We exchanged a few hostile words, with neither of us understanding what the other was saying. But he knew not to do that anymore.
Another time on a public bus I was talking English to my wife and this young girl standing next to me kept staring at me, she may have not even blinked. After I was finished talking I just acted like I was relaxed and then suddenly said "BOOOO" to her getting close to her face. She jumped back startled but continued to stare at me like I was from another planet. She wasn't hostile, pretty funny actually, but just shows the culture there, it's pretty insulated, not like a diverse place like the US.
Good stories!
When my daughter was living in Beijing, she had to take the subway to get to work. Near the end of her time there (about 15 months), she said she just lost it one day with all the pushing and shoving and yelled out "Someday you all are going to have to learn what manners are" or something to that effect. I asked her what the reaction was. She said, "They just sort of stared at me, probably shocked that this tall blonde woman speaks their language."
Tourists in busy city areas that stand in the middle of sidewalks to take photos which block the other people that need to get by.
That's the most frequent complaint of mine in NYC. I worked in and near the World Trade Center, which is infested with tourists at all times of the year. Manhattan is a pedestrian's city. People walk to work, to meetings, to run errands. You have to keep the traffic flowing, but some people just stop dead in the middle of sidewalk, as if they are unaware of the hundreds of people behind them. I doubt these same people would just throw their cars into park in the middle of the street.
Pull off to the side to look up what you need or take pics or whatever. Be aware of your surroundings and the human beings who are affected by your movement.
Ugh, and then every so often you get the ones who are strolling along holding hands, three or four abreast, like there's all the time in the world for everybody to wait behind you.
she said she just lost it one day with all the pushing and shoving and yelled out "Someday you all are going to have to learn what manners are"
I get that it's frustrating but she's a guest in their country yelling at everyone to behave how she prefers people act instead of what the norm is in that country, not her greatest moment.
Several years ago, my family and I moved to Seoul, South Korea for a job on Yongsan Army Garrison. We arrived on a Saturday, so we spent Sunday wandering about the area trying to learn where the subway stations were and how to use them. On the way back to Dragon Hill Lodge, it started to rain as it was during the monsoon season in August. We were probably a quarter mile from the main gate. A South Korean man stopped with his umbrella, and walked my wife and daughter to the main gate so they would not get wet. It was the start of a great four years living there. We have a lot more in common with South Koreans than you would think. Is there some line cutting, and pushing and shoving? Sure, mainly from ajumas/aunties, but the majority of South Koreans are good mannered and good natured.
I get that it's frustrating but she's a guest in their country yelling at everyone to behave how she prefers people act instead of what the norm is in that country, not her greatest moment.
No, and I'm sure she knows that, but it was probably frustration from a long day at work and then an annoying commute home. I commuted by train for 40 years to the largest city right here in my own nation, and I know how those days are.
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