Lady's First
Today I witness with my own eyes (and car) how the "lady's first" being used by a Western man, and pretty much meant nothing by the Malaysian man. On my way to pick up Hubby from work, at a U-turn, there was a Volvo S80 also waiting to make the right turn. I looked at the driver, see if he was going to go first, as expected. To my surprise, the Caucasian actually waved his hand to indicate "nevermind, you go first" with a smile on his face. Wow!!! What a pleasant U-turn.
Not long after the U-turn, there was another Volvo S80, driven by a Malaysian Chinese man. The car was coming out from the junction, and of course without even a glance, it sped out through in front of me. Hmmm....judging from the car they drive, they should be of well to do people. But with a very significant difference. One is more polite than the other. It's not that I expected to be treated like a couture lady but still a little "lady's first" attitude is very refreshing in Malaysia.
It does bring back memory some 10 years ago, way back in Milwaukee. It was a summer break and there was a Summer Fest near the lake. We girls decided to go there by bus, since it's definitely easier to take the bus than to catch a ride with the guys. The bus was jammed-packed with the youngsters, all going to the Summer Fest. We were so in awe because in this jammed-packed bus, not a single lady is standing. When we aboard the bus, all of us actually were given a seat by the guys. And there were 6 of us. If I were to compare to my LRT ride last week, memang macam langit dengan bumi. Some guys don't even bother to give their seats at all, pretending not seeing. Just like the iklan.
Remember, NOT A SINGLE LADY WAS STANDING. Beat that Malaysian men!!!!
Not long after the U-turn, there was another Volvo S80, driven by a Malaysian Chinese man. The car was coming out from the junction, and of course without even a glance, it sped out through in front of me. Hmmm....judging from the car they drive, they should be of well to do people. But with a very significant difference. One is more polite than the other. It's not that I expected to be treated like a couture lady but still a little "lady's first" attitude is very refreshing in Malaysia.
It does bring back memory some 10 years ago, way back in Milwaukee. It was a summer break and there was a Summer Fest near the lake. We girls decided to go there by bus, since it's definitely easier to take the bus than to catch a ride with the guys. The bus was jammed-packed with the youngsters, all going to the Summer Fest. We were so in awe because in this jammed-packed bus, not a single lady is standing. When we aboard the bus, all of us actually were given a seat by the guys. And there were 6 of us. If I were to compare to my LRT ride last week, memang macam langit dengan bumi. Some guys don't even bother to give their seats at all, pretending not seeing. Just like the iklan.
Remember, NOT A SINGLE LADY WAS STANDING. Beat that Malaysian men!!!!
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