A pleasant surprise

After that rant in my last entry, I need to balance the scales and relate an experience that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

While waiting in the HSBC lobby, I could hear the various employees who were handling my transaction speaking with each other. They continually referred to me as 客人 "guest/customer." Not once did I hear myself referred to as 外國人 "foreigner" as is typical.

This is such an unusual occurrence that it deserved a positive blog entry.

Look, I know I'm a foreigner. I realize that I look different than 99% of the homogenous society here, and I understand that the easiest way to identify me in a crowd is to refer to me as a foreigner. But sometimes it grates on my nerves. It's as if that's the only way to describe me, as if that term sums up who I am. 

What about "That guy in the blue shirt" or "That man sitting near the window" or even "That handsome devil with the come-hither eyes"?

So, thank you HSBC employees, for recognizing that the big-nosed foreigner waiting in your lobby is more than a hirsute barbarian; he's a potential customer and fellow human being.