kaimui22

here's my opinion on mainlanders...

Those who are able to come to Canada are either 1) well-educated; 2) very well-off; 3) worked their ass off to get here.

While majority of the ones I see are #2 (well off), they seem to be lacking in social mannerisms. Is this their fault? Well, not necessarily. You see, they've been well-off their entire life and in China, not that many people are upper class. Therefore everyone around them is lower status..therefore we see a lot of the "no manners", "rude" people here. But that's because of their upbringing. Their parents might have spoiled them and no one taught them to treat people equally, regardless of their status. So when they come over here, they might feel superior to everyone else and therefore the attitude and behavior...of course this isn't right but no one has told them so.

As for the ones that are #1 (well-educated), they are very educated but not necessary well-off. A LOT of the master and PhD students at UBC are from China. The ones I've met are nice, from lower-middle class and are very well-mannered. They've learnt that respect has to be earned because they worked hard to get to where they are now . They weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouths so they appreciate the smaller things. But when it comes to behaviours, it's hard to change one's old habits. I still see a lot of people spitting, scratching their toes in public (especially in summer with sandals). They might know it's wrong to do it in public but they don't think it's gross. It's natural to them.

As for those who are #3 (work hard), I also know a couple of families like that. They work their butt off trying to save more money. They do have enough money to survive here but they still work hard to save for a rainy day. They are also quite content with the way life is here. Work, save money, be with family, end of day. They value entertainment as a bonus but not a necessity. Also some of these families I know, they might work several menial jobs, during the weekday AND the weekend. Are they well off? Probably, but they don't show it.

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actually the people I've described are in EVERY society, including HKers. But the fact is, HKers have been blessed (and spoiled) with entertainment. People in HK might work hard but they also like to enjoy eating out, going out, singing K..etc. Mainlanders might also enjoy these activities if they were exposed to them more frequently. Like the people in Guangzhou are totally different from those in Hangzhou because there's just so much more to do in Guangzhou.