Trust

It's quite interesting. For all the stories I've heard and first hand experiences I've had about Chinese people trying to scam you or being rude or anything of the sort, I must say, Hong Kong people definitely don't seem to fit that crowd. They actually are really nice and trusting (except for being group members) it seems.

Today, I went out for dinner by myself (how lonely) and didn't realize the restaurant was cash only. I was out of cash (see previous post as that's where all my cash went) and only had my debit. After asking where the ATM was, they simply pointed down the mall and let me walk out. They didn't ask to hold anything or follow after me or even look to check that I went the right way. After finding the ATM, which was down the mall and definitely away from the view of the restaurant, I returned to pay. Regardless, it was interesting how trusting they were that I would come back to pay when I could have easily walked away with a free meal.

Also, at HKUST, everyone leaves their stuff lying around, especially in the library and the cafeterias. I've seen so many book bags, laptops, and purses just sitting around. And nothing ever seems to go missing. Cafeteria food also seems to never go missing either.

When it's busy in the cafeterias, and I mean PACKED, it's so easy to walk and just take something from any of the food displays, especially as no ones watching it and there are no workers remotely close. But nothing gets stolen and everyone always pays for everything. Definitely different than what happens at home.

Although I do have to admit, if there's one thing people here aren't reliable on, that's not stealing the food that's in the dorm floor fridges. Food items are usually labeled and stored in bags and pretty much everything except for cheese gets stolen from those fridges. One person even had their key stolen so someone could unlock their food and steal that. Ridiculous, how no one steals anywhere but the dorms.

Last semester, in the 6th floor common room, someone had put up a sign,

"Whoever it is that is stealing my food, if I catch you, I'm going to rape you so bad and stick it so far up your ass that you'll never walk straight again you f***ers."
and someone wrote back,

"I'd like to see you try."

Ridiculous.