Quiet is the New Loud
About
Thursday, September 01, 2005
the bus ride
on the bus to sherbourne today, i took pleasure in observing two different human interactions that took place in the bus. i tried hard not to show my kaypo-ness.
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#1: the indian man & the not-so indian girl
apparently, two of them do not know each other. the man, seemingly from delhi, india, self-introduced himself to the indian girl sitting nearby. the girl may or may not be a local canadian.
they chatted a while, with the man striking most of the conversations. then, the man gave his contact number to the girl so that they can meet in the future and asked the girl to give him a buzz on the spot, so that he can store her contact too. the girl reluctantly called but there wasn't any ring from the man's phone. after a few attempts, the girl assured she had his number. the conversation stopped as the girl fiddled with her phone and chatted with her friend on the line. thus escaping the maybe torturing talk. when alighting stops before the man, she gave him a forced smile.
i have a few theories. 1) the girl NEVER did store his number; 2) the girl NEVER did press the green button to initiate the call. trust me, the girl will NEVER contact the man. unless fate brings her-to-him/him-to-her again.. that will be plain unlucky.
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#2: the long-winded lady & the uninterested boy
this fast-talker lady was sitting on my left, and the boy was on her left. the boy is most probably new in toronto from hongkong. they were heading to his new school (today was the start of a new school year). on the way, the lady spoke continuously in cantonese to the boy, who was not paying any attention to her. the one-woman conversation with periodic short replies was about:
1) how the boy gets to school; take one straight bus, identify roads, and recognise buildings on the way
2) what the boy must do once he reaches school; put his stuffs in the locker and take out the day's items, head to the library to STUDY (give him a break!), interact with people (this is much better!), and DISCUSS with friends schoolwork (give him more breaks!), and not to sleep in classes (stop nagging and he will be awake)
3) and of course constant "are-you-listening?"s, "do-you-understand?"s and "look-at-me"s (the boy was looking down and away from his mother/aunt/guardian's face)
they alighted at a public school where groups of students (WITHOUT parents) were hanging out outside. looks like a day of further embarrassment kiddo.
---
i know i'm nosey. but i still love sitting in the bus, watching for reactions and expressions.
---
#1: the indian man & the not-so indian girl
apparently, two of them do not know each other. the man, seemingly from delhi, india, self-introduced himself to the indian girl sitting nearby. the girl may or may not be a local canadian.
they chatted a while, with the man striking most of the conversations. then, the man gave his contact number to the girl so that they can meet in the future and asked the girl to give him a buzz on the spot, so that he can store her contact too. the girl reluctantly called but there wasn't any ring from the man's phone. after a few attempts, the girl assured she had his number. the conversation stopped as the girl fiddled with her phone and chatted with her friend on the line. thus escaping the maybe torturing talk. when alighting stops before the man, she gave him a forced smile.
i have a few theories. 1) the girl NEVER did store his number; 2) the girl NEVER did press the green button to initiate the call. trust me, the girl will NEVER contact the man. unless fate brings her-to-him/him-to-her again.. that will be plain unlucky.
---
#2: the long-winded lady & the uninterested boy
this fast-talker lady was sitting on my left, and the boy was on her left. the boy is most probably new in toronto from hongkong. they were heading to his new school (today was the start of a new school year). on the way, the lady spoke continuously in cantonese to the boy, who was not paying any attention to her. the one-woman conversation with periodic short replies was about:
1) how the boy gets to school; take one straight bus, identify roads, and recognise buildings on the way
2) what the boy must do once he reaches school; put his stuffs in the locker and take out the day's items, head to the library to STUDY (give him a break!), interact with people (this is much better!), and DISCUSS with friends schoolwork (give him more breaks!), and not to sleep in classes (stop nagging and he will be awake)
3) and of course constant "are-you-listening?"s, "do-you-understand?"s and "look-at-me"s (the boy was looking down and away from his mother/aunt/guardian's face)
they alighted at a public school where groups of students (WITHOUT parents) were hanging out outside. looks like a day of further embarrassment kiddo.
---
i know i'm nosey. but i still love sitting in the bus, watching for reactions and expressions.