Beijing Subway - Contagion of Courtesy

Beijing Subway - Contagion of Courtesy

Courtesy – An Infection. Beijing subway travel during rush hour is a numbing experience.  Within two weeks of morning rush hour travel I too have become personally desensitized to the discomforts of the train.  It is a torture you endure until you are released onto your destination.  I sense from the running of many on the street that the discomforts of the train are only the beginning of the daily grind and that the race to work may indicate indignant bosses carefully watching the clock.    

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China Dichotomy - The Subway
Beijing, Beijing Subway Richard Pinkowitz Beijing, Beijing Subway Richard Pinkowitz

China Dichotomy - The Subway

My Chinese friends have always argued that my perception of Chinese courtesy was wrong.  “They are nice to you because you are American.”  It is hard to believe and reconcile my personal experience of continued kindness and courtesy by strangers with the native belief that Chinese are not nice.

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