It is a sad day

I was sincerely reluctant to define today as a sad one. But today, I shall say, is epic. It is a lesson to me.

Basically, it was a trivial story. Tuesdays for me are extremely busy school days. I have classes in the same classroom all the afternoon until 10 in the evening, all are about discussing serious issues and theoretical constructions. I only have a 30 min dinner to grab, if the afternoon tutor shows some mercy to me not delaying the afternoon session.

Then I asked the cleaning lady not to move my books(tomes indeed) on the desk before I rushed to the canteen to grab my dinner. Unfortunately, we had a problem on communication--she showed up really misunderstanding, perhaps as an excuse as she was reluctant to help me. I the. placed a memo on the desk to remind her of my favour. I thought it might work.

Yet I was wrong, not that because she moved my books but her remarks afterwards.

I sat alone in the classroom after the last session, waiting for my friends. The cleaning lady showed up, with her coworker. She started to talk about the miscommunication issue in the evening with the coworker RIGHT AT MY BACK, in a complaining and ironic tone, which already stirred my nerve. She said as if I irresponsibly fled away with my books left on the desk, disturbing them to a considerable extent. She talked loudly on and on and on, as if I were not sitting there and listening.

Her coworker hummed, disdainfully:"she must be a Mainlander. Hong Kong students won't do any thing like this. "

I choked, silently. Yes, I have been doing local political journalistic study for over 6 months, yet I have never heard anything harsher than this. In this sense, a Mainlander like me is such a "troublemaker" even on such trifle?

I felt sad not because I was talked at the back, literally, but I felt a strong isolation.

Although I knew really well why local people have this kind of charges and complaints against Mainlanders; although I have studied the complex of the causation of such tensed relationship between people from two regions; I just couldn't help feeling sadder about the fact that we have stronger cultural and ideological separations, on the spot.

It was only 8°C tonight. But it felt like 0°C to me already...