Right In Front Of Ya!

So, today, I went with my mom to get my hair steamed.

This lady is someone we've been going to for years to get a good hair wash and steam for a real affordable price.

Every time we go there, she'd always have lots of stuff to say, talking to mom about this, that and whatever. Usually, I'd sit in silence and just close my eyes or just read.

Today, I left my book at home unknowingly and so after getting bored with my moms interior decorating magazine, I just sat there and listened to whatever this woman had to say this time.

As I sat there, watching her scrub my hair, thinking of my puppy, something caught my ears: "your daughter's hair looked so much nicer when she had that, that super short hair that was up to here" -showing my mom the length by placing her hand beside her ear- "she looked SO much nicer and younger, right?"

-_- WTHeck.

Some of you who are reading this are probably thinking "Kim, WHY DIDN'T YOU STAND UP FOR YOURSELF?!"
Some others among you are just not bothered.

Well, here is why.
Being brought up in the Chinese environment where the parent just answers for you. I just sat there in silence while my mom just brushed this woman's comments about my hair off. In Malaysia, when it comes to Chinese families (I'm not going to go into the Malays and Indians cause I don't know much about how they act and react accordingly), the parents are the ones who answer for their children. Any compliment, praise or comment, negative or positive, is answered by the parents. Every gift, even, is received by the parent even if it is presented to the child. And in many cases, compliments are taken very humbly. So "humble", in fact, that the parents deny the compliment.

For example:
Compliment-er Complimented Translation for those who don't know what it means

Wow, your child is so pretty!
NO LAH, where got? So ugly. YERRR (NAHHHHH, I don't see it. So ugly! EWWWWW)

It's quite sad that they do that. I understand being humble and every thing but I've always wondered, as a child, just WHY Chinese parents do that? I just never got it. Time for change, don't you think?

On top of that, her not knowing of the difference of culture (after being in Soka for 2 years and feeling the change - yes, you do feel the change-), if I were to reply her, she'd think me immensely rude and me trying to be polite, I decided to just brush it off too. So, as usual, I sat there silently. With nothing to say. Plus, I was real sleepy and all I wanted to do was go home and play with my puppy.

So, after, all I did was just be polite, Malaysian Chinese style.