As many of you might suppose, I don't really blend in very well here. And now that I'm actually living here I want people to realize that I'm not one of those fly-by-night tourists that are so prevalent here. I came upon the solution unexpectedly.
During the process of setting up our new apartment, I've been scouring the city for regular household items like a broom, small trashcan, mop, etc. It dawned on me one afternoon when I was navigating the busy streets with a mop and bucket in my arms that I wasn't getting the usual "copy watch?" offers from the hawkers stationed on every corner. Why was that? Because none of the tourists (who often fall for the copy-watch routine) would carry a mop. Now if I can just figure out how to make carrying 10 rolls of toilet paper look fashionable. Then it would be perfectly clear that I am, indeed, a local.
2 comments:
sorry,
what is "copy watch"?
there's a district in kowloon - the tip of the HK peninsula - where every busy street corner has three men asking if you'd like to buy fake rolexes or a new suit. We live right at the northernmost edge of this district, and the borders shift from day to day. Not all of them speak great English, so you mostly hear an endless recitation of, "copy watch? tailored suit? copy watch? tailored suit?"
If you're an older guy, and you're walking alone, you'll also hear, "sexy massage?" but that's neither here nor there.
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