Comments on: Reasons Not to Move to Hong Kong

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 12:27:07 +0000

I wouldn’t be able to cope with the warm weather their either. When the temperature gets to mid-twenties here I’m already sat with an electric fan on trying to cool down. And humid weather is the worst.

I’ve always wanted to visit Hong Kong. It’s strange that they are so focussed on body image. And considering that you’re nowhere near fat at all that’s ridiculous. It’s crazy.
xx

By: Alice

Alice — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:41 +0000

It’s funny that I’m reading this entry while me myself am getting ready for my upcoming trip to china and hong kong.

Anyway..

I revisited Hong Kong after years last year for new year. As always, I love HK! It’s probably one of those countries in my list I’d never get bored visiting but uh oh wow, never knew HK can be that…um….bad for some. wow. I guess it’s just a good place for tourism getaway… I’ve always thought living in there would be..uh, cool :s hm… (I still sorta think it’s gonna be nicer than living in where i am now pfft.. :P)

Ugh, about the body proportion thing. I’m not surprise, to be honest and I think it’s a chinese kind of stereotypical mindset… I don’t live in HK or china but I came from a chinese family so back then, I was all mocked about my weight… adults were complaining about how I look, some even said if I kept being, well…. the old me (as in “not pale (white) enough” or “not slim enough” or “have short boyish haircut”) , I’m going to stay ugly forever. Super nerve-wrecking, the stuff and stereotypes chinese families can judge, or maybe it’s just the family i live in. sigh.

haha, my parents used to shout “fat and ugly” back when I was all “i’m just happy with how i look,etc” so now i’m all crazy over losing weight pfft =_= the impact is unbelievable

Simply said, the weight issue you experienced there is equal to the one I’ve been trying to adapt for my 18 years of existence. (surprisingly, now that I’m not “big” anymore now, they all keep on trying to shove food down my throat… wow. what a surprise)

Wow, so what’s usually heard happening in Japan’s public transportation also happen in HK. =___=;; Japan has that reasoning as well when you’re groped inappropriately in public… makes me go wtf sometimes -__-

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 20:54:59 +0000

In reply to Erin Nicole.

It’s not *allowed*, just like it’s not allowed in Canada or the US. They have announcements on public transit about not keeping quiet about sexual harassment and inappropriate groping/touching – which is something to keep in mind as well. The “older generation” is very stuck in their mindsets and haven’t been forced to let go of their ways of thinking.

HK is a great place to visit – foreigners/non-Chinese do not get the kind of flack that I go because I look like I belong.

By: Kristine

Kristine — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 17:26:33 +0000

I can relate to your experiences with being called “fat.” As a pre-teen going into puberty, my grandmother and my father (both assholes) called me fat when I was actually pretty athletic. That led to years of crash dieting and bouts of starvation that wrecked havoc on my hormones and overall health. I wasn’t even “fat” but the problem was I let them get to me. I will never listen to those assholes again.

Typically in Asian countries, women are just super tiny due to diet/lifestyle (perhaps less sedentary). As someone that was born in the Philippines, but grew in the States, I grew accustomed to the western diet of fast food (yuck!). If I had lived in the Philippines for most of my life, I probably would be tinier than I am today.

I think it’s unfortunate that in most Asian countries, nurses are underpaid. There’s a reason why Philippines is experiencing a major brain-drain, in terms of the medical field. Doctors and nurses are leaving the country to work in the U.S. and Canada. My mother is a RN here in the US and she left the Philippines because she did not want to raise a family there, especially because of the calamities and because of low income for nurses.

I am looking forward to your posts regarding the fun things you did on vacation! 🙂

By: Erin Nicole

Erin Nicole — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:18:50 +0000

Omg. That is just awful!
They allow rape in Hong Kong?! Tsk Tsk.

They need to come into the 21st century and update their ways of thinking. Rape is not good at all! Neither is underpaying your nurses! :/

I would definitely not want to move to Hong Kong either so if you ever need backup, you’ve got me! (:

That is awful how they insulted you like that. Everyone is fine no matter how they look…Why people get these idealistic views of women and men is crazy. From your height and weight I’d say you are fine and there is no need to lose that 10-15lbs they were talking about.
I don’t think it is healthy for any adult to be at or around 100lbs…that is just TOO SMALL.
I’m sorry that you have to be around all of this stupid crap with your parents and now your extended family.
At least with your parents doing the same thing you understand where they are coming from now and know how to handle it by now.
Did you ever struggle with it? If so, how? I am curious.

That makes me feel really overweight being 5’3-4″ (depending on the day) and 170-175lbs. :/ I am working on dropping 30-50lbs over the next year. I want to be bikini sized by next summer. 😀
I’m starting by trying my best not to eat candy…though I failed last night…(had a king size kitkat) but I am going to try again today! At least trying will help my self-esteem issues.
You can read more of what I am doing on my blog. 🙂

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 04:46:26 +0000

Wow.. that makes me sad. I think Japan has very similar old fashioned ways of thinking too. Can’t even imagine what people in Japan thought of my size. I felt like a giant. I am not that tall but I am fat (and it’s OK). At one place we stayed we were given robes to wear. The lady took one look at me and said “BACK IN MINUTE MUST FIND BIGGEST ROBE” I felt very embarassed. I guess how you look is everyone’s business over there. Didn’t dare go into the public onsen. People would gasp. BTW 110 pounds isn’t big at all. Wish you weren’t subjected to this crap and I am glad you are confident enough to realise it isn’t true. A lot of people would have developed mental issues about how they look hearing that all the time.