Christmas Here and There

I’ve spent Christmases in Taipei (back in 2004) and in Shanghai (yesterday), and learned that people of both places have a funny way of celebrating the occasion.

Take Taipei. During Christmas Eve you’ll find a lot of couples – yes, couples, not families - dining in posh restaurants, strolling near Taipei 101, taking pictures of (them [doing the requisite “V peace/victory” hand poses] with) Christmas adornments, or hanging around in coffee shops while watching some white American street musicians perform Kenny G’s songs (which the Chinese are so crazy about). Meh-diocre. Since when did Christmas become a synonym of “Valentine’s Day”? Worse still, the younger generations are the only ones who celebrate Christmas. I once gave my Christmas greeting to an elderly Taiwanese, only to be rebuffed with a “We Chinese don’t celebrate Western holidays” remark. (Folks, that's one fantastic display of conversation skills if I've ever seen one. And some old people keep telling us the young ones that we shouldn't join in their conversations? We're doing fine without them reminding us).

Shanghai’s quite the same as Taipei’s, except the people in Shanghai also play dress-ups. They may be wearing some Santa hats or bunny ears or devil horns. I don’t get it either. How come nobody ever told me that Christmas is mardi gras and is also the day when Beelzebub and Bugs Bunny are born?

So after being on countries that do not treat Christmas the way Filipinos do, I was ready to state, as a fact, that Pinoys understand the day better than Chinese, and that that’s one thing I wouldn’t trade for anything else. I was quite ready to write long-winded cherishes of Pinoy’s Christmas…

…and then today happened.

When we were going from Manila to Shanghai on the 21st of December, we were required by the Bureau of Immigration to pay P2000+ pesos in order to get our exit permit. We paid, but the cashier was late, so we were instead issued a “temporary receipt” stating that we could claim the real permit when we come back (and by the way, travel documents are pain in the butts. They are more unwanted than fats, yet people keep making them. Can you imagine the world ever being harmonious when those that populate it split hairs over visas and all these grand papers?). So this afternoon, my brother and I returned to the Philippines. We came to the arrival’s immigration counter and handed over our “temporary receipt”. Now all we needed was the printed copies of our permit. The officer-in-charge ushered us to the immigration office so we could wait for the permit to print.

This rubbed me the wrong way. What kind of airports has their immigration officers arriving late and issuing shoddy “temporary” receipts (they’re actually written on rejected papers, by a handwriting worse than what can be done by a right-handed person attempting the write with the left hand)? And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the officer who was late did not bother printing the permits when we were away. That’s 5 days! That’s a mighty long time for two sheets of paper! And yet, they were telling me that I have to wait for them to do something they could've done five days ago? There were quite a few other alien residents who also left on December 21 with temporary receipts. How many of them are going to have to do all these waiting when they come back?

Want to know what sucked even more? These immigration officers worked like snails. My brother and I was in the office, when this officer took our passports and SAUNTERED - not ran or strode, apparently not interested about speed - back to his cubicle to print our permit. And then he disappeared. I walked out of the immigrations office and waited outside, hoping to find him in the horizon. No such luck. Or Feng Shui. Whatever. Shanghai was still centrifuging in my mind. After nearly an hour, a female officer by the counter said that I should keep waiting, and since I was growing impatient (not to mention embarrassed of the person who was to fetch me) I told her to kindly hurry things up. But instead of following-up on the person doing our papers, she shouted “This is not my business and look I’m busy with arranging these papers of the guy with turban!” Huh, then why was she telling me to wait further if it was none of her business? And that’s some wonderful business ethics she’s practicing, what with giving me this “that’s not my department” shtick. This coming from a company with this placard “Public Service is Public Trust” outside its office?

As a magnificent display of professionalism, she even went to the office tattling about me. I took offense of her behavior, and so I went in…

Nightdreamer: Look, all I’m asking is for a little respect when I come home. Just a little… just a little… R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Err, yeah, I’m kidding. This is how it went:

Nightdreamer: Look, I’m just requesting you to hurry things up because I think you can follow-up your coworker through some phone

B.I. Officer: Are you insulting me? Can’t you see I’ve been VERY busy dealing with all these long queues of people?

Nightdreamer: (looked outside briefly) What long queue? You’re telling me your two-to-three persons is your “long queue” compared to the others? [note: the others had 8 persons in their lines]

B.I. Officer: These are important people I’m dealing with! Like, ambassador people! [note: Right. So instead of summarily finishing their papers she’s at the office tattling about me then arguing with me?] Look, today is Christmas, and yet look at you getting all pissed off!

And then she kept escalating her abrasiveness, until my brother jumped in and calmly told her to let things go. After a complicated series of events, the cashier guy came back and gave us the permit. But, the immigrations lost my Customs Declaration Form. They did not even admit that. Not willing to relive the wait, and even less willing to re-deal with the ill-tempered female officer, I had to bribe the customs declaration guard so that I could get out of Ninoy Aquino International Air-purgatory.

I’ve left the airport for several hours, but the “This is Christmas” remark disturbs me even as I’m writing this entry, because the female officer used it in such a demeaning context. If she’s spreading the spirit of the yuletide, why didn’t she greet a Merry Christmas to the travelers that she was serving? None of them immigration officers did such thing, and yet, she was lecturing me that this is Christmas? The Philippine public offices are infamous for their greed and inefficiency. So come December 25, and they’re using the season as a leeway since people will forgive them anyway? ‘Tis the season to be lazy?

That attitude irks me so. It reminds me that the pinoy’s Christmas may not be that good. Because people are encouraged in this season to be like Jesus, they become more willing to forgive. And, guess what, a lot of pinoys capitalize on this period of generous pardoning! They nonchalantly commit a lot of mistakes while excusing themselves by saying that it’s Christmas anyway and that they will be forgiven. So even if Divisoria becomes the Pasig River of the roads during these times, it’s okay. Even if justice system is perverted, it’s okay. Even if Bureau of Immigration is slow, it’s okay. Pasko naman eh.

By the way, China’s immigration officers were very polite and fast. They greet you good morning, and are pleasant to you at all times. This is considering that China’s a country that went through a period when all doctrinal writings about good manners and right conducts have been eradicated. How about us who have our Bibles? Its denizens, who spit anywhere and do not say “excuse me”, aren't very well-mannered. And yet, it has very efficient immigration offices. Meanwhile, look at our public offices. Ours are unapologetic about  ineptitudes, and will be mad if someone insists ours to hasten things up. And on days like today, ours use Christmas as the justification.

I can only sigh. Yes, while the Chinese may not be celebrating the Christmas with Jesus in their minds, some Pinoys are celebrating Christmas by swindling those who have Jesus in their hearts. So who perverts Christmas more now?

Announcement

Well, not really. Or a belated one at that. 

I just came back from Shanghai, and I wasn't able to use the internet in the 5 days that I was there. So I apologize for not being able to read and reply to any comments during those times.

So now I'm going to read comments.