Thursday, March 23, 2006

I hate it when people speak too formally and politely to me in such a diplomatic manner that it pushes me away from them. I feel as if we will never break that cold and nice distance (what distance?). "Shall we?" or "Would you like to..." as if we were co-workers in a banquet.

I hate it when people apologize profusely to me for the tiniest mistakes they make, as if they are really so afraid to offend me, or as if I am really that petty. I feel as if we were perfect strangers who bumped into each other, each half-heartedly attempting to say "sorry", each trying to move into a different direction from one another.

I hate it when people praise me and tell me how much they have heard about me. It compels me to try to smile and thank them unsuccessfully and makes me feel a little fake and awkward. It makes me skeptical and shy and I might begin to stammer, and the silence that follows as we stand and look at each other is unbearably weird, like a first date all stiff and sweet.

But you know, I'm that sort of person who does all these things I hate. Haha... Self-contradiction. >_<

Today the AEP students finally played their very important role (er hem...) as docents (art guides) to educational ministers and delegates from ASEAN countries and other countries such as France. This was for this art exhibition called SEAMEO at Suntec City. Vanessa and I got tagged with Thailand's education minister. She's a very warm and friendly middle-aged woman with heavy brown hair- the type of hair all the wives of presidents wear. I thought it was rather cool that she was a woman though, since majority of the ministers were men.

She didn't interact with the other ministers, who were all busy exchanging name cards and perfect smiles. The only minister she spoke to was that of Vietnam- no surprise there. When she spoke to him, she spoke in Thai, and then blushed when she realized we couldn't understand a word of it. "We can communicate," she said with a big and affable laugh.

She toured the small little art exhibition in less than 20 minutes. And towards every art work that she saw, she was only barely interested. "Very nice, very nice..." Those were the words she repeated to us for every art piece that she walked past (as if we believed her).

The only special attraction that caught her eye was this good-looking gay-looking Thai guy who just finished his 'O' levels at Mayflower Secondary School and was on his way to Laselle. Dressed smartly with his proud mother in toll, he was a hot favourite among all the reporters (even though I thought his painting wasn't that particularly spectacular). She stood there and talked to him and his mother for a good half an hour, taking photos here and there, with her back facing us.

But for that, we were very much thankful to her. >_< Because during that time, Vanessa and I made friends with the waitress who brought us these little exquisite finger foods on large silver plates that were supposed to be given only to the VIPs. We would gush about their cuteness before popping the whole thing into our mouths oh-so-discreetly (yar right). There were miniature square pieces of bread with cheese, a slice of strawberry and a whole chunk of beansprout looking thing all put together. There was raw salmon and some white fish, tuna, cavier... They even had salad decorated like flowers in a green vase with thousand island dressing right beside it. One of the Thai delegates actually asked me, "You can eat these right? It's not an art work?" I had half a thought to lie to her just to watch her face turn purple with worry. ;p

That aside, NY's blazer made all of us look like shoe salesmen and saleswomen from the Sixties and my $13 black shoes bought just for the occasion gave me six lovely blisters as souvenir. T_T

PS: The most stupid conversation I heard between a woman (who was so not a student) and an education minister went something like:

Woman: Wow you're a minister!

Minister: Yes. *nods head*

Woman: Oh I heard that ministers are really busy people.

Minister: Oh yes yes. *nods head doubly hard*

Woman: So what do ministers do?

Great going woman, those were really intelligent questions that I'm sure ministers don't get to answer all the time. Now now, do tell, who let you in and breached security?

1 comment:

Miao 妙 said...

Ministers are very busy people who, despite their hectic schedules, still conscientiously try to make time for art exhibitions where they might occasionally get to meet curious and IQ-deficient beings who try to strike up conversations unsuccessfully, thus making ministers busier than they already are, because these ministers end up busy wondering how on the sweet, round Earth did the Creator allow such idiots to exist in the first place.