I think 'happy holidays' is a safer bet compared to 'merry Christmas' because I don't know what you're celebrating... At least I don't really celebrate Christmas, I think it's just an excuse for some Chinese to get a holiday break ('Some' referring to the fact that mainland Chinese don't get those days off).
You can skip the rest of the entry, it's just personal ranting.
Anyway, it's weird coming back to the city. Everything seems to be in a hurry. People, in general, don't seem to give a shit about you and so most of them end up treating you like shit. Got that vibe a couple times already. I think people in college just don't really care, which is quite different from chucking crap your way. My Dad, brother, and I kinda got that treatment when we were at the British Consulate when we were renewing our passports.
The British lady was very impatient with us and verbally abusing us throughout, as if we were some soft-spoken Chinese who were easily pushed around (which we end up being, we couldn't do much to her other than bitch about her in Cantonese).
One instant was that my brother didn't have the right photos, his face wasn't big enough in it, so the lady told him to use the photo booth on the other side of the floor. But we found out that we didn't have enough change. So we were discussing if he should get his passport done in HK or the States, cause the lady said that she couldn't insure that it'll be done before the day he leaves. Then the lady looked up and said, "Why are you still here? Go over there and take the photo." She even gave us a look. As if we were so stupid that we couldn't follow her simple order.
I'm not making a generalization that British people are like this, but I hate it when people in power do shit like that. You're pretty much at their mercy. I hate that. We're cooperating. We're being polite. Why take advantage of that and push us around?
The sad thing is, there's no way out of that. Like, you need a passport. You can't just say, "I'm not taking this shit anymore" and walk out. You need it as a part of your legal identity. You need it to travel. I need it to get back to the States to study. I just felt so dependent.
I don't know if it's just me, but I seem to have pretty bad experiences with government-related people... The lady who took my ID photo and stuff kinda did the same thing.
Well, all I know is: Treat people like people and not like shit. I guess for certain people and certain circumstances, it's easier said than done... But I know I'll try.
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