This is a culture that is very uniquely us. I do not think any other country has a culture like that. For the uninitiated, the "tissue culture" is prevalent during lunch time in the Central Business District, where the people exceed the number of food centres and seats, so hordes of lunch goers prowl to look for whichever empty seats they can find, and scramble for the already limited seats by placing their packet of tissue papers on the empty seats to signify their reservations.
So whenever I go out for lunch nowadays, I have to look out for empty seats without any tissue packet on it. It may not be a tissue packet all the time. Sometimes it could be a small umbrella, a newspaper, even an office pass. Whatever. As long as there is something on the seat, that seat is deemed to be taken.
I do not see that in other countries though. I know for sure this is a foreign concept in Australia, Japan and Korea. My cousin looked at me in amusement when I brought him out once and placed my tissue packet on a seat in a food centre to reserve the place while we go buy food. He told me that is actually considered very rude as it is free seating for all, so anyone can take any place he / she likes.
I have no idea who first came out with this, but as far as I can remember, ever since I first started work in the business district, this has been a prevalent culture. Even though I do not agree with it at first, now I have started to embrace it, because even in lunch crowds, the earliest bird gets the best worm, or the empty seat in this case.
So whenever I go out for lunch nowadays, I have to look out for empty seats without any tissue packet on it. It may not be a tissue packet all the time. Sometimes it could be a small umbrella, a newspaper, even an office pass. Whatever. As long as there is something on the seat, that seat is deemed to be taken.
I do not see that in other countries though. I know for sure this is a foreign concept in Australia, Japan and Korea. My cousin looked at me in amusement when I brought him out once and placed my tissue packet on a seat in a food centre to reserve the place while we go buy food. He told me that is actually considered very rude as it is free seating for all, so anyone can take any place he / she likes.
I have no idea who first came out with this, but as far as I can remember, ever since I first started work in the business district, this has been a prevalent culture. Even though I do not agree with it at first, now I have started to embrace it, because even in lunch crowds, the earliest bird gets the best worm, or the empty seat in this case.
2 comments:
People will do things to mark / reserve their seats in Canada too - put their purse / jacket / bag / hat / etc. Not sure if we would understand packet of tissues on the seat, though.
Foreigners here will not understand. I know one Korean girl when she first came here, she saw a packet of tissue on a seat in a food centre. She had no idea what it was for, so she thought it was a "free service" by the food centre to clean off one's perspiration. Hence she saw down and took out a piece of tissue paper and started wiping her face. Next thing she knew, the owner of the tissue packet came back with food and stared at her in horror!
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