咖啡妹 Coffee Girl
I know that I'm a 鬼妹 gwai2 mui1 (a ghost girl/white girl), but I thought I could also be a 咖啡妹 gaa3 fe1 mui1, or a coffee girl.
I do love coffee. I drink it at least once a day. I buy my beans from the Australian coffee shop down the street (say no to Folgers!), grind the beans every morning, and use an Aeropress to brew each delicious cup. I even used a hand grinder for three years! If that's not dedication to coffee, I don't know what is. Not to mention that I worked as a barista in two different coffee shops (three, if you count my on-month stint at Starbucks) for two years, so I should qualify, right?
Unfortunately, I learned that this cute title is not for me. It actually has a different meaning: traffic warden. Take a wild guess what color their uniforms are.
This new knowledge cleared up the mystery of the mug. A few years back, I bought a sweet mug with a red mini bus on it. What looked like a waitress was taking an order from the driver. The letters were a bit too artsy (aka squiggly) for me to make out, but I could see that he was calling her 咖啡妹. So it must be like Sonic, right? The waiters come out to to take orders and deliver food right to the vehicles, right?
No. There's no Sonic in Hong Kong (sad day). When I saw the actual definition for 咖啡妹, it was like the veil was lifted. She was giving him a ticket.
I definitely don't have enough experience to be a real 咖啡妹. I've only ever gotten a ticket once, and that was for crashing my car. More specifically, crashing a car that had expired tags.
So I don't think I won't be looking at a career change anytime soon. Better to drink coffee than argue with surly red mini bus drivers. At least when I face my fourth cup of coffee in a day, I know it's a battle I can win.
I do love coffee. I drink it at least once a day. I buy my beans from the Australian coffee shop down the street (say no to Folgers!), grind the beans every morning, and use an Aeropress to brew each delicious cup. I even used a hand grinder for three years! If that's not dedication to coffee, I don't know what is. Not to mention that I worked as a barista in two different coffee shops (three, if you count my on-month stint at Starbucks) for two years, so I should qualify, right?
Unfortunately, I learned that this cute title is not for me. It actually has a different meaning: traffic warden. Take a wild guess what color their uniforms are.
This new knowledge cleared up the mystery of the mug. A few years back, I bought a sweet mug with a red mini bus on it. What looked like a waitress was taking an order from the driver. The letters were a bit too artsy (aka squiggly) for me to make out, but I could see that he was calling her 咖啡妹. So it must be like Sonic, right? The waiters come out to to take orders and deliver food right to the vehicles, right?
No. There's no Sonic in Hong Kong (sad day). When I saw the actual definition for 咖啡妹, it was like the veil was lifted. She was giving him a ticket.
I definitely don't have enough experience to be a real 咖啡妹. I've only ever gotten a ticket once, and that was for crashing my car. More specifically, crashing a car that had expired tags.
So I don't think I won't be looking at a career change anytime soon. Better to drink coffee than argue with surly red mini bus drivers. At least when I face my fourth cup of coffee in a day, I know it's a battle I can win.
Better to be 咖啡妹 than 啤酒妹！
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