Germany is a highly industrialized country. It produces top brands like Benz, BMW, Siemens etc. The nuclear reactor pump is made in a small town in this country.
In such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life. At least that was A's impression before A's study trip.
When A from India arrived at Hamburg , his colleagues who work in Hamburg arranged a welcome party for him in a restaurant. As they walked into the restaurant, they noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans of beer on the table. A wondered if such simple meal could be romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy.
There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every bit of the food on their plates.
The colleagues did not pay much attention to them, as they were looking forward to the dishes they ordered. As they were hungry, their local colleague ordered more food for A and others.
As the restaurant was quiet, the food came quite fast. Since there were other activities arranged for them , they did not spend much time dining. When they left, there was still about one third of unconsumed food on the table.
When they were leaving the restaurant, they heard someone calling them . They noticed the old ladies in the restaurant were talking about them to the restaurant owner. When they spoke to them in English, they understood that they were unhappy about them wasting so much food. They immediately felt that they were really being too busybody.
"We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we left behind," A's colleague Gui told the old ladies.
The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her hand phone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform from the Social Security organization arrived. Upon knowing what the dispute was, he issued them a 50 Mark fine.
They all kept quiet. The local colleague took out a 50 Mark note and repeatedly apologized to the officer.
The officer told them in a stern voice, "ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME, MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES.´”
Their face turned red. They all agreed with him in their hearts. The mindset of people of this rich country put all of them to shame. WE REALLY NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS. Ours is country which is not very rich in resources. To save face, we order large quantity and also waste food when we give others a treat. THIS LESSON TAUGHT A and his colleagues A LESSON TO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING THEIR BAD HABITS.
