Social Divides

Today, Bo Gong, a colleague working with me in the ESL lab gave a send off lunch. He is going to be working with Oracle in Foster City. We had lunch in Souplantation. Nice place. One of the discussions were on social divides and how it is the middle class is the one which tries to be most 'pious' of the lot. Rich people have all the money. They also have all the power to do whatever they want. And there is no one to question their authority. The lower class is an interesting lot. They do not stick to any rules too. Do what they want, the way they want. From what I have observed, being with them a lot in the past few years, the above statement applies perfectly. But there is also a deep sense of honor imbibed into them for matters which are most urgent. It is this simple characteristic which makes their company sometimes really enjoyable and comfortable. They are the kinds of people who would always stick up for you. They are negotiable. At the same time, there are problems of being on the other side. That's when the negotiations become really necessary. But well, most of the times you don't have to worry about that. I had a really good time with my friends. Hanging out with them was fun. I got to see a lot of things, which a protected defense camp (where I stayed before with my family) which I would have never seen before. Maybe that's what they call "Life on the Road". Now I am in Irvine, its a pretty quiet and peaceful place. The last time, I met such people was when I went to the Iron Maiden concert at Irvine Meadows. It was vaguely a 'homely' feeling.