MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY

Germany is a highly industrialized country. It produces top brands
like Benz, BMW, Audi, Siemens etc. The nuclear reactor pump and many
specialised equipment are made in small villages/towns in this country. In
such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life.

Atleast that was my impression before my study trip. When I arrived
at Hamburg, my colleagues who work in Hamburg arranged a welcome party
for me in a restaurant.

As we walked into the restaurant, we 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. I 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.

We did not pay much attention to them, as we were looking forward to the
dishes we ordered.

As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered more food for us. As the
restaurant was quiet, the food came quite fast.

Since there were other activities arranged for us, we did not spend much
time dining.

When we left, there was still about one third of unconsumed food on the
table. When we were leaving the restaurant, we heard someone calling us.

We noticed the old ladies in the restaurant were talking about us to the
restaurant owner.

When they spoke to us in English, we understood that they were unhappy
about us wasting so much food.

We 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,"
my 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 claimed
to be an officer from the Social Security organization arrived. Upon
knowing what the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Mark fine. We all kept
quiet. The local colleague took out a 50 Mark note and repeatedly apologized
to the officer.

The officer told us 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.´" WE REALLY NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS.

We are from a 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 US A LESSON TO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING
OUR BAD HABITS