Part I
During our countryside adventure, two friends had a taxi driver try to cheat them by pretending not to understand where they wanted to go and driving them all over town to run up the fare. They told him off and didn't pay the extra fare, but it left a bad taste. The next night, I told our taxi driver I thought he was a good driver and had a nice car, that we were American teachers, that we were in China for two years, blah blah blah. I kept up a running dialogue in (my broken) Chinese, and when we arrived at our destination, he waved us out of the cab without letting us pay. I've never had a taxi driver give me a free fare before! He didn't say why he did it, but maybe taxi drivers don't get a lot of compliments.
Part II
This week, I struck up a conversation with the old taxi driver taking from the bus station to my lodging. By the time we arrived, he was my new grandpa. He even gave me his taxicab map because it had English on it-- how nice was that? It's an old, ragged map, split in two, but I'm taking it home as a reminder of the taxi driver who gave up his own map to help a foreigner. Also, the fare was 12 RMB, not the 15 RMB it usually costs.
Part III
On my way back to the bus station today, the driver was a young guy who had a CB radio in his car. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I heard him CB talking to another driver friend about me: "I have an American girl in my car. She can't understand Sichuanhua*, but she can speak Mandarin. She teaches English."** I interrupted him: "I don't teach English, I teach Chinese!" I have a very silly sense of humor that normally doesn't translate well, but he cracked up and told his friend the joke. We kept up a running conversations of jokes with the CB friend and I noticed he was taking lots of side streets to the bus station. When we got there, it was only 11 RMB.
Part IV
I think I've found the secret of taking taxis in China.
*Sichuanhua is the local dialect for that city and he's right, I can't understand it. He asked me a question in Sichuanhua, then switched to Mandarin when I drew a blank. Younger people can do this switch, but a lot of older people didn't learn Mandarin because schools were closed during the Cultural Revolution; they speak only their local dialect.
**I thought it was interesting he told his friend in Mandarin, not Sichuanhua. Did he want me to understand? It would have been easy to foil me.
Sounds like you are the taxi cab princess in China. They must all be so excited to be talking to a foreigner.
ReplyDeleteDo you think you were flirting? Do you think they thought you were? Do you think that eastern cultures have a lower bar on what constitutes flirting? Whats flirting like in China?
Most awesome, Rebecca! I think you hit the nail on the head: it's all about respect. As the saying goes "when in rome...".
ReplyDeleteMost people are flattered when foreigners and tourists make an effort to appreciate and integrate their culture, you attract more flies with honey than vinegar right?
Happy cabbing! :-D
You should star in your own reality show...like the Chinese version of the Cash Cab Game Show, only in Mandarin. :)
ReplyDeleteyrautca, I don't think they thought I was flirting. I think they have a higher bar, we in the West are far more subtle. Also Chinese men are scared of American women.
ReplyDelete