Meiguo de chuzuchi siji
Yesterday I took a taxi to and from Epsilon for my interview. Sadly, as soon as I got into the cab I had an almost uncontrollable urge to speak Chinese and ask the driver what he thinks about the Olympic Games and Chairman Mao. As I sat there, I realized that many of the questions I asked my Chinese cab drivers were inappropriate.
"Are you from Beijing?" - Could work (substituting Dallas) but in China the question means more than where do you live, it means where is your family, where were you born, and some other things as well.
"How long have you been driving a taxi, and do you like it?" - Some how this question seems less stupid when I say it in Chinese, mostly because it is just practice... And people who don't like their jobs are frequently unable to change.
"What do you think of foreigners?" - Yeah... Not gonna happen.
"What do you think of Mao?" - Well some people will think he is evil, and others will say "Who?"
"Are you from Beijing?" - Could work (substituting Dallas) but in China the question means more than where do you live, it means where is your family, where were you born, and some other things as well.
"How long have you been driving a taxi, and do you like it?" - Some how this question seems less stupid when I say it in Chinese, mostly because it is just practice... And people who don't like their jobs are frequently unable to change.
"What do you think of foreigners?" - Yeah... Not gonna happen.
"What do you think of Mao?" - Well some people will think he is evil, and others will say "Who?"