Initiation

I had my first experience in a traditional Asian bathroom, also referred to as a hole in the ground. Suffice it to say, this might be the most difficult aspect of Chinese culture to get used to.

I also had my first experience with Beijing cab drivers. After visiting Steve at the hotel he is staying at with his dad, I got into a cab and told the driver the name and address of the school. He looked at me and stated, I don’t know where that is. Of course, I am not familiar with the area around the school, so I could not give him any more detail. Fortunately, the hotel doorman came to my aid and spoke with the cab driver in fast, slurred mandarin. Finally, the driver nodded and drove off. Relieved, I leaned back in my seat. Ten minutes later, the cab stopped and pointed at the meter. I looked out the window and told him that this wasn’t my school. He told me that I had to walk down the small road a bit. This did not seem very odd to me because the school is on a very small, narrow road, and last night, we also had to walk the last stretch to the school. I paid him and got out of the cab. I walked a block and then hit a dead end. This was not the school. I turned around and walked back up to the head of the road. I hailed another cab. When I told the driver the school name and address he did not know where it was. I asked him if he had a map. He said no. I asked him if he could figure it out. He said no. Then he told me to find another cab. I didn’t start to cry until I climbed out of the cab. I spotted a doorman standing outside a large hotel, so I ran up to him and tried to explain my predicament. Of course, my tears kind of freaked him out and made it even harder for him to understand my incorrect Mandarin and American accent. He handed me off to a man dressed in a suit leaving the hotel. The businessman miraculously knew the school. He hailed a cab for me, pushing out of the way a woman approaching the same cab. He gave the cab driver directions and waved goodbye to him. Whoever you are, my Beijing businessman savior, thank you!