Not your typical ride

Sometimes when I'm running late (which is almost everyday), I will take a cab to work instead of trying to trim the 30 minute commute down to 10. Today was one of those days.

After hailing a taxi with relative ease, I told the driver my destination and prepared myself for another frantic ride. For those not familiar with the taxi drivers in China, they are the most aggressive and fearless souls that patrol the streets. They have earned the nicknames "师傅", which literally translates to "master", and I would have to agree with that reputation, after witnessing their artful dodging and expert weaving around anything that moves - people, other cars, old grandmas.

So today, after getting in my taxi, I sit back and brace myself for another perilous journey as the driver straddles the line between getting to work on time and a fatal fiery car wreck, I'm surprised to see my driver turn on his turning signal, and turn his head around to check the traffic before merging. Both of these practices are rarities on their own, and having a driver that does both is like discovering plutonium in your backyard. "Hmm, cautious driver, that's good", I thought. As we continue the trip, I realize he does this whenever he changes lanes, and he also has a little buffer between him and the car in front. As we approached an "orange" light, one that was not even yellow much at all and mostly red, he came to a stop instead of charging through the red light and ending up blocking the intersection. While merging on and off the highway, he continues to check for other cars and because of the buffer space he has with the car in front of him, many other aggressive drivers take advantage and cut in front of him. I realize, after about 5-10 minutes of this abnormal driving behavior, I think "wow, my trip to school will be closer to 15 minutes today". Thoughts creep from that to worrying about getting to school late and it even started venturing to impatience, hoping that he would speed up a little bit. That's when I realized "wow, this is exactly the kind of driver I would be if I were driving here in China". Defensive, careful and hopefully law-abiding. It's strange that as I live here and grow accustomed to everyday life, I also get used to what I perceive as the norm here, and that slowly sinks in to my thoughts and attitudes. Definitely a challenge to adjust to the culture while not changing my attitudes but also continuing to do what's right. Now the crowds on the subway... that's another story...