What Street.

I thought I could tell the taxi driver how to take me home. I know how to say the cross streets and then once they get there I can say, straight, left, right and stop.

I was having lots of success until about a week ago. I started having to get out of cabs because the guy could not understand what I was saying. The conversation went like this:

Me: “Ni Hao, Beijing Lu kau jin Shimen Lu”. (Hello, Beijing Rd. nearby Shimen Rd.)

Driver: “Shimen Lu?” (Shimen Rd.?)

Me: “Dui, Shimen Lu.” (Yes, Shimen Rd.)

Driver: “Shimen Lu, bla bla bladdy bla bla?” (Shimen Rd. and a bunch of stuff I don’t understand).

Me: “Dui! Shimen Lu.” (Yes, please understand what I am saying because I am clearly saying it wrong.)

Driver: “Shimen Lu???” (I need to make money giving people rides, not have a tea party with some foreigner in the back seat of my car).

Me: “Dui!!!, Shimen Lu” (This is clearly not going my way).

Driver: “Bla, bla bladdy blab la!!!!” (Those horns are cars that want me to move and those people standing outside the window know where they want to go and will pay me to go there!!!!).

Me: “Mei wen ti, xijian.” (Okay, no problem, good bye).

Driver: “Bla, bla bladdy blab la.” (Thank God you are leaving).

So after this happened too many times, I asked my language teacher what the problem was. I told him “Shimen Lu” is where I live. He looked really confused. He told me that I just asked him “What street?”…..Oh crap.

I have been sitting in the back of cabs going, “hey buddy, take me to Beijing Road and What Street.”

“What Street?”

“That’s right, What Street.”

“What street?!?!?”

“Yeah dude, What Street!!!”

Oh man. Finally, a co-worker found out that I live at Shimen No. 2 Road. So now I have started telling the driver, “Shimen Er Lu”. I know I am probably saying “What Street No. 2” but the guy gets it now.

I need to get better at the language soon!