I have been intrigued by one of my bus drivers on my route to school. He has long hair with blond streaks and has earrings in his ears.He is in his 50's.
He really stands out because 99 % of all the Chinese men I have encountered - young, old, student, construction worker, scooter-fixers - are all well-groomed - meaning their hair is cut short. This guy looks like an old hippie. He also wears sun glasses - not many Shanghai-nese do - and if they do - its the women.
I started saying 'hello" (ni hao!) and he broke into a big smile and greeted me back. City bus drivers are both men and women, young and old - and they have one of the worst jobs. The traffic and scooters and pedestrians are all crazy here - so you can imagine how stressful it must be to get people from Point A to Point B in one piece. Many of them are cranky - yelling and blowing their horns and shouting out the window at other drivers.
Anyway, now when I see - I'll call him "Bob" - we smile and greet each other. I have told him my name " Wo jiao Mali" and I have told him I'm a teacher "Wo Jiao laoshi"
Yesterday he gestured for my to get on the bus without swiping my Metro card. Today he told me that whenever I get him as a driver, I do not have to pay.
This is Bob gesturing for me to come back into the bus while he gestured about not paying. Too funny! I've made friends with a bus driver.
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