Getting from A to B

Weather: cold
Temp: -7 - 6
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Same, same but different: Lingering is almost the same as skipping - skipping is just a little more cardio intensive and you look less shifty whilst doing it. And you get to wear a dress, which is a nice touch.

Life is a funny old thing. After Rachael left last week I was not having a good week. Actually I was having a pretty rubbish week. But that was last week and this week I'm back on the horse and getting on with things. For all the bad stuff that happens, there are also loads of great things that happen.

At the moment I have pretty bad taxi karma and in a city where the average temperature is below zero and you don't own a car bad taxi karma can seriously screw with your day. I've discovered that not all taxi drivers are born equal - some of them know the city really well and others know the main roads and that's about all. Add a foreigner who can only speak a smattering of Mandarin with a South African accent and things can go wrong pretty quickly. And then if the universe really wants to throw you a curve ball you get a grumpy old man who'd rather be somewhere else. So, getting from A to B has generally not been a pleasant experience for me. But then I started chatting to my students about my bad taxi experiences thinking that it was because:
a) I'm a foreigner
b) I don't speak Mandarin
c) I'm female
d) the universe has it in for me

But apparently I'm not that special. Mostly taxi drivers don't know where you want to go cause they're not from Beijing. The average wage for a taxi driver is RMB3000 per month, which equates to about R4500. This may sound like a lot, but they work 12 hour shifts 7 days a week, with no set holidays. Beijing is probably the most expensive city in China to live in so 3000 yuan don't get you very far. Thus native Beijingers no longer want to be taxi drivers and migrants from other cities and provinces now make up the bulk of taxi drivers. That explains the lack of language skills and possibly also the scary driving.

Also, taxi drivers are apparently one of the most harassed groups in China. The police don't love them and if two people complain about them then they loose their jobs.

So, I'm going to try my best to cut them some slack, but just to be on the safe side I'm cycling a lot more these days. I've come close to frostbite a couple of times, but until my good taxi karma returns it's a risk I'm willing to take.