By now you might have heard the news that an earthquake has hit Central China. The first I heard of it was this thread at Shanghaiexpat.com .
I don’t have any dramatic stories; I was playing table tennis on my balcony with Dad when it hit, and didn’t feel a thing! I just got a call from a distressed Aika, asking if everything was ok. I had to tell her that we didn’t feel anything, and if I hadn’t stumbled on the thread at ShanghaiExpat.com, I wouldn’t have known what she was talking about.
I can’t imagine why we didn’t feel anything. The guys from the previous post aren’t anywhere to be seen though. *gulp*
As I type, there are three workers climbing around on a scaffolding that is on top of a tall office building near my apartment. I hope that they have taken safety precautions!
Seeing these guys reminds me of the time my landlord had to climb around on the exterior of my apartment. One summer, something went wrong with the air conditioner. As happens when something is broken, I called my landlord. It didn’t take him long to come around and see what was wrong: he said that a pipe was broken, and would just need to be replaced. He seemed a little bit relieved, he’d be able to do it himself without buying any extra spare parts or spending any money. He said that the same thing had happened to him once, and that he had some spare hose at his apartment. He lives in the same complex, so he dashed home to get it. He returned not more than ten minutes later carrying a short length of tubing.
I was a little puzzled as what he intended to do with the tube. It was only 30cm or so, and quite thin. He had said that all he would have to do was swap this new tube for the old one. But I couldn’t see a similar tube anywhere. The air conditioner was just a big metal box that sits in a corner of the living room. No thin white tubes anywhere. But he seemed to know what he was doing. As I started to move furniture around so that he could get at the air conditioner, he opened a window, and climbed out.
A look of surprise crossed my face, and a look of horror crossed Aika’s as we realised what he was doing. He had slid open our window, clumsily hauled both legs overand gripping the flimsy handrail, inched across to the exterior part of the air conditioner.
I hadn’t realised, but there is an exterior part to the big, two meter tall machine in my living room that pumps out cold air. It was a pipe on the EXTERIOR that had broken, and needed to be replaced.
And we live on the 22nd floor, and the exterior air conditioner isn’t made for easy access or anything. They didn’t put it in a convenient, easy to reach place in case someone had to, at some point in time, fix or replace the thing. Anyone that has to reach it must be spiderman or something.
Before asking if he needed a rope or anything, my landlord had made his way to the exterior part of the air conditioner, which sits on a specially made ledge next to one of the exterior walls. He was sitting on it, and reaching around trying to feel for the leaking tube. The new tube was in his mouth as he felt around for it. He was 22 floors above ground level, the wind whipping his hair and business jacket.
My landlord isn’t a spry young guy either. He’d obviously shown up to fix my air conditioner after work. He was dressed in a business suit, and is in his mid forties. He’d spent all day at the office, but before retiring for the day, he had found himself sitting on an air conditioner, 22 stories up, awkwardly fumbling around for a leaking plastic pipe.
He fixed it. No problem. He replaced the pipe, slowly made his way along the ledge again, and climbed back in the window. “I’m really sorry about the mess,” he said, indicating a pair of dirty footprints. “Can I open my eyes now?” said Aika. As he had climbed out the window, she had closed her eyes.
I didn’t know what to say! “Thank you, thank you thank you!” I felt myself thanking him so much for his help, for risking his life for the broken tube. It was quite surreal actually, for both sides. I could see that he felt quite uncomfortable about all the fuss we were making. I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere in cyberspace, there’s a blog entry by my landlord, something along the lines of “I went to my tenant’s apartment to fix a pipe, and he acted like I had saved the world or something!”.
I’ve included a picture of the exterior of my air conditioner. This is what my landlord was sitting on, in his suit and tie, hair being blown by the wind, groping around blindly for a broken pipe.
This is part 2 of a series that teaches Taxi Chinese. For part 1, visit youtube or www.maxiewawa.com . For an mp3 of this lesson, visit www.maxiewawa.com or subscribe to maxiewawa.libsyn.com/rss. If you can’t see the video, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GLOve3IEwo
If you’ve listened carefully to part 1, you should be in your taxi and on your way to your destination. The driver knows your destination, and is going the fastest way. By listening to part 2 (this part) you should be able to get through the actual journey. You won’t be able to tell the driver where to stop, or how to pay yet (that’s part 3!) but we’ll get you through the actual journey in this lesson.
If you’ve done your research before coming to China, you might know that not everyone that drives a taxi is honest. Most taxi drivers are honest and hardworking, but there are occasions when unlicensed drivers try to trick you. For the record, always check that a driver has an ID card displayed on the dashboard before getting in.
Whenever I suspect that a driver is not going in the right direction, or that he is taking the long way around, I use this phrase. I say it loudly, and accusingly.
你走哪里呀？？
Nǐ zǒu nǎli nǎli ya？
Where are you going?
This means “where are you going?” “ni” is you. zou is “to go” or “walk”. nali is ‘where’. Ya’ is an emphatic article. Similar to putting “DUDE!” or “Mate!” on the front of the sentence. So the phrase 你走哪里呀 might also be translated as “dude, where are you going?” or “Mate, where are you going?”
Usually, after I say this, the driver will protest his innocence. Like I said, 99.99% of all taxi drivers are honest, and hardworking. It’s usually me; we actually ARE going the right way, it’s just that my knowledge of Shanghai streets isn’t very good.
In any case, I use this phrase 你走哪里呀 even when I DONT know where I’m going, and if I just SUSPECT that the driver is trying to trick me. I just use it to keep him on his toes! And after he explains in detail where we’re going, and that he really ISN’T going to take me on an expensive tour around Shanghai, I respond this way.
哦。
O.
Oh yeah, that’s right.
I usually try to make as if I’ve understood everything he’s said, that every landmark that he’s mentioned. 哦 expresses this; it’s like saying “oh, right, I understood what you’re saying.” That phrase again: 哦。
The only other thing you might have to say to the driver is the answer to a question that every visitor to China gets asked.
你是哪里人？
Nǐ shì nǎli rén
Where are you from?
ni means you. Shi is the verb to be. Nali is where, ren is person. Literally the question is “You are what person?”
There are various forms in which someone might ask this question: Nǐ shì shénme guó jiā de? literally means “what country are you?” 你从哪里来的？cóng nǎli lái de? is “where do you come from?” Whatever the form, the chances are that if the taxi driver asks you a question during the journey, he’s asking about your nationality. You should answer,
澳大利亚／日本／法国etc
àodàlìyà/rìběn/fǎguó/etc
If you need to know a country that isn’t listed here, let me know!
After hearing where you are from, the driver will probably answer with something like this:
很好！ hěn hǎo is very good! 漂亮！ piàoliɑng is beautiful!
hěn means “very”. Hǎo means “good”. “Piàoliɑng” means “beautiful”.
This is a cultural thing that the Chinese have. They MUST compliment someone on their culture or nationality when they hear about it. In any case, I’m not sure why it is. I’ll just tell you that after hearing one of these compliments, the polite response is:
不不不。
Bu bu bu.
No, no, no.
You should also shake your head and wave your hand like this: . This is the polite response you should make whenever someone compliments you. I won’t go into an analysis of why we must go through this ritual in China, but just try to remember to deny any compliment given to you. And if you can remember the Chinese way to deny a compliment, it’s the phrase I just mentioned: 不不不。
Other than asking about nationality, I don’t think I’ve had any other conversation with a taxi driver in China. So armed with these short phrases, you should be able to have the only conversation you’re likely to have in a Chinese taxi. But what should you do when you’re nearing your destination? Tune in to the next part of this series to find out how to give a driver directions, and to pay for your journey.
Here’s how you might use these words in a taxi.
Bob is getting a bit suspicious that his taxi isn’t going the right way.
Bob: (To taxi driver) Nǐ zǒu nǎli nǎli ya？
Driver: 人民广场啊！你不是说要去人民广场啊？我们走隧道！
Bob: (Thinks for a moment, looks around) O.
Bob: (To taxi driver) Where are you going?
Driver: People’s Square. You said People’s Square, didn’t you? We’re taking the tunnel.
Bob: (Thinks for a moment, looks around) Oh yeah, that’s right.
(A bit later in the journey)
Driver: What country are you from?
Bob: The Central African Republic.
Driver: The Central African Republic is very good! The Central African Republic is beautiful!
Bob: No it’s not.
We learnt from JapanesePod101.com today that to call someone “omae” is rather rough, and rude. We also heard that sometimes boyfriends call their girlfriends “omae”. I thought I’d try it out on Aika, and see her reaction!
It took me a while to get my message through to Aika; she said afterwards that my grammar was a little off, and I think I really overdid it on the “omae”. It was obvious something was up. So I’m not sure what my little experiment proves, but I’ll include it here all the same!
I got my new mixer home the other day, only to find that I needed a new mic holder thingy. The stand that I had bought came with a clip, but I needed a bigger holder for my big, compressor mic. I went to the place where I got the mixer, but the only holders I could find were 300RMB, which is, quite frankly, an outrageously exorbitant price for a bit of metal with some rubber bands strung around it.
Some things are much cheaper in China, some are more expensive. Anyone looking for cheap electronics on their visit to mainland China is going to be disappointed. Anything that isn’t made in China (and you’ll find that most popular electronics aren’t!) will be considerably cheaper outside of China. But anything made IN China will be a bargain. You can get decent (acoustic) musical instruments so cheap that you’ll consider taking up the trumpet. But I digress.
I was pretty certain that my microphone-holder (I found out that the Chinese word is 防震架) fell into the “dirt cheap” category and wasn’t about to pay 300RMB for one. So Aika and I made our way to 宝山路.
I’m not sure how to describe the 宝山路 area. There are hundreds of stalls there, selling all sorts of electronic equipment. But these aren’t anything like anything you’ve seen before. You won’t see any brand names or new models. You’ll see second hand models, items that look like they were lifted from somebody’s pockets, electronic dictionaries that were made in the ’80s, cassette players, computers from the early 90s, things that people have put together themselves… the last time I was there, I saw a stall with nine (yes, NINE) large electronic organs. Each was about the size of a dinner table, and as tall as an adult. They sounded terrible. They sounded like the first CASIO keyboard that I got when I was five. And this guy had nine of them. He was actually really angry at me when I didn’t buy one. Another time I found quite a new, expensive PDA at a stall of otherwise crappy electronic devices. I asked the owner of the blanket that they were all laid out on what he wanted, and he took it out of my hands, turned it over a few times, and said “1000RMB”. I didn’t buy it, but you could just tell by the way he was handling it that he had no idea what it was. He was turning it over every which way, and was fascinated by the slot for the SD card in the bottom. He could see that there was something in there, but couldn’t get it out. If I hadn’t pressed down on it to pop it out for him I’m sure he’d still be there trying to work it out!
Anyway, I found my 防震架 for 50RMB. The guy I got it off was very friendly, and knew immediately what a 防震架 was when I asked for one. Not everyone knew what one was. He bade us a pleasant day and gave us a big smile as money changed hands, which is usually a sure sign that you’ve paid too much!
I noted with regret that the dirtiest, most dodgy part of the area has been demolished. I took a photo of the ruins today, and it’s included at my blog. As I looked on the screen of my digital camera I noticed the crowd that had gathered in the foreground. I wandered over. A policeman was writing out a citation for someone, and there was a lot of debate about what was going on. “What’s going on?” I heard someone ask. “Well…” someone helpfully started, but then the conversation switched over to Shanghainese and I was lost.
By the way, I’ve included a recording of this blog post on my homesite http://www.maxiewawa.com . It was recorded on my condenser mic, which as I speak is cradled in my new 防震架.
The makers of KoreanClass101.com asked their students to make a short video introducing themselves in Korean. Always eager to participate in things like this, I participated. If you’re not sure what I look like, I’m the scruffy guy that comes on at 1:03.
As I type, there are three workers climbing around on a scaffolding that is on top of a tall office building near my apartment. I hope that they have taken safety precautions!
I got my new mixer home the other day, only to find that I needed a new mic holder thingy. The stand that I had bought came with a clip, but I needed a bigger holder for my big, compressor mic. I went to the place where I got the mixer, but the only holders I could find were 300RMB, which is, quite frankly, an outrageously exorbitant price for a bit of metal with some rubber bands strung around it.