Every Saturday, I help facilitate discussion at an English Corner. English Corner is a term for when people who want to learn English get together and have discussions. I like the opportunity to discuss deeper issues with college students and adults.
After lunch at Jenny’s, I took a nap on my couch and woke up feeling apathetic about going out in the cold to get to English Corner. It takes me about an hour if I travel frugally by bus and subway. I’m disciplining myself to follow through on commitments of all sizes, so I got up and got ready. To make it more appealing, I decided to splurge on the faster, warmer option of taking taxis both ways. I stood out on the cold street, jumping in place, and asked the Father to send me a taxi with a nice driver. One of my deals with myself is that I use taxi drivers as conversation partners. It’s been an awesome way to practice Chinese. Some drivers are not as willing to chat as others, so I was hoping for a gracious one.
A taxi pulled up and I got in. “Hello! Where to go?” the driver boomed in English. I laughed out loud. The Father sent me a guy who knows English! It was a fabulous ride. He had learned some English from foreign passengers over the years and was delighted to converse in a mishmash of English and Chinese. He told me he liked American music and then turned on some rap. I asked if he understood the words and he said no. It was a fun life moment for me to be sitting in a Beijing taxi, snow beginning to fall, translating rap songs into Chinese. “…There’s a man driving a nice car and he wants the pretty women to look at him…”
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