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China Elevator Stories
“Is Your Wife From Russia?”
My fiancé chats with a cab driver in Shenzhen.
26/09/2013
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
In January 2013, my fiancé and I take a cab in Shenzhen. The cab driver starts a conversation with my fiancé, not knowing that I understand everything they say.
Pointing at the pineapple in my fiancé’s hand, the cab driver states: “I love eating these too.”
My fiancé replies: “It’s probably not the right season for eating them.”
The cab driver goes on to say: “I guess the pineapple is imported from Hainan, which really isn’t that far from here. You have a beautiful wife. Is she from Russia?”
“No, she’s from Austria.”
“You must be very talented, since you have a foreign wife.”
“I have had bad experiences with Chinese girls in the past. My girlfriend, well, she understands the ways of the world, that’s why she suits me.”
The cab driver says: “Foreigners are well-educated.”
We arrive at our destination and say goodbye to the cab driver.
Have you ever come across a similar situation?