Our New Ride

I finally found a car rental and driver that I could afford. The car is grey a 2006 VW Passat - it's clean and in great condition. I only have the car for 5 days (Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun) and only for 9 hours. Anything beyond 9 hours, I have to pay RMB10 per hour in overtime. I also have to pay for gas.

Today was the first day that I used the car. It is so nice not to have to stand on the side of the street, with Sydney on one arm, her diaper bag on the other, trying to wave down a taxi along with 4 other people, while hoping that we don't inhale too much fumes from other cars that we will get sick. I made arrangements to have the car pick us up at 8:30 this morning, and we exited the apartment straight into the car. It is fantastic!

Our driver is a very nice man by the name of Hou. He's in his 40s and a pretty decent driver, as far as Shanghai goes. He is so eager to please that it is uncomfortable. I know this was his first day to work for me and he probably really needs this job, but it makes me want to cry to see how subservient he is to us. He immediately hops out of the car when he sees us approach to open the door and he does the same thing to let us out. I keep telling him that it's not necessary but my language skills are extremely limited right now. He always puts his hand on Sydney's head when we enter or exit the car so that she won't bump her head. Then Sydney dropped her toy and he immediately picks it up and dusts it off for her. There's such a yearning to please so that I will agree to keep him as my driver. Once my Chinese improves, I'll have to let him know that as long as he shows up on time and doesn't get us killed on the road, I'm a happy camper. I hope that other expats haven't expected that kind of behavior.

The task now is to get Sydney used to being buckled in. After 3 weeks of having mobility in the car, she is not willing to give it up without a fight. This is how she rode in the taxis.

And now, this is how she'll ride in the rental car.

Actually, the last picture is deceiving because she only lasted 5 minutes in the seat belt before she started screeching like a banshee. I'm going to strap her in every time in hopes that she will eventually get used to it.