The horrible thing is that whenever they're around and I think about something, I usually think it in Latin or German (I have no idea why my Latin "fluency" is suddenly returning, but it is) and I have to bite my tongue not to say it because I don't want them to think I'm mocking them. Hey that's a natural response. In Canada, at least where I live, if the person you're speaking to doesn't speak English, they generally speak French, so when I was in China, and I would see that people didn't understand what I was saying, I say it in French, or at least think about doing that, and that was sooo not helpful. :P
When I saw a card for a taxi service at work, I was amazed that there were taxis in The Woodlands (which is the really rich area around here). I mean, I knew there were taxis in Conroe because I saw them when I worked security...but that was only ever in the poor/Mexican part of town. To see it in the rich areas...that was truly surprising. Wow... I would never think that. I don't necessarily associate public transit with poor people. Maybe buses a little, but the times I've taken the bus, there was a fair share of men and women in suites and whatnot. In Ottawa they really try and push the buses for environmental reasons. Also, it can be a bitch parking down town, so people take the bus to avoid the hassle, not because they don't have a car. Also, because Ottawa is sprawling, there are a lot of people who live in the country, and commute in, so they'll drive their car to the edge of the city, leave their car in a Park 'n Ride then take the bus in (which often have their own lanes so it's faster anyways, that was the fastest way for me to get to college when I was living with my parents). Taxi's on the other hand... maybe it's just because taxi's here are really expensive, but I would certainly not associate taxi's with poor people. I associate them with visitors, drunk people or kids not old enough to drive. *shrugs* It's funny to hear about the different assumptions and what not people make :)
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Hey that's a natural response. In Canada, at least where I live, if the person you're speaking to doesn't speak English, they generally speak French, so when I was in China, and I would see that people didn't understand what I was saying, I say it in French, or at least think about doing that, and that was sooo not helpful. :P
When I saw a card for a taxi service at work, I was amazed that there were taxis in The Woodlands (which is the really rich area around here). I mean, I knew there were taxis in Conroe because I saw them when I worked security...but that was only ever in the poor/Mexican part of town. To see it in the rich areas...that was truly surprising.
Wow... I would never think that. I don't necessarily associate public transit with poor people. Maybe buses a little, but the times I've taken the bus, there was a fair share of men and women in suites and whatnot. In Ottawa they really try and push the buses for environmental reasons. Also, it can be a bitch parking down town, so people take the bus to avoid the hassle, not because they don't have a car. Also, because Ottawa is sprawling, there are a lot of people who live in the country, and commute in, so they'll drive their car to the edge of the city, leave their car in a Park 'n Ride then take the bus in (which often have their own lanes so it's faster anyways, that was the fastest way for me to get to college when I was living with my parents).
Taxi's on the other hand... maybe it's just because taxi's here are really expensive, but I would certainly not associate taxi's with poor people. I associate them with visitors, drunk people or kids not old enough to drive. *shrugs* It's funny to hear about the different assumptions and what not people make :)