她喝多了。

Steve and I went on a date today. I think this was the first date we have had since our anniversary. I think. We ended up going to... wait for it... Starbucks. I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to get all worked up about it, but it is a big deal for Harbin and all, so we took the bait and went.

That isn't actually what I want to talk about today though. What I want to share is about our ride TO the coffee joint. We took a taxi, and as is the custom of many taxi drivers in the city, they pick up more than one passenger. After we got in and went a little way, he picked up a woman with very red hair. Now, by red, I mean it was red velvet cake red. She told the driver where she was going and he needed her to repeat herself a few times. Her speech was a little difficult to understand. I thought either she was a foreigner or I was having a bad Chinese day. The driver had already established before picking her up that we were from America (most people assume we are Russian) and when she got in that was her first question to him about us. The conversation proceeded with them talking about us and us talking about them talking about us. Quite normal so far.

She was talking to us and repeating herself and kept talking about "You French and the Russians and the English all are so...." fill in the blank with whatever she thought based on some show she watched. She shared she was afraid of Russians, but her reasoning wasn't so clear. The driver pointed out again to her that we are American. So, "American" replaced "English" and then she continued with "You French, the Americans and the Russians are so  blah blah blah."

She wanted to light up a cigarette which we pounced on pretty swiftly (including the driver). Somehow in conveying that we didn't want her to smoke, Steve indirectly and unknowingly made them think I was pregnant. I am not by the way.  I knew what he had done, but he had no idea. They then looked at me with that, "aww!" expression you give women who are expecting. ugh. We didn't correct their thinking out of fear that she would again try to light up! That was probably bad.

Steve said, "I cannot quite place her personality." My swift response was, "the drunk kind" but then thought maybe I was being presumptuous. The driver seemed bothered by her, but at that point I thought it was just HIS personality at work. Some drivers are less friendly and talkative than others.

So the ride continues and she gets dropped off before we do. Immediately upon her exit the driver says, "她喝多了." /ta he duo le/ "She's had too much to drink." He then went on to list all the reasons he believed it to be so. He had told her we were American. "What's with this going on about 'you French'!? Talking about being afraid of Russians. She smelled like alcohol.... She was indeed drunk." He then went off on her wanting to smoke and how it is illegal to do so in a taxi. If she lit up he could make her get out and find another taxi. If a driver smokes and you ask him not to, you don't have to pay him! Good info!

The driver became so much more friendly after she got out of the car. He began asking us more questions about us and seemed more comfortable with us than he did with the woman who had just been in his taxi. That is rare for us to have a bigger in than a Chinese person; we were thrilled to chat with him the rest of our way to Center Street where we did indeed find Starbucks.

He dropped us off right by a big pile of huge ice blocks that will become some amazing sculptures in the next week or so and cautioned me to be careful. ;) I'm sure he was thinking of my delicate condition. Haha.

See ya' tomorrow! 明天见！