Charlie

Charlie singing

This weekend I went to Beijing with some friends, one whose travel style is higher than mine. She doesn’t like to take public transportation so she’s been hiring a driver, Charlie, to take her around. I just wouldn’t consider hiring a driver a $100 or more a day. It’s not something English teachers can afford, though business teachers can. (So become a business teacher if you want to make big bucks.)

My friend arranged for Charlie, her driver, to take us around on Saturday. He picked us up at 9:30 and he was full of energy. Neat as a pin, and jovial as can be, Charlie drove us to the Silk Market, then to “The Village,” another shopping area and finally to the Pearl Market. As he drove he sang Peking Opera songs. He’s self-taught and quite good, or we thought so. He’s really serious about opera and after each song, he supplied a synopsis in English.

Not only was he a fun driver, Charlie was a very safe driver and hospitable. He’s lead an interesting life growing up in village near Shanghai, becoming a “little boss” in a factory, meeting his one love there, teaching himself English and opera and eventually starting a driving business which now consists of a fleet of 12 drivers.