Georgie the Driver

I felt like a total celeb at the Shanghai Airport pulling luggage along side of the man whose name read "Mr. Timothy Calton" held by our full-time driver.

Georgie, Tim later named him (after one of his two best friends in Hawaii), was very anxious and picked up probably 10 thousand pounds of Samsonite (or the knock-offs there of) and quickly loaded them into the GMAC company van assigned to us. More on the van (or "MV" as my 'overcoming the mini-van stigma' brother-in-law likes to call it) later.

He was my same height, only 5'8, but had hidden mussels behind his humble suede jacket. He spoke Shanghaiese to the relocation specialist who accompanied him, for translating, I suppose. However, after a short 5 minutes, the relocation specialist proved to be obsolete. Georgie spoke perfect mandarin, and Tim and I loved him at "ni hao" (hello).

Georgie's most charming feature is his smile, It is quick to come, and encompasses his entire face. We loved sitting in the third row while still being able to see his smile flood to his eyes through the rear view mirror where we made eye contact with him.

Our other favorite quality is his immediate and strong loyalty. While he was so sweet to our boys, tickling their feet in the middle row, he showed his range of emotion when the other relocation dude was late. Georgie (the chinese name he gave us translates to "little liu", but now prefers Geroge or Georgie), went from smile after smile to a cell phone call in shanghaiese which must've included some serious curse words. He didn't like anyone making us late, and made it quite clear, in any language, that he represented the Calton crew. And don't mess with this little gringo family, or he would expose his fangs. I totally got it on film, it's hilarious.

Georgie told Tim his past boss was half American, half Chinese, and bit belittling. He would never talk to Georgie. He would have him wait outside his office building for the entire 10 hour shift in the car. I guess that's customary and common place for Drivers. How rude, I think.

Georgie has called his friends in amazement at his new boss. He was already was shocked we knew the language, but even more shocked that we asked his opinion on many of the houses we viewed. I guess I was a bit bugged at our Housing Agent, as I knew he was totally "greased" (paid under the table to only show us certain properties that he could earn an extra buck on). So at most of the houses we visited, we'd invite Georgie in and ask him what he thought. This might have came across as insulting to the Agent, as his pay was most likely yards above Georgie's, and out of line for us to reform the line of respect like that... but to us USA-ans, he was family.

Georgie returned the favor, right away solidifying our "Guanxi" (relationship), by giving us the insider scoop on everything when the Agent left. Apparently, the agent came late, and handed Georgie a new itinerary of destinations. The list of places to visit was cut in HALF from what GMAC outlined us to see. Georgie showed us the original and confirmed the guy was "greased". Then he told us all the little conversations that took place on the guy's cell that were previously encrypted in Shanghaiese.

Our Georgie LOVES the boys. He helps them in and out of the MV. Tanner has taken a particular liking to him, which has inspired a quick immersion into mandarin for little Tann. When Georgie is driving, and Tann wants to get his attention, he will gently say over and over "Ni-hoo", meaning "Nihao" till he reaches for Tanner's feet and responds. Tanner will also call for hi by yelling sweetly "ge ge! ge ge!", which translates to older brother. Georgie refuses to be called "Shu Shu" (uncle), though he is our same age-- however he looks like he's 17.

He is a skilled driver, having started illegally at the mere age of 14. He weaves through traffic quickly and impulsively. There are no reinforced traffic laws in China, so all's fair in reckless driving. We've driven through back allies as an ATV would, we've driven against on-coming traffic, and even stopped a huge traffic line behind so Georgie could change the languages on Hunter's DVD player. Tim and I have laughed out loud many times at the rules of the road here, and secretly hoping for a chance behind the wheel here (though it's a HUGE liability for GMAC, that's why they fork out the $1000 per month for drivers--FYI, that's double the regular pay for drivers, isn't that nice of GM?).

So when you're stuck in traffic over there in the US, think of us. Think of us driving over medians, possibly off the shoulder, or maybe even against oncoming traffic. And think of our fierce little Georgie's smile in the rearview.

PS: On the MV: We were shocked to see it has all the bells and whistles: sunroof, DVD players built in both headrests, all leather interior, front/back climate controls, middle row bucket seats that swivel to face forward, back or facing each other. Totally undeserving!