Put Her There!

We live in a world where contracts are made to be broken. Americans are so litigious that it is hard to think any other way but defensively. Long gone are the days of "My word is my bond". Anymore, a good strong handshake is merely a formality and never an actual binding contract. 

Or is it?

The other day I was waiting at a light. The light turned green and traffic started moving along slowly with me at the back. All was well until a car parked on the side of the road suddenly pulled out and hit me. 

Annoyed, more than anything, I took a deep breath and got out of my van. 

The Chinese man was already out of his car shooting rapid fire Mandarin my way until I turned my head and from behind my black hair emerged my white face and he instantly stopped short and put his hands up in the air, turning away from me like, "You have got to be kidding me!" 

I walked around to check for damage, just paint transfer and a minor scratch, no big deal. I look at his car, a little body damage. He starts speaking very urgently to me again and then says his first English words to me, "Ok? Ok?" Like, it's fine, let's just call it good and go.

Umm no. Not ok. 

I understand quite a bit more Chinese than I can speak. What I was not hearing in his rants were any of the familiar apologetic phrases that I expected to hear from someone who was so clearly in the wrong. So did that mean he didn't think it was his fault? We can't just drive away without him at least admitting wrong doing! But I was now late for an appointment and not in the mood to do the song and dance with the Foreign Police.

So I did what I think most people would do. I grabbed my phone and started taking pictures. I got the scene, the damage on my car and his car, followed by his license plate. 

He starts getting more agitated. 

In Mandarin he is asking each and every passerby on the street if they speak English. 

About this time, a friend of mine had pulled over and come up and a worker tending nearby greenery also comes over and says in surprisingly good English, "He wants you to delete the pictures before you leave." I replied, "I am not going to erase the pictures, I will keep them so he can't say I did this."

Understanding seemed to dawn on our impromptu translator, he turned to the man who had hit me and explained the problem.  All of a sudden he got it and began saying to me, "Sorry. Sorry." finally apologizing. 

The translator then told me we must shake hands. What? Hmm... Awkward......but okay.

And that is how my friend got an official, totally-wouldn't-hold-up-in-court picture of us shaking hands. 

The funny thing is, as I drove away I thought, that handshake actually did make me feel better. The damage to my car was so minor and body work is very cheap. I just wanted him to say, Hey, I  am so sorry about that. It was an accident. 

 Sometimes it is refreshing to live in a place where an apology and a handshake can still make everything right. 

PS- I still laugh until I'm crying when I look at this picture... I love this quirky little country.

PPS- I feel pretty confident I could've taken this guy, if it'd come to that.