Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Interesting Cultural Differences

Something I notice every time I get on the highway here is that the tollbooth workers are all extremely good looking girls. I thought this couldn't be a coincidence so recently I asked my taxi driver about it. He was actually surprised that I would question this phenomenon. He basically replied "Of course! These are the people welcoming you into the city. They have to be beautiful!" And apparently their salary is pretty good at about three or four times that of a typical retail job. I guess this kind of makes sense. If I-95 was like this it definitely would have made those Connecticut - Miami trips a bit more pleasant.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an idea. Too bad the U.S. doesn't pick up on it. Last time I was in NYC the guy actually flipped his cigarette and hit my car, after he barked at me for not having exact change.

Anonymous said...

以貌取人 is a Chinese phrase that means to judge someone solely by their appearance. I think this is a great observation, as I feel that this situation is not unique to just toll booth workers. Chinese women certainly have more power in comparison to their counterparts in other Asian nations like Japan, but I feel that a woman’s appearance is still a critical factor that many employers take into consideration in China.