Back on the TransAm – this time until the end!
Today’s ride was a nice change from the hills I’ve been climbing for a while. In addition, the roads either had wide shoulders or almost no traffic.
I have stayed in far more motels than I expected, mainly due to evening rain, which I have decided I have a low tolerance for.
As many people know, most of them are owned by Indian people (that is, people from the country India, not Native Americans). I asked an Indian friend if there was a friendly greeting I could use to break the ice, and he suggested “namaste.” Just to be clear, I am not trying to extract any advantage from them. I am just trying to be friendly.
It seems to have been received pretty well, but I got the impression a couple times that they may have been slightly offended – maybe thinking I was being overly friendly or just presumptuous?
However, today’s motel is owned by a Chinese family. When they let me check in early, I thanked them with the Mandarin expression 谢谢 (xiè xiè). They were so happy!
