Why couldn't I see the taxi cabs on the street?

I have experienced several cultural shocks since I stepped onto the land of the U.S.A.

The very first is that I can't see any vacant taxi cabs on the street of New Haven, which is shocking to me, as we have lots of taxis going around the city, among them always some empty ones, except during rush hours or under extremely bad weather.

As we arrived a day earlier than we were supposed to, we had to accommodate ourselves in a hotel. After we were dropped from the shuttle bus, which picked us up from the JFC International airport and carried us all the way to the Yale University for 395 dollars, we decided to take a taxi to the hotel. We waited at the bus stop for quite a while, but no taxi cabs passed. 

It was a fine day that day, and many people were outside enjoying the sunshine near or on the green meadow, which we knew later was the famous New Haven Green. Among all the thronging people there, a young man and a young lady caught our attention. They were chatting happily near us at the bus stop. They seemed to be friendly. So we approached them and asked: "Why can't we see any taxi cabs here?"

"Oh, we don't wait for taxi cabs; we call them." the happy young man replied. He looked so handsome in his friendly smile.

"Then can you kindly tell me the phone number?"

"Of course." the young man answered. The girl smiled to us, "The only thing you have to do is to give them a call and tell them where you are."

They were so amiable that we asked for more: "Then would you just call a taxi for us?" I handed my cellphone over, "I just have no idea where we are now."

 "Sure," was his answer.

He looked delighted as he talked to the taxi company over the phone. A little while later, he handed over the cell phone to me. "It's done. They will text you and tell you the number of the taxi cab. You can wait for the taxi across the street."

Oh, what a sincere and helpful young man he was! And what a lesson! In New Haven, We should call 777-7777 for taxi cabs, instead of waiting for taxi cabs by the street!

For the rest of the shocks we had experienced, there is a list:

• Americans don't hang their wet clothes outdoors.
• Americans don't have a sign board like "Off the Grass" like we learn in China.
• Americans have confidence in the quality of their food.
• We feel well taken care of at Yale University, as is not often the case back in my hometown.
• ...