Taxis and Food

So I've been taking the taxi by myself for a few days now. This city is quite big, but I've managed to get around alright. I know specific landmarks and place names to say so I can usually get myself within short walking distance of the places I need to go. I'm slowly grasping the layout of the city and am now recognizing things as we pass by them. What I'm saying is, my mental map is coming along well, and this makes the city less intimidating.

Tonight on the way home I got in a cab that didn't have a meter (or at least it was cleverly hidden). I knew right off the bat this was trouble, but I was too tired to care. So I make conversation as much as I can without actually knowing any substantive Arabic, and the driver knowing little English. We get to my neighborhood and I have him pull over about a block from my house. I know that where I came from to my house usually runs about 2.5 dinars, so I figure I'll be nice and just give him 3 and not ask for change. I hand him three and he looks at me and demands more.

I say, "Three is good!"

He points to the clock and says "Late."

I'm thinking to myself, "Is he really trying to tell me that there's some late night taxi tax??" (By the way, it was only like 9 PM; not late at all.)

I laugh and say, "Okay. Two good?" and go to reach for one of the dinars back.

At this point he decides that three is indeed good, and says "Salaamu" meaning "peace" and he was out of there.

I just want it to be clear that most taxi drivers that I've dealt with are very nice and honest people. I almost gave one guy a 10 dinar note instead of a 1 and he gave it back and informed me of my error. Tonight was the first instance of someone trying to take advantage of me.

I got to eat my first authentic sit down Arabic meal the other night. It was wonderful. I especially enjoyed the hummus which was topped with meat and pine nuts; as well as the chicken (picture of the whole meal above). Afterward, we had some tea; it too was great (See below picture). The food so far has been superb. We've had the chance to get little things from street side restaurant shops as well. Today we had a falafel sandwich; SO good! It's mushed up falafels inside some of the Arabic flat bread, which is chewy and delicious, as well as hummus all rolled up with some other sauce sprinkled on top. Another of my favorites has been Shawarma. Wikipedia probably does a better job of explaining this that I would do, so you can look it up if you like. My stomach has been strong and I've not had a single instance of it having to "adjust" to the new food so far. Admittedly, the food here isn't really all that different than home, but I still thought I'd have to go through an adjustment period.

These first few days have gone really great. I've no reason to believe it won't continue in the same fashion. I'm probably gonna be heading out and doing some more exploring tomorrow in a new part of town. This is so great, I still can't believe I'm really here.