Return of the Crazy Taxi Drivers

My computer is in the States right now getting "fixed." What this means is that Dell is issuing me a new computer to match my old one. I'm really glad that I had that warranty. Hopefully within the next few weeks I'll have a new computer in my possession and I can once again post pictures and write more frequently.

I'll share a quick anecdote from life here:

Recently, while riding in a few taxis I've noticed something a bit unsettling. We'll just be cruising along and maybe ten minutes into the ride, the taxi driver reaches up, grabs his seatbelt and puts it on; he doesn't say a word to me about it. Obviously this doesn't inspire the biggest amount of confidence from me. The really curious thing is that there is seemingly no reason for it. It's not like the traffic gets really heavy or he starts to drive crazy. It's exactly the same as before except now he has his seatbelt on. Are they just getting safety conscious mid-trip?

I'll clarify this oddity by explaining that I've tried several times to put on my seatbelt when in a taxi only to be looked at funny or scoffed at. Half the time the passenger's seat doesn't even have a working seatbelt.

I've not yet asked any of the drivers why they do this. I need to learn the word for "seatbelt" and then next time it happens I can call them out on it. Hopefully then I can stop worrying about my seatbeltless situation.

Everyone is crazy

I have officially had my first conversation in Arabic with a taxi driver. Granted, I’m sure I sounded like a 3 year old babbling words who doesn’t truly understand what he’s saying, but even so I was very proud of myself and excited. Perhaps one of the funniest moments was the following exchange (all in Arabic):

Taxi Driver almost hits a guy running across a busy street, then proceeds to almost slam into a car and says “Crazy Man!”

I am startled, yet ecstatic that I understood that haha. So I tell him, “Yes, crazy. I understand you.”

Surprised that I spoke to him in Arabic he laughs, and I proudly smile, then he says, “There are too many cars in this city.”

Nearing my destination another car cuts us off and nearly side swipes us, causing the driver to exasperatingly declare, “EVERY one is crazy today!”

To which I say, “We are not crazy.”

And we laugh.

So there you go. That was about the extent of my hold on Arabic right there in that one conversation haha. Overall, I’m very pleased. I’ve only had 15 hours of language learning at this point and most of it has been nouns and other vocabulary. I won’t really be touching grammar until after the first 100 hours or so.

That’s not to say that I won’t be trying to learn some of it myself. I’m fortunate to have a friend in the city who lived here for a couple of years, a few years ago. He has a firm grasp of the language already and has been helping clarify things for me that get befuddled during class. I can’t tell you how great it’s been to be able to discuss with a NATIVE English speaker some of the more perplexing intricacies of the language. As with most native speakers of any language, my instructor fails to mention a lot of stuff that I would consider valuable information; I think this is because he doesn’t realize that certain “obvious” linguistic aspects aren’t so obvious to someone just starting out. But, he also might be leaving it out simply because he thinks these things are unimportant to my early language development. Either way, my desire to grasp the language makes me want to understand every detail. That’s why it’s nice to a friend who knows what I’m talking about!

I can’t think of a good picture to include with this post. I promise to make the next entry picture intensive to make up for it. Thank you all who have written me encouraging words and comments on my blog entries. It’s great to hear from you! Don’t be shy, and I promise not to be shy to reply to your comments. See you soon.

4 out of 5 Taxi drivers recommend Barack Obama!

I was riding in a taxi the other day (I have a feeling many of my stories will begin this way). Trying to make conversation with taxi drivers is usually hit or miss. It greatly depends on the time of day as to whether or not they will make an effort to communicate back.

(As a side note, I was riding in a taxi the other night around 10 PM or so, and the ENTIRE time the driver was singing made up nonsense. He would ask me a question and then I would respond, after which he would begin singing either the question or the answer. I'm not entirely sure he wasn't under the influence of some illicit substance... It was funny, yet a bit uncomfortable.)

This particular morning taxi ride across town found me with a somewhat fluent driver. His English was alright so I began to talk to him. Everything was going good, I was asking him to help me with my Arabic, etc. He suddenly asks about whether or not the US Congress has Israeli congressmen. Befuddled, I answer that no, only American citizens can hold US congressional office. He agrees that this is good, and then turns the conversation to the upcoming election. I was wary to say anything since we're supposed to remain politically neutral. However, it seemed like he just wanted to talk, so I carefully continued forward.

He asks me who I support, and I ask him who he likes. McCain or Obama? His answer is a resounding OBAMA! I am utterly curious as to why he likes Obama so much, so I probe him further with a thought provoking "Why?" His answer was simply, "I like the way he looks," and then he motions to his face, "I like his face." I ask him if he knows anything about what Obama stands for, and he just repeats, "I like how he looks. He is black, yes?"

So now I'm intrigued: Does the rest of the world view American politicians based upon what they look like? Probably. Too bad for McCain that the rest of the world probably just sees an old, crotchety white guy.

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.