Gary stole my thunder and blogged about the taxi strike before I could! Blake's up north helping with a basketball camp and enjoying the beach while the rest of us walk everywhere.
Anyways, this morning I left at my usual time. Blake and I live about a 10 minute ride away from the city center where our school is. The most we've ever had to wait for a taxi was about 5 minutes. This morning was different. This time, there were about 20 people waiting at the taxi stand. I waited for about 30 minutes and only two taxis came by the whole time. Each taxi can only take 3 people and there was already 2 people in each one. So, there was a bum rush for each spot. Being extremely NOT fluent in Arabic, I didn't stand a chance of getting a spot. So, I called my fellow students and told them I was starting the 30-45 minute walk to school. I figured I would at least make the second half of class.
I walked about two blocks and I happened to turn around and there was a taxi coming with two spots. I stuck my hand out and he blew buy all the people at the stand and stopped for me! Now, being a blonde, I get alot of attention that I don't really like. I get stared at and hollered at often (which most women here get that too) but I'm not afraid to use my blonde-ness for crossing streets and now catching taxis during the strike.
I have a feeling that it will not be this easy every time I go, so I'm just going to bring my ipod and plan on walking. If I catch a taxi, it will be a nice surprise! Also, I'm planning on staying at people's houses downtown for the next two days so I don't have to mess with it. So thanks Gary and Bradyn and the J-girls for their hospitality!
In case you were wondering, the beautiful lake behind Gary & Bradyn in their picture is about an hour north of our city. We have no idea how to get there, but it was amazing! We went out and celebrated E-day and had a picnic yesterday!
1 comment:
I'm so sad we weren't there for E-day. That sounds like so much fun!
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