Taxi Drivers

Very few people in this city have more control over our emotional state as taxi drivers do. i know. sounds dumb - but a bad taxi ride has the power to (very quickly) tip me right over the edge from having a good day to anger, yelling, and general hatred of the city.

Its unfortunate, but cab drivers have a reputation of being dishonest and trying to rip people off (and not just foreigners). When i get in a cab i expect that i'm going to have to give directions if i don't want to be taken the long way around. I expect that at least once i'm going to have to say, "Where are you going?!?!" or "What are you doing?!?!" i'm not surprised when the cab driver quotes me a ridiculous price instead of using the meter (i usually don't get in those cabs. i figure that's their punishment...if they want to be ridiculous i'll protest their behavior by giving my business to someone else). I expect that they won't have change to give me...or at least will pretend they don't have change to give me at the end of the ride. I expect that they'll ask for a bigger tip than i give them (and often they "demand" the tip by refusing to give change).

last week i yelled at cab driver...surprising him (and others) with how much bangla i speak as i shamed him for taking advantage of me and my friends. it wasn't my finest moment. (i know it seems strange, but shame is a very culturally appropriate way of addressing inappropriate behavior). in some ways its like being ripped off by a taxi driver brings all sorts of stuff to the surface...like feeling dis-empowered, taken advantage of, the fear of being taken advantage of, the assumption that because i'm obviously not a local that its okay to rip me off, or that somehow i owe them extra for driving me because i'm a foreigner...and some days its just the thing that pushes me over the edge.

this is unfortunate - because there are also some very kind cab drivers in this city (they just seem to be harder to find!) we've actually become friends with a cab driver who is dependable and honest. We call him in advance when we know we'll need a cab. it sounds strange, but he is a gift to our community. to be able to take a cab without the fear of being ripped off...it does a lot to make transportation less stressful.

and saturday night i had a great cab driver. I was out later than normal, and in a part of town where i wasn't really familiar with the roads or the best way to get home. I felt really vulnerable. He could have taken me the long way around...and i wouldn't have known it. but he didn't. he was kind. and he brought me home...and he didn't even expect a tip. i had to tell him multiple times to give me less change than he owed me. i LOVE tipping cab drivers like that. i should have gotten his number...

thanks cab driver. your kindness made my night.