Taxi vs. Rider

Hello everyone. Sorry i havent been posting as often as i used to but that is just because work in the office is picking up a lot and i dont really have time to do much. I have also had a lot on my mind and honestly not in the mood all the time to type of an entry. But i'll give you guys just a bit of what has been on my mind.

I'll start off with a taxi experience...so i got into the taxi and we were headed to the office which is about a 20 minute drive but we got stuck in terrible traffic and were there for a bit. I wasnt saying anything to the taxi driver and he wasnt saying anything to me. The taxi driver started to whistle this song. Let me first say he is a really good whistler...so yeah he whistled this song one time through and we sat there again in relative silence (i mean cars honking and people screaming in the background of course) then he started to whistle the same song again but this time i started up with him. He stopped. I stopped. He looked at me. I looked at him. And like out of a movie or something we both just start from the top and whistle the entire song through and it was really great. Music is always said to be the "universal language" I mean granted he didnt know i didnt know how to speak his language but still it created a small bond between us and i started off with an izzayak(how are you), the roads started to clear and he was telling me about his day he was telling me how his daughter was in school and she is very clever and stuff like that. I just smiled and put in my 2 cents like "really?" or "thats great" or something like that. Anyway so we get to the office and i give him 10 pounds because thats the price. He stops me and goes "i want more" and i ask him why....his reason was because we whistled and talked and i should give him more now since we are "friends". That really saddened me that it had to end like that. I told him sorry but 10pounds is fair and i walked off. I wasnt angry, i wasnt frustrated i was just sad that this has the be the relationship of the taxi driver and the rider. I began to try and think why is it that the relationship is like that? Sort of like the chicken and the egg dilemma (even though i believe it was the chicken that came first) so yeah what came first? was it the taxi driver being rude or too demanding or being greedy and only seeking out more money, or is it the fault of us the rider of the taxis? I mean i have a friend who is a taxi driver and he is a normal person just trying to make a living. He tells me about how hard it is sometimes because of this sterotype that is put on the taxi driver that they only want money and stuff so as soon as a rider gets in they dont like the taxi driver. So i dont know it could be a combination of both types of people. Greedy taxi drivers and impolite cold riders.
So why are the riders cold to the taxi drivers? it could be because they all think they are greedy and just out to get their money, it could be that they are afraid to build any type of relationship (no matter how small or shallow or whatever it is) because the same thing that happened to me might happen to them. I dont know i wish i did know. I know however each time i get into a taxi i want to be able to talk to them. Not to prove that i am egyptian so dont charge me a ridiculous price but just because hey this person next to me is a regular guy doing their job and someone has to break this ritual of a relationship. So yeah thats one of my insentives to learn this language so i can communicate with taxi drivers because though some may only out to get my money it could just be because of this poisoned relationship we all have put ourselves in. Anyway i dont even know if its just an egyptian taxi driver thing because i cant remember ever taking a taxi while in America....oh well i am rambling and i dont remember what my point was.....

Ok this was a lame post sorry. I am going to get out of my slump soon and start posting more things. Have a good day.


I hope Joe got to read this