Taxi Convos

So I'm sitting up late watching an Egyptian movie on Kuwait tv. Our water heater exploded today so there is no hot water. And the water tank is sitting on the roof with the snow so there REALLY is no hot water. Zamana is on a greyhound to nyc to catch the flight here, inshallah. Maybe one of our nice friends will let us get showers at their place on saturday night.

I thought this was a good a time as any to record some of the 856 silly/ridiculous/weird/humerous conversations i've had with taxi drivers here.

Taxi Convo #1-5:
-Where are you from?
-America
-How can I get to America?
-I don't know. You have to go to the embassy.
-What if I marry an American?
-Then you get a passport.
--silence--
-Would you and your friend like to visit me at my house in Madaba?

Taxi Convo #6:
-Where are you from?
-America
-Take me to America.
-I would if I could.
-Take me in your bag!

Taxi Convo #7:
-Are you from France?
-Yes [to self: shit shit what if he speaks french]
-France very good. Chirac. How do you say Welcome to Jordan in French.
-[think think think] Bienvenue

Taxi Convo #8:
-You are from Britain?
-Yes.
-I could tell. Where in Britain?
-London.
[thus ensued an extended conversation about university in london, about which i know nothing]

Taxi Convo #9:
-Are you married?
-No.
-Do you want an Arab or an American?
-It doesn't matter, either.
-You should marry an Arab. To him, family is everything. Once you are married, that is it.
[ironically, Amman is the male entertainment nightclub capitol outside of the gulf.]

Taxi Convo #10:
-Are you married?
[none of your business]

Taxi Convo #11:
-Hello, how are you.
-I want to go to First Circle, Rainbow Street please.
[driver proceeds to speed up and then pull the emergency break to skid down the hill, looks at me in the rear view mirror and nods at me with impressed-with-self expression]
-why??? don't do that.
[i refuse to look at him for the rest of the ride, we get to books@cafe without further ado, and i pay and get out]
-see you, byebye!

Taxi Convo #12:
-Are you married?
-No.
-Why? You are pretty!

More to come I'm sure. Not that all cab drivers are insane, these are just a few of the more memorable. Others have been memorable for other reasons. Once, we rode with a guy who was a lawyer and drives a cab. Another time, a friend here rode with a guy who is a public school math teacher and who drives a cab for 12 hours every night.

Unemployment is high, fuel is expensive (rent and fuel have more than doubled in the past two years, no joke), and people have to run around from morning to midnight trying to pay rent and feed their families. It's the main reason why there is essentially no political life here. People are just too busy trying to maintain their lives.