I find taxi drivers here so frustrating and irritating, that I am designating a post to them.
Top 5 annoying things taxi drivers do:
1) Honk repeatedly at you, as if you didn’t hear them the first 10 times as they were approaching you.
2) Make hissing/kissing noises to get your attention….or if they are parked, will say "hello?" "hello?" "hello?" about 5 times until you look over and shake your head no.
3) Picture this. It is a busy road, with cars driving in both directions. I am trying to cross the street and am halfway. Then a taxi will be passing and will slow down to see if you want a ride, but really all he is doing is blocking the road for me to cross, loosing the small window of opportunity to cross the road.
4) When I am standing at my house gate, knocking to be let in, and a taxi driver across the street is stopped, honking at you….I AM TRYING TO ENTER MY HOUSE!!
5) When I am standing at a tro tro (bus) station, waiting for a tro tro to get to my destination. There were generally be a few taxis there as well, and many times the driver will approach me, in a crowd of many people and ask where I am going. He then will say something like ‘come, lets go’. I am just standing there, waiting for a tro tro to get home, just like everybody else.
I think about these things way too often, and because all this anger is bottled up it then pisses me off even more. Last night I actually said, ‘fuck you’ to a taxi driver. I couldn’t help it. I was just walking to buy minutes for my phone and the driver was super insistent and obnoxious. He kept saying, ‘come on baby’, which made me furious, and then it just came out. ‘FUCK YOU’.I was shocked with myself. He didn’t seem to care as he started laughing hysterically. So not as satisfying as I would have hoped. I guess this would be categorized as one of those 'ridiculous' (hence the blog title) moments.
Sometimes I forget how much I stand out. Sometimes I just wish I could just walk freely and not have people assume that I need to take a taxi everywhere I go. I think many people think "obrunis" (foreigners) are totally incompetent. Like we aren’t able to take a tro tro, or that we deserve better or something. Many times too, when I am crossing the road (often at busy intersections), someone will stand next to me and when there is a clearing, they will say, "ok now"…as if we don’t have busy roads or traffic from where I am from and have no clue when the right time is to cross.
Top 5 annoying things taxi drivers do:
1) Honk repeatedly at you, as if you didn’t hear them the first 10 times as they were approaching you.
2) Make hissing/kissing noises to get your attention….or if they are parked, will say "hello?" "hello?" "hello?" about 5 times until you look over and shake your head no.
3) Picture this. It is a busy road, with cars driving in both directions. I am trying to cross the street and am halfway. Then a taxi will be passing and will slow down to see if you want a ride, but really all he is doing is blocking the road for me to cross, loosing the small window of opportunity to cross the road.
4) When I am standing at my house gate, knocking to be let in, and a taxi driver across the street is stopped, honking at you….I AM TRYING TO ENTER MY HOUSE!!
5) When I am standing at a tro tro (bus) station, waiting for a tro tro to get to my destination. There were generally be a few taxis there as well, and many times the driver will approach me, in a crowd of many people and ask where I am going. He then will say something like ‘come, lets go’. I am just standing there, waiting for a tro tro to get home, just like everybody else.
I think about these things way too often, and because all this anger is bottled up it then pisses me off even more. Last night I actually said, ‘fuck you’ to a taxi driver. I couldn’t help it. I was just walking to buy minutes for my phone and the driver was super insistent and obnoxious. He kept saying, ‘come on baby’, which made me furious, and then it just came out. ‘FUCK YOU’.I was shocked with myself. He didn’t seem to care as he started laughing hysterically. So not as satisfying as I would have hoped. I guess this would be categorized as one of those 'ridiculous' (hence the blog title) moments.
Sometimes I forget how much I stand out. Sometimes I just wish I could just walk freely and not have people assume that I need to take a taxi everywhere I go. I think many people think "obrunis" (foreigners) are totally incompetent. Like we aren’t able to take a tro tro, or that we deserve better or something. Many times too, when I am crossing the road (often at busy intersections), someone will stand next to me and when there is a clearing, they will say, "ok now"…as if we don’t have busy roads or traffic from where I am from and have no clue when the right time is to cross.
2 comments:
Hilarious!
I can just see you mouthing off to a taxi driver...
ghanian taxi drivers still haunt my dreams. I can't believe you told one off - hilarious!
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