TAXI?

So we have tomorrow off from school as a holiday and the government decided to give us Friday as well so that schools can disinfect, in light of the H1N1 outbreaks now in the city and in some schools. Anyway, I decided to head over to Europe to visit some friends.

When I finally got off my transportation I looked out in the parking area for an available taxi and started calling my friend as she suggested so she could give them the directions. I saw 2 men standing near a taxi asking if I needed a ride to the airport and I explained to one of them, no, but that my friend on the phone would explain where to go and passed him the phone. Once she was done, he passed the phone back to me.

The man walked away from the taxi he was standing in front of and motioned for me to follow as I spoke to my friend. She said he seemed like he understood the directions. I got to the car the man led me to which was a black, unmarked car and wondered to myself if all taxis weren't yellow here. As I opened the door and got in, I mentioned to my friend that the car wasn't yellow and asked if they had more than 1 kind of taxi and if this were normal (where I previously lived some people were in a program where they'd park in a line outside the grocery store and would drive you home in their car for a fee a bit cheaper than a taxi so I wondered if this was a similar thing). She quickly informed me that no, this was not normal. So I said I'd look for a meter then started peering at the front seat console to see if I could spy a meter. I informed her that I did not see a meter and asked why didn't he have a meter. She promptly told me that I didn't want that taxi as the guy in the front seat said something to me (I think the name of the currency) then started showing me a wad of cash and going through it. I then asked, "Umm...why are you showing ME money? That's not how it works. Aren't I supposed to pay YOU?" At this point my friend tells me I need to get out and find a yellow taxi. I tell the driver no thanks as I open the door and start walking away to cross the pedestrian overpass to the opposite side of the highway. My take on this: I think he heard me say "meter" and thought I was asking if he takes the national currency (the words rhyme-sort of) so he started showing it to me to prove that he did. I still have no idea why he was in an unmarked taxi and had no meter though.

My friend stayed on the line with me as I now looked for another taxi purposefully near where there was a parked police vehicle. One quickly pulls up dropping off another passenger and motions that they can take me. I explained that my friend on the phone would explain where to go and he said ok and took the my cell. However, this guy didn't know where she was talking about so I had to get out and hail another taxi. I went through the process of explaining that my friend on the phone would explain where to go and passed him the phone. Once she was done, he passed the phone back to me and I was all set.

When we finally got to where she had told him, he parked the car and said something to me. I started to ask if this was the place she told him. He said yes and motioned for me to call her. I didn't see the need to and asked again if this was where as I tried to spy the meter in the front seat which was obscured by the automatic gear. I was trying to see the meter by unsuccessfully maneuvering myself in the back seat, then sticking my head in the front and craning my neck as I got my money and called my friend. She helped me figure out where I was which now looked familiar as I finally figured out what the meter said.

Well, the driver must have thought I was doing some strange foreign version of flirting or something because after I got off the phone with my friend I said ok and thanked him and he stayed turned around looking at me, which I thought meant, "Okay, don't forget my money". But he came across a bit too friendly with his direct looks and, "no, thank YOUs". I said thank you again and gave him the money wishing him a good evening before he looked me in the eyes and sweetly wished me a good evening. I sighed and promptly grabbed my georgie-bundles as I got out of the taxi, glad I'd finally arrived, that my surroundings looked familiar and that I was done with confusing communication and encounters with taxi drivers for now.