taxi drivers continued.....

I decided to split up the funny stories blog so as not to make it one long exhaustive one. Here is another funny story about taxi drivers. You either love 'em or you hate 'em.

The night we got to Tegucigulpa, I found out about 15 minutes after getting out of the taxi that I had accidentally left my wallet sitting on the seat of the cab, which contained 2 debit cards, some money and both my I.D. cards. I was devastated. Not only was I afraid of losing tons of money, I knew that I would have to spend the majority of the next day figuring out what to do and getting a new I.D. card.......and my meeting started at 8 o'clock the next day.

Hoping to get there at at least 10 in the morning, I rushed to the Peace Corps office the next day and asked them what to do. First, they had me go to the police office and write a report, and then to another place to take pictures for my I.D. This of course, took until about 11 in the morning. Knowing that the meeting didn't end until the afternooon, I was still rushing around at least get there for a little bit of the meeting.  Sarah and I then climbed into a taxi that took us to the immigration office.

Our taxi driver this time was a character, who, during the entire 20-minute taxi ride, told us stories of the time he spent in the states, his Puerto Rican lover that he left in the states, but still seemed to be in love with, and the farm he grew up on in Eastern Honduras, where everyone owns a horse and at least 2 pistols.

As I stepped out of the cab, the few moments of joy and relief I had gotten from chatting with the cab driver quickly vanished. I opened the doors to the immigration office, only to find that the woman had gone on luch, and I stood waiting there for at least a half hour. By time I left the office, I was basically at the end of my wits after so many people who had cut in front of me (lines apparently don't exist here), the ridiculous amount of time it took to do EVERYTHING, and the apparant disinterest of everyone that I HAD A MEETING TO GO TO!!!

The taxi drivers who were parked out front of the office, just like the ones who had been in the front of the mall, were sure in for a treat! As soon as they gave me the price, I began arguing with them, saying "Don't give me that! You are screwing me over and you know it, you all know it! It is NOT that far from here to where I'm going!" As the arguments escalated, my voice got louder and louder until I was practically screaming in their faces. Finally, I threw my arms up, and walked away, planning on walking down the side of the highway until I found someone who would take me at the price I asked for. This time, I left Sarah standing there awkwardly, apologizing to the taxi drivers for my behaviour saying, "she's had a loooooong day." After walking barely a block, we found a taxi driver that would take us for a whole 10 Lempiras less than what the other ones offered us ($0.50). Although not the price I was hoping for, I was satisfied and hopped in the car. As we drove past the mob of taxi drivers I screamed and made vulgar guestures at them in my anger. After about a minute of silence, Sarah burst out laughing saying "Lizzy! You were acting like a crazy woman!" I couldn't help but join in here laughter, replaying the recent events in my head. "Those damn taxi drivers.............."