A Tax-ing Experience

Riding in a taxi here in Niamey is always an experience. The other day we flagged down a taxi on Tillabery Road just in front of Kwame's house. I knew there were going to be a few problems when the engine of the taxi died as soon as the taxi man pulled up in front of us. We tried not to think too much of it and hopped in the taxi. After a few minutes of the engine shutting down and the taxi man restarting it, he turned to us and asked if we minded. We said, "No," and so he kept on going. We noticed he wasn't going the normal direction to the Stadium area so we asked him where we were going. He just smiled and said, "I have to go to the garage." You would think that if you were going to go get your car fixed, you wouldn't bother to pick up passengers. But then again, this is a different culture here. We sat at the mechanic's shop for about 15 minutes while he tuned up the car. Finally, we were off again. We drove for about five minutes this time before the taxi man decided to stop and get some gas. It was a good thing we weren't in a hurry… the taxi man sure wasn't. But then again, this is the pace of life around here.