Category: Karis Morrall
Crossing the Little Somes
Posted Friday, May 29, 2009 by Karis Morrall
On our way to a Roma community in Gherla, we crossed a small river via ferry. Once we reached the other bank, our boat immediately turned around and headed back. As it turned out, we hadn’t actually needed to cross the river. Our hosts just knew that we would be amused. How’s that for Romanian hospitality?
Questionable Bucharest Taxi Drivers
Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 by Karis Morrall
Every time I ride a cab in Romania, I feel like I’m in a Jason Bourne movie. The cars zip down one-way, more than 100 year old streets, and Romanians have exceptionally creative ways of cutting people off. There are no clear traffic signals, and very few actual lanes. Sometimes I feel like it’s just a mash of cars, each trying to move in different directions. According to a Romanian newspaper, The Diplomat, the country has the EU’s highest rate of car accidents.
But I like riding in cabs—I feel like I’m in a high-speed pursuit. It’s exciting, and the drivers are always very nice. However, as Professor Nancy Benson and I discovered, not every Romanian taxi driver is reputable.
Rule number one when driving in a taxi in Romania: make sure the car has a meter. Midway through my ride this morning, I realized that our cab was missing one. I meant to ask the taxi driver about it, but my time was spent trying to keep him awake while he drove. Because I had the front seat, I had to tap his shoulder every time he nodded off at the wheel. I don’t blame him for being tired—he said that he usually works about 16 hours a day.
Sure enough, when we arrived at the Soros Foundation, the cabbie tried to scam us. He scribbled a few numbers on a piece of paper and told us that we owed him 25 lei, which is equivalent to about $8.00. In Chicago, that would be a reasonable amount. But, in Romania, most rides are about 9 lei, or $3.
After several exclamations of “Nu!” from Professor Benson and me, he was willing to barter. “For you ladies, only 20 lei.”
We gave him 10 lei and hopped out of the cab before he could protest.
Add your comment: