Ready for a laugh?

el Hamdallah!!! (Thanks be to God!!!) Even at the worst of times I seem to be blessed with sheer brainless luck!

Tonight I tried to commission a taxi driver who didn't really know how to get me home. Before we went on our merry way, he stopped to ask for directions, and then since he found someone who could translate for us he wanted to negotiate the price (instead of me simply paying what I thought would be fair at the end of the ride). Because I'm a foreigner he wanted me to pay 30 pounds, but since I've been traveling that route regularly for 15 pounds I refused, offering 20 pounds as my last price. When he would not go below 25 I decided it was time to get out of the cab.

Unfortunately in my haste, my wallet fell out of my bag as I exited, and I didn't notice this until I was on the street and he was starting to drive off (with all the money I had on me, oops!).

What could I do?

Of course, the only 'sensible' thing to do was chase him down. So off I went without a thought, with yelps and arms flailing in huge dramatic gestures, praying he'd look in his rear view mirror.

Can you picture it?!

After one of the quickest 50m dashes I've ever performed in my life I got his attention... not to mention all of the other drivers on the road and loads of other onlookers out for their evening strolls. Needless to say, after retrieving the wallet, I had no trouble finding another cab.

And to make up for it, this driver knew how to get me home, was happy to do it for 20 pounds, and had a great laugh with me about my near mishap on the way.

Lessons learned: a) never keep all your money in one spot on your body, and b) making a fool of yourself may be the quickest way to make friends here. Insha'Allah, you'll make it home alright.