I left the gym tonight, tired, with a big bag and a big purse. The hotel porter opened the driver's side taxi door for me so I could climb in. I was very grateful.
I asked the taxi driver to make a stop about 3 minutes later and when I tried to get out the door I had entered through (as all my bags were piled up on the passenger side and I didn't feel like climbing over them) this is what he said: "Door doesn't open ma'am".
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9 comments:
Errr...so you don't get out on the traffic side of the road but on the pavement.
I have seen this in other parts of the world as well. Even little tuktuks bar the passenger from getting out the wrong side.
It makes a lot of sense. People travelling with children seat them on that side of the taxi (behind the driver) because that door is child-locked, making it less likely that a child will mess around with the door and tumble out of the taxi on Sheikh Zayed Road
exactly how does a door with child proofing reflect on an entire city?
Ya ya I get the lifesaving thing... and appreciate it. Did not mean to sound ungrateful.
I'm just saying it was 3 minutes later, not even a road but a quiet parking lot and I had just climbed in that was is all.
And it was a simple comment that did mean anything.. how could I possibly understand everything that goes on here? How could any of us?
I really have incredible difficulty understanding how Westerners think. Whereas my statement is a contradiction in terms in and of itself, I have noticed parallels in the way people in "Western"/"European" countries interact with other cultures, especially those that are non-White.
For example, you, like many have taken the conscious (I assume) decision to move away from your country, thus leaving your comfort zone and transplant yourself into a foreign culture, alien to use an Americanized word, in every sense of the word.
Yet, hardly anyone of you makes the effort to learn the language, customs and intricacies that make a culture work. All the finer things that make a culture lose its collectiveness and appear more as place where individuals reside and where you might have more common with the Arab desk clerk rather than differences.
In all my interactions with Whites, I have never encountered anyone who lives by this credo. Yet, in the same breath you demand that we abide by your civilizational rules, language, edicts and even ethics. That yours is the one and only truly mode of conduct upon which all is measured.
Note that you can criticize whatever you want and say what you please. My questions and comments are not directed specifically at you as a Ann Marie.
There are a lot of careless people in AD, the driver wants to control the door used to enter/exit the taxi, just in case someone smashes it with another car... I guess...
Believe it or, not but i spend about 2 hours (or more) reading your blog! it's interesting!Good luck!
Just landed in Abu Dhabi,
Anna
It's pretty hard to learn arabic in Abu Dhabi, most of the people don't use it and defenetely you don't need it, it's difficult to practice.
Your blog very interesting. Your experiences teach me about Dubai. :) Thanks.
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