Cab Ride to Nowhere

Last friday night we went out for the usual friday night drinks and since we typically go out after dinner, we found ourselves catching a cab at 10pm, well after dark.

Three times during the 3km ride to the "centre-ville" the cab broke down, and each time the cabbie got out to see if any men would come over and give him a push. After minimal effort from the pushers, the old car would inevitably choke its way back to life.

Finally we made it to the rond-point just before the Fedherbe bridge and the car broke down one last time. I was getting quite fed up as the cab stunk and it was taking forever to do a relatively short drive to the bar. Once again the cabbie smiled at us, said something in Wolof and got out to find a new crew. There were three guys hanging out close by and they reluctantly began pushing the cab. When we ran out of a track, they would pull us backwards and try again. After about 4 times back and forth I was totally fed up and told the girls we would just walk across the bridge, which is the best walk in St Louis anyway.

As I was getting out of the cab I said half jokingly to my friend Hannah, "so I guess we dont have to pay since we didn't even make it there hey?!" and in that moment it made perfect sense to my North American sensibilities that services not rendered = I didn't have to pay. Hannah, who has been working on a report related to violence against women says to me, "Yes we do. Its really important to him". I immediately felt ashamed. The fare was $1 for three people to ride 3 km and I didn't want to pay it because the cab had caused a minor hassle in my otherwise pretty relaxed life.

It was quite the moment for me because I discovered a part of myself that I had not really recongnised was there. A $1 cab fare was the bread and butter for this man and he really intended to get us there, it's just that fixing a car is likely quite expensive so he drives around hoping he can get enough fares in to pay for a bit of gas and food for his family.

When I paid Fatou (14 years) and Seynabou (18 years)1000CFA each last night for washing my laundry, I really appreciated the delight on both their faces.

In other news I saw the weather report En Francais tonight before dinner and it was showing how it is about 38C during the day and 25C at night here in St Louis. All at once it became clear to me why I walk around like a sweaty beast all day...