tigertail in new york

The other night a friend and I caught a car service (read: what used to be called a gypsy cab, Dad) to a spot in her neighbourhood. The driver was on his phone in Spanish, so my friend nudged me to speak Spanish to him so we could get a good price. So when we got to our destination, I spoke to him in Spanish, telling him that here would be fine.

He was surprised.

In Spanish
Cab Driver: You speak Spanish?
Me: Ummm.. yes I speak Spanish - we're speaking it now!
Cab Driver: Oh, you're very fluent! Where did you learn?
Me: I studied for 3 years at university, and I went to Cuba on a study exchange.
Cab Driver: Cuba?? Really?? Where are you from?
Me: Australia. Where are you from?
Cab Driver: the Dominican Republic. Australia, eh? With the Kangaroos??
Me: Yes - the kangaroos.
Cab Driver: and Heath Ledger!! So sad... (pause) Oh!! And Arnold Schwarzenegger
Me: Arnold Schwarzenegger?? Nooooo, he's Austrian!
Cab Driver: Oh, not Australian.. Austrian...

We managed to get a good deal on the ride, and I gave our cabbie a tip, despite his almost-inclusion of a right-wing former Mr Universe-turned-Governor in my country-folk.

Posted by Ness on Friday, February 08, 2008 at 12:06 AM | Permalink