I do not normally take taxis because I do not like to spend the extra money when my feet are working fine or there is a bus option. But it was cold and dark outside, and I was running a little late, so I decided to treat myself to a taxi ride.
My destination was less than 2 miles away.
I made some small talk with the taxi driver using my limited Spanish. There was a good bit of traffic for a Sunday evening.
Suddenly, my body jolted forward as we crashed into the back of the car in front of us. Okay, maybe crash is too strong of a word. Because of the stop-and-go traffic, we were not going very fast. No whiplash worries on my part. There was probably not much damage to the vehicles either besides maybe a small dent or scrape.
So it was somewhere between a love tap and a crash.
The reaction of my taxi driver was priceless.
He threw his hands in the air and shouted, “Mujeres!”
I had seen exactly how the small crash occurred. There was a bus in front of the car in front of my taxi. The bus started moving as our taxi approached the stopped car in front of us, but the car in front of us did not start moving immediately. Therefore, my taxi driver decided it was the car’s fault. And it just happened to be driven by a woman.
So what was my response?
Si. Yo entiendo. No pueden conducir. (Yes. I understand. They cannot drive.)
Don’t judge me. What did you expect me to say?
This man has my life in his hands, or should I say in his taxi. If he thinks women are bad drivers, I am not going to disagree. I know I have no desire to get behind the wheel of a car in Buenos Aires.
At least I discovered a common stereotype between my own country and Argentina.
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I chuckled out loud with this post. Mujeres, bah!
I don’t dare drive in BA either. It’s too frightening :((
It definitely takes a brave person to drive in the city. It also helps if your car is already a little banged up, so you don’t care about getting more dents.
haha this is funny.. so what’s Mujeres means?
It means “women.” He’s making fun of those damn women drivers
Those damn women drivers!
So not surprised that he blamed it on a woman.
And you agreed! Oh, the shame of it…;)
In addition to just wanting to get to my destination safely, my Spanish is a bit limited so I’m quite certain I would have lost any argument about the ability of women to drive
All kidding aside, I actually think drivers in the developing world are much more talented drivers than drivers in the US (even if they do crash every now and then). The driving skill it takes to navigate & avoid accidents in places such as the Dominican Republic is way beyond the level needed to cruise down the interstate without a care in the world.
I completely agree. I am amazed every day. It’s like some sort of angry dance on a crowded dance floor. Sometimes you bump into the dancers next to you, but you keep going without missing a step.
hahaha Mujeres! This is hilarious!
I think the way of driving in BA is crazy! When I was in Nicaragua I thought I would die in the cabs. I think if you manage do drive and survive there you can drive anywhere!
I am quite certain a taxi driver in Buenos Aires actually said that last sentence to me once
I counted 5 eternal seconds in which my cab driver in Nicaragua was looking at his phone instead of the road. He was also weaving around potholes, children, and buses in that 5 seconds. Agree with Drew above-they are MUCH more skilled in developing countries than here….out of necessity and survival!
I actually hate riding in taxis. I try to walk or take public transport whenever I can. I am always on edge, holding my breath when we get millimeters from the bus next to us.
Haha! That’s a funny, unexpected response. I am terrified of taxi drivers (especially in foreign countries) but sometimes they are necessary. When we were in Rio, our taxi passed two cars by driving down the line between the lanes! He snapped off the cars’ side-view mirrors in doing so!! And one time in Miami, our driver fell asleep and swiped the center divider. Talk about terrifying.
Those are some scary experiences. As I told Claire, I try to avoid taking taxis when possible. Quito was another scary place. They speed like crazy and curse at and weave around cars as if there should never ever be a car in front of them. I mean, I drove like that at home, but not with other passengers with me 😉
Haha! Stupid mujeres! They should learn how to anticipate the impatience of the guy driving the car behind them! Duh!
That often happens where we stay now, Chennai India. My American wife is so scared of the traffic and she sits at the back seat and I drive our car like taxi driver driving around a tourist. She is like a traffic channel of the radio and gives me constant updates on the vehicles in-front and on both the sides. I really don’t need any mirrors :D. It is funny…sometimes irritating 😀
That is hilarious!
Fun tale but my favorite part is in your description leading of the accident, “…somewhere between a love tap and a crash.”
I think that is the appropriate description for every accident in Buenos Aires
Hahaha!! That is such a Latin American expression in moments like these…. MUJERES!!!! 😛
It’s an American expression too! I cannot count the number of times my male friends have yelled, “Women!” while driving in the US.
Actually, I’m pretty sure I’ve said it too
This is pretty funny!
When I first read “Mujeres” I thought maybe he had seen a beautiful woman and took his eye’s off the road for a moment ha!
I am sure lots of crashes are caused by that too. It is as if there is a law that a man must roll down his window and shout, “Que linda!” if a woman between the ages of 15 and 50 is walking down the street.
Women judged as somewhat inferior in South America? Doesn’t surprise me…haha. I was not a fan of taxi drivers in BsAs, though. Pretty sure 80% of the rides we took were long detours to get more money out of us – at least they are reasonably inexpensive compared to other parts of the world.
Buenos Aires taxi drivers have a bad reputation for that. Fortunately, I knew my way around enough anytime I had to take a taxi (or was with a local), so I never had that happen.
They are definitely cheap for a city of its size. But I still always prefer public transport, especially when it is as fast and convenient as it is in Buenos Aires.
Let me tell you about my near-death experience in the traffic in Ho Chi Minh City.
I was on the back of the bike, my husband was driving. We went past a skinny girl with big boobs, wearing a tight t-shirt. I said, half to myself: “oh, those boobs aren’t real.” And… suddenly the bike started swerving all over the road as my husband tried to spot who I was talking about. I reacted by slapping his helmet and shouting “drive, drive”.
I can hardly believe we survived that one. When we arrived at our destination, me quite shaken, he said crossly to me “why did you say boobs when I’m trying to drive? Are you crazy?”
So funny! The men always blame the women
You guys are brave to ride on a bike there. Bikes scare me a bit anyways, and it’s worse when there is crazy traffic.
I don’t blame you for trying to get on the taxi driver’s good side. That is pretty funny that some stereotypes are the same in many different countries.
Pahahahaha, okay, I know it was a small crash but that actually made me laugh.
I hate those stereotypes but I don’t blame you for agreeing with him at that moment one bit.
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