I was worried as didn’t have any money left after the hospital on Monday. I also had no idea where a bank was. However I needed to go back to the hospital at 11 to get my ultrasound results. So I sent an SOS to Professor D and asked if he would be able to send a car to take me, and help me find a bank. I waited all morning and when my appointment time, 11, was only 30 minutes away I realised something had gone wrong. So I rang D again and he apologised and said someone would be coming to help me. Finally a car arrived, we got to a bank and Ch accompanied me to the hospital once again. It was straightforward, he said I had a kidney stone, that I should keep taking the antibiotics he had given me and I should feel better, but I needed to return Thursday for the other test results.
Yesterday I had managed to secure an afternoon meeting with the Director of JIVA Education, S. I was so excited. I also decided to attempt the journey myself, I felt I could hardly ask Ch to give up more of his dissertation time. I am not sure this was such a good idea, but at least I didn’t get too ripped off. Well actually I did. The problem is that people here do not understand my accent. They also don’t really seem to be great at knowing where places are unless you can name a landmark near them. So for example when I go home, I now know to say – ‘Destination point…McDonalds…..Sector 37’ with these snippets it is usually possible to be understood. The problem with JIVA is that it is in Sector 21b, so it is rather far away from the hostel and not many of the drivers have actually heard of the School, it seems many have also not been to Sector 21b before.
Today the driver looked at me quizzically when I asked to be taken to Sector 21b, so I decided to say, ‘bring me to the fly-over, then I’ll get another rickshaw’. He wasn’t convinced but signaled me to get in. I said, ’50 OK’ and he said no ‘100’, I said ‘no 50’ and he once again gestured for me to get in, so I did. He stopped multiple times along the straight, he really had no idea where he was going and my constant ‘It’s straight’ just seemed to be aggravating him rather than helping to reassure him. Ironically he did not stop at the fly=over but kept going so we continued our tentative journey, stopping and starting, asking for directions. He did not seem to believe that I knew where I was going. Finally we turned down JIVA road and I got my money out. I decided to give him 70, because I had once done the whole journey for 70 and it felt unfair to him to give him 50 when he had actually brought me the whole way. He was furious, he said ‘no 100’. He refused to take the money out of my had. Unfortunately for him I was also furious, I was angry that the auto drivers always think they can take advantage, and unfortunately for him he felt me wrath. I said ‘ I don’t know what to do, I am not going to take this money away from you and I am not going to give you 100, I will give you 80 because I feel bad as you did not understand where I wanted to go, but 100 is ridiculous. If you don’t want it fine. I hate the fact that you think you can ask me for me because I am European, I do not have an endless pit of money and I cannot afford to keep being over priced’. I put the money down next to him and stormed off. He didn’t follow me!
The meeting with S went really well, he was welcoming and informative and I felt that I had lots to be getting on with. The journey home was much more simple as S organised for me to get a life to the fly over. The guy who dropped me off also waited to make sure I got into a auto with other people and one woman, he told me the journey would cost 5. At McDonald's I paid 5 and nothing was said/argued. Finally I am getting the price right.
Yesterday I had managed to secure an afternoon meeting with the Director of JIVA Education, S. I was so excited. I also decided to attempt the journey myself, I felt I could hardly ask Ch to give up more of his dissertation time. I am not sure this was such a good idea, but at least I didn’t get too ripped off. Well actually I did. The problem is that people here do not understand my accent. They also don’t really seem to be great at knowing where places are unless you can name a landmark near them. So for example when I go home, I now know to say – ‘Destination point…McDonalds…..Sector 37’ with these snippets it is usually possible to be understood. The problem with JIVA is that it is in Sector 21b, so it is rather far away from the hostel and not many of the drivers have actually heard of the School, it seems many have also not been to Sector 21b before.
Today the driver looked at me quizzically when I asked to be taken to Sector 21b, so I decided to say, ‘bring me to the fly-over, then I’ll get another rickshaw’. He wasn’t convinced but signaled me to get in. I said, ’50 OK’ and he said no ‘100’, I said ‘no 50’ and he once again gestured for me to get in, so I did. He stopped multiple times along the straight, he really had no idea where he was going and my constant ‘It’s straight’ just seemed to be aggravating him rather than helping to reassure him. Ironically he did not stop at the fly=over but kept going so we continued our tentative journey, stopping and starting, asking for directions. He did not seem to believe that I knew where I was going. Finally we turned down JIVA road and I got my money out. I decided to give him 70, because I had once done the whole journey for 70 and it felt unfair to him to give him 50 when he had actually brought me the whole way. He was furious, he said ‘no 100’. He refused to take the money out of my had. Unfortunately for him I was also furious, I was angry that the auto drivers always think they can take advantage, and unfortunately for him he felt me wrath. I said ‘ I don’t know what to do, I am not going to take this money away from you and I am not going to give you 100, I will give you 80 because I feel bad as you did not understand where I wanted to go, but 100 is ridiculous. If you don’t want it fine. I hate the fact that you think you can ask me for me because I am European, I do not have an endless pit of money and I cannot afford to keep being over priced’. I put the money down next to him and stormed off. He didn’t follow me!
The meeting with S went really well, he was welcoming and informative and I felt that I had lots to be getting on with. The journey home was much more simple as S organised for me to get a life to the fly over. The guy who dropped me off also waited to make sure I got into a auto with other people and one woman, he told me the journey would cost 5. At McDonald's I paid 5 and nothing was said/argued. Finally I am getting the price right.
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