Trip home....one last story...I think

The other day in Atlanta, I took MARTA up to Buckhead from Atlantic Station to meet a friend for lunch. I took the bus and then subway up there. Public transportation in the US is far different than in Senegal. While I found it to be far more reliable it felt sterile and lacked character.

On my return trip, I decided to just take a cab back to my buddy's house. I got in the cab and told him the address. He asked me if I was from Atlanta and I told him I lived in Africa. He went further and asked where and I told him Senegal.

It turns out he was Somalian but when civil war struck he moved to Dakar for 3 years and lived in a neighborhood adjacent to my old one. It was another cool encounter. We spoke in English and Wolof talking about the things that make Senegal great...food and hospitality. Also, we talked about how Senegal has changed since his days there. He had been in the US for 11 years driving taxis.

As we do in Senegal, I tried to negotiate the fare (in Senegal set fares don't exist and negotiation is done prior to entering cab). We both laughed as my wallet cried.

It's a small world.