Cab ride meets Alice in Wonderland

The advantage of something like "getting water" being a huge challenge is that, when you finally get it, it's a huge achievement!!

The funny thing about living in India is how days are so up and down, and for the littlest things at that. The other funny thing is how often in a day I still think, "Only in India..."

For instance, yesterday I hop into a cab. I'm in a rush, as the Ghana High Commission in Delhi is about to close, and I need to pick up my visa for my trip there later this month. I take the first cab I see; as it's parked in front of Khan Market, I know I'm about to be taken for a ride.

"Where do you work?" -- the driver asks when I'm inside. He speaks perfect English, but I'm in no mood for chit chat.

"Hyderabad," I reply in a one-word answer, hoping to stop conversation.

His reply stuns me: "Oh, Hyderabad! Do you know Sofi? She's Swedish?"

Of course I know Sofi; she was one of my first friends in Hyderabad, but how does he know Sofi?!

"She left her cell phone in my cab once. And she just came back from Indonesia."

Somehow, only in India!

The rest of the cab ride we're yapping away, though it feels pretty surreal.

First, he keeps insisting on taking me to the Philippine Embassy. He doesn't quite understand why I'm going to the Ghanian one. Finally he asks, "So are you from Ghana? They have a football team!"

Then later on, he asks me about my family. I tell him that my parents are in Long Island, but he wants to know about my "personal family." I tell him I'm getting married in July, and he immediately wants to know my name; then my fiance's name.

"OH!! Very good marriage. Very happy happy marriage."

"Oh ya? -- why's that?"

"Because!! Double T!! T and T!!!!!" -- he is so excited about this point that he turns around to look at me; meanwhile, we are driving literally on the sidewalk to avoid traffic!

He continues: "Means you are very compatible. AND he is here in India too, even though he is not Indian. Very happy, very happy."

I laugh. He keeps telling me how white my teeth are, which he says is another good sign that I am happy. (this starts to feel like a Colgate commercial)

Then he goes into my numerology, which you get by adding up all the digits of your birthdate until you get to one single digit. "Ah, 9" - he says. "This means you are very idealistic. Gandhi was a 9."

Needless to say, a very eventful cab ride, and I didn't even mention the accident we got into (and yes, we were literally driving on a sidewalk).

As I get out of the car, he hands me his business card, telling me to call him anytime I need a ride. "You can call Sofi and get her opinion of me." A cab driver giving references -- now that's good marketing!