Taxi Driver #1

[This is called "Taxi Driver #1" because I assume there will be many more interesting taxi drivers in our future.]

My high school friend Paul was visiting for 2 days (yay, our first visitor!), so we took a walking tour of Sofia (with a paid guide and everything), followed by a lovely meal of "traditional Bulgarian food." Perhaps Shannon will post on those later. Our previously summer-y weather changed dramatically on Sunday, and today was rainy and in the 50s Fahrenheit, making the walking tour rather chilling. [Sofia was actually the "coldest city in Europe" on Sunday and Monday. Awesome.]

We took the subway downtown (and got to use a station that is brand new...it opened yesterday.) We rewarded ourselves with a taxi ride home, trying our best to find a legitimate cabbie (many pirate cabbies will charge 10 times or more the standard rate to unsuspecting tourists).

I got in the front seat, closed the door normally, and was immediately scolded by the driver not to slam the door. I apologized. The scolding continued. I apologized again. The driver spoke pretty good English, and when I didn't hear/understand his question, he mocked me "What, do you not understand English?" "In the United States, what would a cab driver do if you slammed the door like that?"
I explained that in other countries I had been, such as Costa Rica, the cabbies are also very concerned that closing the door too hard will damage the car, and I tried to apologize for not treating his car with more respect. I was getting annoyed too, however (his smoking in the cab didn't help), so I also said that cabbies in the US really didn't care how you closed the door. He definitely did not believe this. We were stuck in downtown traffic going nowhere while the meter was running, and the cabbie was irate about me not gently nuzzling the door into my bosom. I considered getting out and finding a new cab, but then he seemed to shift his spiel from me to his government and Bulgaria in general. I will try to re-create this for you, but really, it's a poor reproduction.
I hardly asked any questions or responded with more than grunts at first, as he had a monologue that didn't seem to need input, as he narrowly dodged impacts with large, large buses.

Why, he began, after 20 years of "changes," [since the fall of communism], is Bulgaria "still a little bit shit," as he put it? You see that Mercedes S-Class. Bulgarian Mafia. So much corruption. The government and the mafia are "like this" (folding both hands to together...not sure how he was steering at this point). It is so hard to get by in this country. I have to drive 20-22 hours a day. I rent the car, pay the gas, pay the insurance, and I only get 30-35 euro a day. It is not enough. I had a cigarette today [I'm guessing more than one], a coffee. I had lunch. But not enough to take home.
We had a child this spring. The president goes on TV and encourages us to have children, to stay in Bulgaria, not go to other countries in Europe [Bulgaria has a declining population, with low birth rate and high emigration to countries with better economies]. The government promised us 300 euro when our daughter is born. I fill out the paperwork, they say "we have no money now. Maybe later." I apply again, no money. They never have any money.

Why does the USA have perfect roads, perfect economy, perfect government [I would beg to differ, but in comparison, I see his point]? It has been 20 years? Maybe it will take 20,000 years for Bulgaria to get like this.
[I asked if he liked Boiko Borisov, the new prime minister, former mayor of Sofia, and generally considered to have strong ties to the mafia, at least in his past. ]
I love Boiko Borisov. He is our Messiah. He is our Ba-rack O-bama. He is our Spider-Man. He is our...how you call...Bat-Man. I hope he will fix our county.

But...[as we veer around 2 more buses]...the problem is not with our government. It is our people [I've heard this frustration with their own countrymen/culture from some other Bulgarians as well]. We must fix ourselves. I don't know why our country is a little shit.
[He talks about his sister the teacher in Dallas. I don't really understand part of what he is saying about how $10,000 is a lot or little here/there...very confusing. I say we are teachers, and mention the school.]
Oh, that is a very good school. For many Bulgarians, that is the dream to teach there, to be able to send their kids there.
Why do people in your country have such a problem with Barack Obama because he is a black man? White, black, red, I don't care. We're a new generation [he is 31 years old, like me]. Why does it matter?
[and on and on...]
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So that was Milo, Taxi Driver #1. I would have paid the $7 cab fare just for the cultural insight/discussion, never mind the transportation. He scribbled his cell phone number on a sheet of people for me, in case I want to call him and have my own personal cabbie in Sofia. I just might. Of course, I'll have to be a lot more careful with the door.