tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166443712011-04-21T19:44:55.532+01:00The thoughts musings and ramblings of an insomniac student ambling through the sunnier side of DamascusiMadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08747885192865540130noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16644371.post-1127933555631977092005-09-28T19:52:00.000+01:002005-09-30T12:47:07.676+01:00<p class="mobile-post">There's something that's been bothering me slightly about the taxi drivers - sometimes I'll flag them down and ask them if they will take me somewhere.This will be a typical scenario -</p><p class="mobile-post">Me: Can you take me to (insert area here)<br />Taxi Driver: [nods...and drives away]</p><p class="mobile-post">I ignored it the first few times and took it as a national joke against me (it wouldn't be the first country to perpetrate such a move), but after a while it became somewhat concerning. Later I was having a converstaion with my friend who was telling me a story of what happened when he went to a shop in Damascus</p><p class="mobile-post">Friend: Have you got any cereal<br />Shop Keeper: [nods - remains silent]<br />Friend: Where is it?<br />Shop Keeper: [nods...]<br />Friend: Have you got any cereal?<br />Shop Keeper: (angrily) NOOOOO</p><p class="mobile-post">and so my friend realised that in Syria, the nod of the head in a straight and strictly upwards movement means "no"</p><p class="mobile-post">It's those little things that you can't get from Arabic lessons at home.<br />Especially when you oversleep and miss them anyway.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/16644371-112793355563197709?l=imad-ahmed.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>iMadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08747885192865540130noreply@blogger.com11