An Extended Uber Ride
The small town in southern Indiana, in which I was raised was settled by German Catholics many years ago. Strong work ethic, dedication in ability and a dependance of faith is well represented when you drive through town. A newly renovated, beautiful, large church sits near the center, as if it’s the heart. Pride in architecture, landscape and the annual Strassenfest celebration give an identity that is unique.
While traveling, conversations with strangers bring about opportunities to connect and learn. A common practice that was cultivated in this close-knit culture is making small talk. Usually that will lead to the question…where are you from? Personally, I love meeting people and trying to find common ground. Because a lot of local people enjoy this same kind of interaction, many people meet people from this nickname capital making it seem way more populated that it truly is.
Recently while traveling to NYC, my husband and I had a very long Uber ride from LaGuardia to Times Square. What normally takes about 20 minutes turned into an hour and a half commute. Shortly into the commute, we recognized that we had a language barrier. Oh No! This conversationalist would never be able to remain quit for that long.
Recently in one of my volunteer spaces, I had experienced this issue several times. I was beginning to wonder if I should relearn Spanish. Not being able to communicate feels hard, sometimes cold, a disconnection. Surely there is an answer to this problem. I could call my friend Kim, who speaks Spanish but seriously she’s probably teaching. She doesn’t have time for that. My thoughts continued in problem solving mode…isn’t there an app for that? ….of course there is!
My husband found the app. Let the dialogue begin. The way the app works is you say your question and the words of your question appear in English and in Spanish (or whatever language you choose). After some failed oral attempts to recall my Spanish dialect, our driver decided it was best to put the phone in his sight for him to answer. I was careful to use red lights and stopped traffic for moments to present my questions.
Our driver was originally from the Dominican Republic. He came to America to play baseball. A pitcher for the Braves he had a strong curveball and a fastball in the mid 90s until the shoulder injury. When we asked him about the Dominican Republic, a tear rose in his eye as he recalled memories of the family he left there. He paused and reached for the rosary that was hanging from the rearview mirror, as if to shoot up a quick prayer. The money he earns is sent back to help them. When he isn’t hauling passengers around, he is a chef in a French restaurant in Chinatown. With his wife and 2 daughters, his home is in the Bronx. The photos he pulled up from his phone, revealed a beautiful family.
A long transport turned into a story of a baseball dream that didn’t succeed, a man so grateful for his life now and one that deep down longs for the home of his heritage. Long uber ride…who cares. We were invited into a conversation with an immigrant, seeking the American dream. A kind man that didn’t even get upset with us that we gave the wrong hotel address, which is a big deal in Manhattan.
Oh No! I forgot to tell him where I was from. Odds are he had never heard of Jasper, Indiana, but one never knows…we Jasperites, love meeting people and telling them about the special place of heritage. A comment is often made, “Jasper people are everywhere”. For being a small-town community, it is remarkable how many people know people from Jasper. Our Uber driver may have grown up in a foreign country yet the emotions he carried about his home felt similar. Maybe at the end of the day, everyone should have a hometown feel like the ones we know.
PS…random question…while in NYC many cars were displaying rosaries from the rearview mirror. In all of our trips to NYC, this never stood out before. When my husband asked our new friend if he was Catholic (we didn’t use the translator app) he seemed confused. Many Catholics are leaving the faith, why so are many rosaries hanging in taxis and Ubers?