Competent Communication Manual
Project #4: How to Say It
Speech Title: Navigating the Streets of Riyadh
Delivered at: PIPCA Riyadh Toastmasters Club
Evaluated by: CC/CL Beethoven T. Lee
Introduction
6pm, Batha.
Carrying six bags of grocery items, I hailed a taxi cab and get in quickly. I sat at the back and sigh with a relief – those bags were heavy. Then the driver ask “where sadik”. “Sulaimaniah”, I responded. Roughly ten minutes of silence followed. Then I noticed that we were at the wrong direction. We were heading towards the Airbase.
“Sulaimaniah, my friend”, I exclaimed. “Aiwa, Sulaimaniah”, he replied.
“La, take U-turn, go Military Hospital, baden right round-about, baden right at signal, see Peking restaurant, turn left, after two streets right turn, then stop second block.”
Salutation
The conversation sounds familiar, isn’t it? I could see smiles in your faces. That, I would take as a “yes” answer.
Good evening fellow toastmasters and guest.
Tonight, let me share with you my adventures on the streets of this exciting place – the city that what was once called the Gardens of the Arabian Heartland.
Body
Arrival in Riyadh
The signs that my life in Riyadh would be full of excitement started right after I went out of the King Abdullaziz International Airport. I was expecting a chauffer to take me to the hotel, but nobody came. And after waiting for two hours, I valiantly decided to take a taxi cab. For a new comer in Riyadh, I was expecting a smooth and exciting ride toward the city. But lo and behold, a different kind of excitement greeted me that morning.
Call it luck and my day. I choose a taxi driver, whom I guess, was a frustrated kamikaze pilot. He runs the taxi like a tornado at 160kph and swivel between lanes like a snake. And, to top it, he dodges cars by less than a meters. Seated at the front passenger seat, I was holding my breath and was silently calling all my little gods of protection. “Please let me pass this nightmare”, I quipped. Indeed after an hour of ordeal, we arrived safely at the hotel.
Yes, my knees were trembling when I alighted from the taxi.
Two weeks later, I made another valiant decision. I decided to take a stroll on the oven-hot streets of Riyadh. After one hour walking, I noticed that 8 of the 10 streets that I passed by, have address names written in Arabic. The streets with English characters have a rather unusual long name for a street such as ???? bin ##### bin ****. I wonder how these people remember the street names. And I have not seen any bus plying around? “Gee… How do people move?” I asked my self. And lastly, there were neither ladies nor children walking around.
Tsk.. tsk.. tsk… What an unusual streets, we got here!
When I moved to Sulaimaniah district near Riyadh International, my friends applauded my choice. The place “accessible”, they said. I realized later, that “accessibility” has a relative meaning here in Riyadh. It is very useful when taking a taxi. I only need to say “Sulaimaniah, near Filipino School – RIS” and 4 of every 10 drivers would recognize the place. For the remaining 60%, I have to say it the long way: “Get me to Sulaimaniah, to the Military hospital, then turn right, you see Peking restaurant, turn left, two streets, then turn right and second building to the left”. I wish I could just say the street name, but that would be impossible. Our street has Arabic name and even if I could read it, I bet, the driver wouldn’t know where it is.“I have enough”, I said. I decided to buy my own car to avoid problems with taxi. Just when I thought I solve one problem, I encountered another one. A bigger one!
My first time driving in Riyadh was running an Indian Pass initiation of a fraternity. Cars would appear from all directions like rabbits and foxes. They will cut corners. They will make turns without signal warnings. They will hug two lanes by running in between, and they will blow there horns the moment they see green light – even you were already moving. And the will park at will – even in the middle of the road.
If you are turtle run at 60 kph on major streets, they will either give you a high beam or an irritating horn. It is okay if you are on the middle lane or left most side of the road. But on the right most –the slow lane – then I really don’t see the logic of it.
You know my first car accident? It was rear collision. The guy was angry because I stop at the yield position entering an express way. He shouted at me “you were looking for a parking”. Hah! Why seek for a parking in an expressway?
Conclusion
Seven months have passed, I remembered that taxi driver at the Airport. He was not frustrated fighter pilot, actually. He is just one of the many “regular” drivers of Riyadh. Soon, I may be just like them not that adopted a cruising speed of 140 kph – far from my regular speed limit of 50 kph in Singapore.
Be patient with the taxi driver, he too is confused like you and he just want earn a living.
Be patient in the road at all times, and observe speed limits as much as possible. It is your life that you wanted to protect, not anyone else.
And yes, you can stroll along the streets of King Fahad Medical City, but not along busy streets. It’s dangerous.
Back to you toastmaster of the evening
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