Two of our UNE friends hailed a cab easily, while the rest of us spent ten minutes flagging down taxis. Finally, luck struck. I squeezed into the cab beside Chris, excited about our night in Rabat.
“Starbucks Agdal!” I told the driver. With a curt “okay” in a thick accent, he roared off, tires squealing. Perfect, I thought. We’d be sipping lattes with our friends in minutes.
But a few minutes into the drive, the driver mumbled something. “Sorry?” I asked.
Slightly louder, he grumbled, “L’adresse.”
Of course, the address. Not knowing it, I repeated, “Starbucks Agdal!”
“L’adresse? L’adresse s’il vous plait!”
Frantically, I grabbed my phone, hoping my patchy data would work. In settings, I desperately flicked the cellular data switch. Nothing. Google Maps, Waze – everything was dead.
“L’adresse, s’il vous plait! Donne moi l’adresse!”
“No service,” I said, holding up my phone.
Frustration mounting, the driver jerked to the side of the road.
“No service!” “No internet!” “Starbucks Agdal!” I thrust my phone at him, displaying the “No Internet Connection” message.
Slowly deciphering it, understanding finally dawned. He grabbed his phone, pointing at it, “L’adresse.”
My relief at seeing a familiar navigation app was short-lived. It was all in Arabic, the script I’d struggled with for weeks. “Umm… English? French? Latin letters, please?”
“No Arabic?” the driver muttered.
“No, no, English! Latin letters!”
He snatched the phone, changing the keyboard. Finally, a French layout – 26 familiar letters. Slowly, I typed, fighting the urge to revert to my usual touch-typing. Ten coffee shops popped up within a 5 km radius – none near Agdal. We’d never get there. Chris leaned over, selecting the closest one.
I handed the phone to the driver, dreading another communication breakdown. If this failed, our friends would be waiting forever. I sank back against the window, sighing.
As we neared an intersection, a flash of green caught my eye – the iconic Starbucks mermaid beckoning.
“Stop!” I frantically yelled. The taxi screeched to a halt. Desperate to see our friends, I flung some coins at the driver and practically skipped toward them, the Starbucks logo shining brighter than ever.
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