Whiskey drinkin’ taxi driver

The driver this morning asked me a curious question: Teshrab? Or “do you drink?” I responded that I drink tea. His name is Khaled, which means “immortal” in Arabic. He speaks fast. Very fast. Like someone on speed. He is very outgoing and, like many of the drivers, easily impressed with my rudimentary Arabic. He inquires further: “teshrab bira?” or do you drink beer? A little bit at parties, sure. He declares, “I drink beer and whiskey!” He asks for my phone number. I’m always a bit wary when random taxi drivers ask for my phone number. So, I tell him that I could just enter his number into my phone. He says he is having a problem with his phone right now, but would take my number. So, I write my number down on a piece of paper. He wants to call me tomorrow night about midnight for a drink. I don’t know what I’ll be doing at that hour, but this being Cairo, it won’t be too unusual if I wind up drinking a Stella with a random taxi driver in some dive bar in downtown. Stay tuned...