Cheap Bastard !!!!!

I hate prejudices and stereotypes, one of the reasons I spend so much of my time, money and patience traveling around is so I can become more and more aware of how people live. Constantly getting myself out of my comfort zone has forced me to become more receptive and less judgmental.

Some people, however, make it really hard for me not to just go to those long lived stereotypes that are perpetuated generation after generation.

Some lady had offered us a direct bus ticket to La Paz for forty Bolivianos, while all the other companies only charged thirty five. Tal, my jewish traveling companion, went on a mission to bring the price down from 40 to 35.

All I wanted was to buy the darn ticket and go walk around, but paying the entire forty Bolivianos, argued Tal, messed up his game plan to get the price down.

We must remain a united front, he said

You understand you are arguing over fifty cents of a dollar ?

It is the principle that counts, he replied.

Come on dude... it is fifty cents. I was losing it

She is about to crack

I had to sit there for 20 minutes, listening to his broken Spanish attempts to drive down the price

You are a cheap bastard, you know that? I said to him

If you do this every time... he continued ... you end up saving 100 dollars over six months. I've done the math. he gloated.

Yes, I thought. That is true, but you will also end up with absolutely no one willing to travel with you !!!!!

One more minute and she will cave

It was unbelievable. After twenty solid minutes of annoying arguments, the lady finally caved.

You give jews a bad name !!! I poked him a little bit.

I may give'em a bad name, but I did get that discount, didn't I?

When it was time to pay, the lady didn't have change for my fifty bolivianos so I told'er to just keep the change, just to spite him a little bit.

He shook his head in betrayal !!!!