Uber is a very useful app for when you need to get somewhere off campus with a group of friends. With Uber, you get different experiences with the types of drivers and what conversations you have. My friends and I have had quite a lot of interesting and funny experiences with Uber just this semester alone. Here is a list of some of the most memorable:
You Like Country?
My friends told me about this time they took Uber and the driver started singing along to the country music that was playing. They found it hilarious because one of my friends was uncomfortable with the country music and singing and the other friend was just humored. The guy also had awkward conversations about his personal life back in the 1970s.
Nice Stick!
More recently, we were getting an Uber back to campus after eating downtown and we got a cool lady with a Subaru that had a glowing stick shift. I immediately was amazed by how cool it was – it even had a USB port inside! However, the lady asked what was happening on campus because she said she dropped off kids visiting Gonzaga. We told her it was GEL weekend and that future students were visiting. She asked us if we were visiting and we said kind of and then said we were Gonzaga students. She proceeded to say, “How are you visiting if you are Gonzaga stud- oh wait… now I get it!”
Psychic?
We have had a few drivers who have done the usual small talk questions of where we are from and what our majors were. We would all answer them one by and one and for one driver when I said my major was psychology he asked, “Can you read people’s minds?” Of course I said no. Another driver asked, “Do you psychoanalyze your friends?” I responded with, “Sometimes I do, but I’m not that far into psychology…yet.”
The Pen Driver
This driver was a sweet old lady with a PT Cruiser, but she talked so quietly that we couldn’t hear her. Only the person who sat in the front was able to talk to her and even then my friend said he could barely hear her. She also weirdly held a pen in her hand the entire time she drove. Odd.
Spoiler Alert
One of my friends told me of the time they were in an Uber and one of my more socially awkward friends sat in the front seat. They were having a decent conversation and somehow the movie The Quiet Place came up. My other two friends hadn’t seen the movie yet, but the Uber driver must have assumed they did and proceeded to spoil a very significant part of the movie. They were both, understandably, super annoyed!
Mambo No. 5
There was the one Uber driver that was pretty awesome. He had an electric car, so that was already super cool. He also had a sense of humor because when we got in he said, “Oh yeah I just got my license yesterday,” and we all paused and then he said, “Nah just kidding I got it last week.” That’s when we knew he was joking. On the way back to campus he was playing music and the song “Mambo No. 5” came on and right at the part where the singer says “Mambo Number 5” he said it in his own weird voice. It was pretty awesome and he was very nice without being too pushy with questions or small talk.
THE Mom
Saving the best for last, we were getting an Uber back to campus from North Town Mall and we got a nice woman who definitely looked like a mom. She started driving and that’s when the questions started. The first question she asked was, “Where do you guys go to school?” and we responded, “Gonzaga,” and she replied, “Oh Gonzaga Prep??” We all looked at each other and said, “No, the college…” and she looked shocked, “Oh you all look like you’re 16!” (we all range in ages from 18-20 and I can legally drink in November). Then she tried to get to know us more with even more questions. First of all for context, there were three girls and one guy in the car. Our driver turned to the guy and asked, “So are you a brother or a friend?” And one of my friends said, “Oh no he’s a boyfriend,” and then I said, “Yeah to the one on my right,” because she was sitting next to me. She then proceeded to talk about how she told her kids to not have a significant other in college so that they could focus on their studies. Awkward questions continued for the remainder of the ride. When we got out of the car, she watched us walk away to make sure we were safe…just like the mom she was.
This list is by no means all-inclusive – who knows what kind of adventure the next Uber driver will bring!