On a Lighter Note.

So the taxi system. I obviously don’t have a car for transport here (although it is often debated because I am an American so of course I would have a car and know Oprah, right)?  Anyway, most of the people in my village don’t have a car. We all rely on the public taxi system that isn’t like you are used to (or I was used to anyway). You don’t hail a cab and then tell the driver your destination. The taxis here are vans…think minibus like, maybe a bit VWish? You can fit about 15 passengers in one of these vans (occasionally, more are crammed into one).

You stand on the side of the road and point your finger in the air indicating that you want to go to town (or point it down if you are just riding local). And the taxi picks you up (most of the time). There is a system that everyone knows and sometimes I seem to get passed by but it seems like there is a reason and maybe I’m just not keen to every nuance yet but I'm still in the learning stages. Anyway, everyone knows the taxi change points and ranks and typically what times of day you can and can’t get taxis…of course, I didn’t know this a couple of months ago but you start to figure it out as you go (at least in the local area you travel…it’s always a fresh start when you go somewhere new). The other customs that you start to figure out include where to sit in the taxi. You don’t want to sit in the front with the driver because then you have to be the money collector (there can also be some flirting as the driver “wants to be your friend” which is a bit annoying). The first row is the best but you want to sit by the window because then you can control if it’s open or not. Most people here don’t want the window open. Ever. Even if it is a million degrees. And smelly. The back row is a bit miserable because you are usually squished in and bounced around. Oh, and squished in is just part of the most every taxi ride.

So I took a taxi to town this morning to do errands for our upcoming soccer tournament. I did my finger pointing (not that kind) and my taxi finally arrived. And taxis arrive when they arrive. There is no schedule. You take what you get. Some of these taxis have seen better days. If you are lucky you get what is called a Quantum. These are the newer, nicer taxis. It’s like a luxury ride (okay, not really but they are pretty nice in comparison). Or you get what I got this morning. There were windows in working order (most were like gone), the engine sounded like it was going to die at any moment (there was some serious liquid leaking from somewhere) and the door (usually a sliding door that you pull open and closed when you board) was missing the cover and handle. So when the driver stopped and I tried to open the door it wouldn’t budge. So the driver turned off the taxi, got out, and opened the side door window to pull the door off the hinges (yes, it actually came off) to let me inside. Then he closed the door (after 5 or 6 tries reattaching) and walked back around the taxi. He then tried to turn over the engine, it sputtered and with a push from a few people on the side of the road off we went.

The amusing part was that for EVERY person that got on and off the taxi this same procedure was repeated. And, we stopped like, oh, 50 times. Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.