There are days when I'm in my village. I look around I feel like, 'How could i ever leave this place?' I see my friends, my family, my niger mom- people I've lived with for the last few years. It'll be a tough day when I leave Niger...
And then I get on a bush taxi. Bush taxis are supposed to hold 19 people, three rows of 4 people each, one row of 5 people, and 2 people in the front with the driver. Not luxurious, but the problems come when they decide to just pile more people in the taxi. Put a kid on your lap. Squish another person in, no problem. Keeping in mind Nigerien women are big. You also have to be alert for the peeing babies that get handed around.
And then the stench. When it's 120 degrees and you're in a car with people that don't wear deodorant, you can imagine the smell. Add in the smell of animals....and it's like each bush taxi makes its own soup.
The car? A piece of shit. You're lucky to get a car that will start up. But if it doesn't? No problem, everyone gets out to push. After that, 9/10 times there are car problems. Flat tires. But leave it to a Nigerien to solve any car problem—they are thrifty people. The other problem is the seats which maybe had cushion at one point have none now. It’s all worn down so you're pretty much sitting on a piece of wood that you’re lucky if it even has a back. Comfort. True comfort. Sometimes I've gotten in a car and there are chickens running around my feet.
Although most bush taxis are covered, to get to Gotheye from my village (about 30k) all that’s available is open back trucks. The great thing about an open back truck is you can just load people on- no limit! Animals too! I've been on some trucks with over 30 people loaded up in the back.
The people? They like to harass anasaras!! They don't leave us alone. I mean, I know I'm cool but seriously that cool that everyone in the car insists on talking to me, asking to marry me, giving me their babies? I guess the answer is yes, I am cool.
My favorite bush taxi yet was the other week where there were about 15 goats on the top of the car. Well when you’re driving 100km/hr and a goat starts peeing, it was like a spray for everyone in the car, kind of like a shower.
And that's only the bush taxi ride. It doesn't include the 6k walk and three boats it takes for me to get to Niamey. Describing a bush taxi doesn't even give it justice.
Normal? Not normal? You decide. But be thankful for the sweet public transportation of America.
**also, see new pictures on flickr account
2 comments:
lulu, that picture of the stacked up bush taxi is maybe the craziest thing i've ever seen. the story about the goat pee is definitely the grossest.
that loaded bush taxi reminds me of an ikea commercial. do you remember those? won't it be nice to be relatively anonymous again when you get home?
Post a Comment