So far, so good. I have realized how athletic you have to be to take the matatus, though. Matatus come in all shapes and sizes these days - from "proper" busses (like a Greyhound), to converted highway trucks (lorries) to small 15 passenger vans. And they all come with their own challenges to jumping in and out. Personally, I like the bigger busses, but the drivers tend to start moving before you actually get to a seat, so if you're not careful, you end up in someone's lap when the driver makes a sudden move (which is fairly common in Nairobi traffic!).
Here's a picture of a typical matatu. I don't take my camera with me, so this is one that I found online... but this is what it looks like.
The challenge of the converted lorry today was trying to climb into the cab. Elizabeth and I were going together this morning, and there was only one seat in the back of the bus, so the conductor sort of shoved me into the front. Wearing a slim skirt, I had to pull myself up into the cab of this giant truck, with my backpack and my coins for the fare in my hands. The driver was already starting to pull away from the curb, and I was trying to find something other than the male passenger sitting next to the driver to grab on in order to pull myself into the truck before I slid out onto the road side! Yesterday, the only seat left was right where the conductor usually sits... so the three other people on the bench scootched over as far as they could, but the conductor still ended up practically sitting in my lap! And then of course, when you get out, none of the drivers want to stop for very long, so you usually have to just jump out and pray that your feet hit the ground all in one piece. I just don't understand how these women can do it in their fancy stiletto sandals! They are the true athletes.
Here's a photo of the bus that I was stretching myself to get into this morning, again, from the Internet somewhere.
The challenge of the small mini-bus kind of matatus is trying to get in and out. You usually have to squash in past a lot of people to find a seat in the very back. And then when one person wants to get out, everyone else has to get up to let them out! This is where being tall is a real disadvantage.Granted, the matatus are loads better than they used to be here. There are actually laws now that say each vehicle has to have enough seatbelts for each passenger. So they're really not supposed to squeeze another passenger in... and they normally don't. There are also very set fares now, so the conductors can't ask for more just because you don't know the way or because you have the wrong color skin. So it's really not that bad going back and forth each day using the matatus. In fact, it's quite interesting to watch people! And amazingly enough, no one makes a big deal out of the fact that there's a white girl on the bus. No one yet has asked for my hand in marriage. I haven't even heard a mutter of a "hey, baby!". So really, I can't complain at all.
And here's one of my own photos from last year of the typical traffic that I go through each day. I'm glad I don't have to drive!
And now it's time go to for dinner with some friends. My friend will drive us through the traffic towards a lovely Ethiopian restaurant here.... I can taste the shiro already! With all my athletic tricks getting in and out of matatus, at least I won't be gaining any weight while I'm here! Oh, that reminds me of something funny today in class. My Kenyan professor was greeting us, and she was greeting someone in the class who she hadn't seen in a year or two. Her comment to the student was, "I can see that life has been good to you!". That's African code for "My, look how fat you've gotten!". I hope they don't say that to me too many times once I leave Nairobi :)
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