Public Transportation

Riding a bus to Moshe was an experience and I remember turning to Sarah and thanking her for being with us! Little did I know that the next day, Summer and I would be on our own-

I had a ticket for Longido to Nairobi on a private shuttle but our plans changed and I let the shuttle company know we would instead, be traveling from Moshe. Communication can take a while here and the shuttle company in Moshe got the message too late. They sent us to the public bus company as no shuttle was available.

Sitting on the bus, sweating like crazy, I watched the time on my watch knowing the bus was suppose to leave at 11:30. Time came and the bus was full. Good because that is when busses leave, when they are full. But no, still sitting and still sweating. All of a sudden, the bus fills with bodies. Our suitcase is placed at our feet so Summer and I sit with our legs up on the seat. People pile in and soon it is standing room only. Still not full enough for the driver and about 10 more people pile in - a mother with her baby, a grandmother, a man walking with a cane. The driver has Summer and I move closer so the grandmother can sit with us. We are squished together and sweating so bad that it feels like a river running down my back and I'm sitting in a pool. The grandmother, not a small woman, is half sitting on me and half sitting on the seat. Of course, I am the only mzungu on the bus so everyone is staring. Hawkers, selling their wares are at our window, yelling for me to buy from them. I cannot move a muscle. I'm stuck in one position!

Off we go, over bumpy roads, stopping at every town. We travel like this for almost two hours! When we finally get off the bus in Arusha, I am so proud of myself! And a great experience!