12 Minibuses: One of my favorite things about the Horn of Africa (11032009)

I love the minibuses. Minibuses are the way to get around here, the public transportation, my TARC. However, they are nothing like TARC buses. This is how they work:

Tons of them drive all around the city on routes. There are no signs or minibus stops or descriptions of the routes. You learn what route a specific minibus is on because there is someone on the bus (more about them later) constantly yelling where the bus’ final destination is. If there isn’t a minibus going as far as you need to go, then you can just take two minibuses to get there. They are blue with a white stripe and they seat 15 people. It is really cramped in them and they usually have hard brightly-colored, plastic-covered seats. The music is often familiar... from a few years ago in the States. The minibuses have a path that they drive on and you pay about .80 birr for short trips and 1.80 for long trips. (Birr is the currency here. The prices mentioned are just a few cents in USD.) And, make sure that you hold your hand out for change, or else you don’t get it.

And here is the fascinating part:

There is a driver and a caller. The driver drives and the caller yells. The door on the minibuses are similar to sliding doors on vans. So, the caller hollers out the window, leaning ALL the way out. He stands up on the floor of the minibus and puts his thighs up against the window. So, over half of his body his out the window, while we drive, fast and on huge bumpy roads and by signs and other minibuses and while motorcycles are driving between lanes to pass us. Everyone honks all the time and there are no lanes or rules that anyone seems to follow. If you want to turn out onto a new road, you just start driving and hope the person coming cares about his car enough to not hit you. So, right after you get on, the caller continues to shout out the window at people telling people walking on the street or sidewalk (more people on streets than sidewalks) where we are going so that more people get on. They keep piling people in until there is no more room. (A friend emailed me and told me this joke, which is definitely true: How many people can fit on a minibus? One more. They even have hard plastic cartons to sit on in the floor--aisle actually--if you don’t get a seat.) When you want off, you just yell that you want off and they pull over, open the door and you are done. Sometime after you get on and before you get off, while the caller isn't yelling and banging on the side of the minibus to make noise, you pay the caller who is always holding a wad of cash in one hand WHILE opening and closing the door and holding on over bumpy roads.

It is an incredible experience that I have gotten to enjoy several times and am looking forward to many more moments of chaos. Really. It is awesome. :)

Miss you all.

Laura