This past weekend, I was walking in town on the road that mini buses drive up to get to the highway. The buses were driving really slowly, which is actually a good thing, all things considered. There was one mini bus driving up the road, and I was walking down in front of it. The conductor was leaning out the window, grasping the door frame (the doors are the sliding type). Then, in seconds, the front portion of the door comes off the hinge and the conductor goes flying out onto the ground. Then the back hinge comes undone and the whole sliding door falls off onto the conductor! Good thing the window was open because that landed right over his head. So the conductor was pinned to the ground, with his head poking out the window. I just stood there in shock. Giggling. Then all these men came, lifted up the door, carried the conductor onto the mini bus. Then, the men just stood on the side of the road holding the door, while the mini bus drove away.

mambo!

could there be anything more depressing than sitting on a bus for 9 hours on a journey that should have taken 6 hours? yes, there is. if you had a seat on the bus, and then got bumped out of your seat by two azungus.

my friend and I had to get to Dar-es-Salaam from Iringa, but all the buses were booked up, and we were freaking out. and then this one guy says to us "i'll give you black market price. 12,000 tanzanian schillings for each seat." and we stare at each other and go "why not." so we get our tickets, and our assigned seats. we get onto the bus and realise there is a girl sitting in my friend's seat....hmmm. well, the guy who sold us our tickets gets on the bus, and makes the girl get out of her seat so that we can have it! we were mortified. But, seeing as how Tanzanians are such nice people, a guy let the girl sit on his lap...funny thing, it was in a totally platonic way. Throughout the ride, for the next 6 hours, she kept getting bumped from one guy's lap to another. I'm guessing their legs started cramping up? Anyway, the 6 hour bus ride turned into 9 hours because our bus broke down, we ran out of gas, and our driver was driving the pace of a turtle. the only time we ever passed a bus was if it had broken down on the side of the road. And cause we were in the front row, we had first class view of him picking his nose literally every 2 minutes. For real. Less picking, more driving! Step on it!