Today I am grateful that i can afford to travel in private. In the country where i live there are a lot of people and less public transportation. I am so grateful that i do not hustle like everyone to get from place to place.
Today was rainy and i had gone to buy gifts for my friends for Christmas. I saw people rushing to get into a commuter omnibus which was dirty on the outside but i bet it was clean by the time it left that bus stop. There were more than 20 people and everyone wanted to get in.
Some were wet while others were dry but they all did not care. There is corona and people are supposed to keep their distance but no one cared because they all wanted to go home after a stressful day. I saw women and men fighting and pushing one another just to get inside, some even had babies 🥺🥺 and i realised that i take the ability to travel in private for granted.
There are trucks that carry people called “My Love”. These are like trucks where people get in and they would be standing holding each other in the waist hence the name my love. Men and women have to support each other so they do not fall. Very popular and used to be the only means of transportation not too long ago.
The first time i came here i travelled by public transport and i had a nightmare. I was standing like the guy in the orange cap and by the time i arrived home i had no idea how many people had touched me. My whole body felt dirty and in pain from the standing position. I had no money, and was just starting my new job. It was a nightmare to do this every single day for almost 8 months. My boss used to offer me a ride to and from work since i stayed in her way. It was such a relief on those days otherwise i had to always be like this all the time. As long as the chapa had space someone would just push and squeeze themselves in so that they can all go home.
Where I came from nothing of this sort had happened before so to say i was shocked is an understatement and i had to go on like this until I settled and started using private cars and taxis or chopela.
I am so grateful that this phase of my life has passed and now I can afford to travel in private. I am glad that God has been kind to me. I hope eventually the country will be able to introduce different modes of transport to eliminate this situation maybe some day in the future.
Still grateful 🤗💋💜💜💜✌
