The "Bus"

The volunteer manager of the employment center wanted to show us around after we finished teaching the workshop on Thursday. Since the place he wanted to take us was pretty far away, he suggested that we take the bus. Though we have seen many buses since we have been in Guatemala, we have never actually ridden one. What is considered a bus here in Xela is a little different from what constitutes a bus in the city. After waiting only a few minutes on the corner, an old van pulled up, a boy jumped out and shouted the destination of the vehicle. We squeezed on and took a seat. I must say that safety doesn’t appear to be foremost on their minds. I was a little uneasy during our trip, but we arrived whole and paid our one quetzal as we hoped out.The return trip was about the same driving standard and van quality, only a little tighter squeeze. Even though all the seats were filled, the boy continued to open the door at each stop and solicit passengers. I was all the way in the back and Mike sat in front of me. Our friend got off at an earlier stop but suggested that we stay on until the parque central stop to save ourselves some walking. In the mean time, people got off and on the bus. I was still all the way in the back, pinned against the far side window. When our stop finally came, Mike got out. The others in my seat were in the process of moving to let me out when the van drove away. I finally made my way to the door, sat on the floor, and told them to let me out. The others on the bus were telling the driver to wait, but he didn’t listen. He said he would drop me off there on the way back which wouldn’t be very long. There was no way I was going to go for that. The first time the bus stopped (I don’t know if it was a real bus stop of if the bus just stopped for traffic) I told the boy that I was getting off right there and I did. I wanted to cry. I hurried back down the road to the parque central and quickly found my husband (he’s pretty easy to spot). Needless to say, that made for a less-than-favorable first experience on the bus.