Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Ode to Bus



 Ah, the buses. Over the course of this year Elliott and I have spent a significant amount of time riding in buses (we've basically attained our 10,000 hours). We use them to get to villages, job sites, festivals, everywhere. A few weeks ago, we were riding on a very crowded bus and our friend Binod leaned over and said, "In three months you guys won't be able to do this anymore." Now, most Americans riding on a bus that crowded would probably be thankful to hear that news... But not us. Some of our best (or at least our most significant) memories have come from riding on the buses. This is a random compilation of memories from the buses.

-Seeing a herd of goats riding on the roof of a bus for the first time.

-Discovering that 3 hours on a bus costs less than a dollar.

-Riding on the roof of a bus for an hour. In the rain. At 6 AM. After only 2 hours of sleep. And a 12 hour bus ride the night before.

-Being ripped off by the bus boy, and then arguing with him in Nepali about the bus fare while the rest of the people on the bus were giggling as the two white kids laid down the law in Nepali.

-One bus, 34 seats, 95 bodies.

-On that same bus: I was standing in the stairwell with 9 other people. It was a really cold and rainy day and the bus door was open. My hands were super cold, but all of a sudden one hand felt warm, then it felt wet. I looked at the hand and discovered that a 10 year old girl was vomiting on my hand...

-Meeting some of the nicest strangers in the bus seat next to me.

Those are just a few of the fun bus stories from this year. Hopefully, there will be many more to come!

In other news, today is a giant legalized marijuana holiday in Nepal.



Blurry rooftop bus ride.




Rainy Rooftop Bus Ride