So I haven’t written anything in a while about what I would like people to send me but since my birthday is in a week I figured it couldn’t hurt to list a few things! So if you are considering sending me birthday packages please note the list below (it is just a suggestion you can send whatever you like!)
In no particular order-
Velveeta cheese (small box)
Pop tarts
Candy- twizzlers, skittles, jelly beans
Nail polish/ Nail polish remover
Magazines
Beef Jerky
Tampons
Fun cheap jewelry
New music/movies/shows
Breakfast bars
New planner for 2012
Fun travel games
Sunglasses
Margarita Mix with Tequila
Soup/food packets
Other delicious snack food
I can’t believe that I am turning 25 years old….it seems like just yesterday I was learning how to drive, then turning 18 and going off to college, finally turning 21 and partying with my friends…now I am 25 living in Benin as a Peace Corps volunteer. Life really flies by! I also can’t believe its my second birthday in Benin. There is a big possibility I will spend my 26th bday here but maybe when I come home we can celebrate!! Anyways I hope all of you are doing great and hopefully you can at least get around to sending me a letter/card for my birthday so I can hear how you are doing!!!
I send my love from Benin!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Strictly talking Buses…
Long story short I was sick last week and had to go down to Cotonou to see the Doctors…fortunately its nothing serious like Malaria. Anyways I would like this blog to explain the many strange bus trips I’ve been on too and from Cotonou. Usually I want to blog about them then I find myself distracted by other interesting stories and I choose to forget the bus trips. The bus trip from Nati to Cotonou is a wonderful 8 hours….sometimes it’s around 10 but typically it’s about 8; please keep in mind the distance is about Dallas to Houston. On the way down I was fortunate enough to get a brand new bus, they were nice enough to keep the plastic wrap on all the seats! At first I was excited to have a new bus then about 30 minutes on the bus I realized the strong smell of plastic was going to give me a headache for the entire ride. If you know me I prefer NO CAR SCENT because any scent makes me car sick. I slept for a few hours until the first bus stop then had some difficulty sleeping because the man next to me was freezing (on the older buses the AC doesn’t work) and made me open the window to let in warmer air….of course I thought this was ridiculous but he made me open it. Twenty minutes later the ticket dude who rides along with the bus the whole way came and yelled at me to close the window. We were about 2 hours away from Cotonou when a young man across the aisle started throwing up. Since we couldn’t open the windows because the AC it smelled like plastic with a slight vomit scent. I can’t explain how uncomfortable that made the rest of the voyage.
Now for the return trip: I was worried I wasn’t going to make it because Aug. 1 was Benin Independence day and the celebration was happening in Natitingou so everyone and their mother was headed to Nati. I bought my ticket 2 days in advance and my seat was still all the way in the back of the second bus. I took my seat and mentally prepared myself for the 8-10 hour journey. About 10 minutes after we left I killed a baby spider on my arm. I thought it was strange but was like oh well I’m in Africa. A few minutes later I killed another one on my shoulder. Because I am so freakishly observant I started looking around next to me and behind me…the entire back row was infested with SPIDERS!!! There were spiders literally in my hair! I couldn’t stop killing them. I tried to sit forward so they wouldn’t crawl all over me then I started getting car sick because the back of the bus feels EVERY SINGLE BUMP and especially when the bus is braking. Then I was fighting vomiting and having a nervous freak out because they were a million spiders crawling on me. I almost threw up in my purse then decided it would be worse to vomit than submit myself to the spiders. I finally fell asleep for an hour until the first stop. On our way to the second stop the axel with the two back tires on it snapped in half. There was a former PCV on the bus and he went and looked at the damage and came back and was like yeah we need to leave and find another mode of transportation because this is unfixable…well at least today. I thought I could either stay with the bus and probably wait a long time or…..go with him and find a new way to get to nati. We stepped off the bus and there was a man with a car saying he was going to the next closest town. At that town we got a taxi straight to Nati because there were 5 other people (from our bus) going to Nati. Surprisingly I got to Nati faster than the buses.
On other bus trips the bus driver has left people at the bus stops…one time a lady started hitting the driver while he was driving to get him to stop and wait for her friend. Then the entire bus started fighting about if the driver was right to leave or if they were on the lady’s side. Also on one trip the bus broke down 4 times; that trip took 11 hours. We were just outside of Cotonou the last time the bus broke down and another bus pulled up and let everyone get on their bus for free. I was so thankful! On another trip we stopped and this lady got off to get food for her kids and the bus started to leave without her and I told the guy next to me that she wasn’t on the bus. He then yelled at the driver to wait and fortunately because I SAID SOMETHING the bus stopped and let her on. She was yelling at the driver and the man next to me was like you need to thank the white girl because she was the only one to notice…the lady didn’t even acknowledge me.
It also never fails that they show awful Nigerian films dubbed in French. I’ve seen a Scarface spoof that is horrible. One thing that really brings bus patrons together is this movie where children play adults. The think its absolutely fantastic. Everyone laughs and talks to the screen or each other. Another popular video is this man who marries a French woman and comes back to Benin then decides to leave her for a Beninese woman….I always feel like a bad person after that film.
I guess life would be just too boring if there weren’t issues with transportation, or at least I should look at it that way! I hope you enjoyed these stories and I promise to provide future bus horror stories when they happen.
Now for the return trip: I was worried I wasn’t going to make it because Aug. 1 was Benin Independence day and the celebration was happening in Natitingou so everyone and their mother was headed to Nati. I bought my ticket 2 days in advance and my seat was still all the way in the back of the second bus. I took my seat and mentally prepared myself for the 8-10 hour journey. About 10 minutes after we left I killed a baby spider on my arm. I thought it was strange but was like oh well I’m in Africa. A few minutes later I killed another one on my shoulder. Because I am so freakishly observant I started looking around next to me and behind me…the entire back row was infested with SPIDERS!!! There were spiders literally in my hair! I couldn’t stop killing them. I tried to sit forward so they wouldn’t crawl all over me then I started getting car sick because the back of the bus feels EVERY SINGLE BUMP and especially when the bus is braking. Then I was fighting vomiting and having a nervous freak out because they were a million spiders crawling on me. I almost threw up in my purse then decided it would be worse to vomit than submit myself to the spiders. I finally fell asleep for an hour until the first stop. On our way to the second stop the axel with the two back tires on it snapped in half. There was a former PCV on the bus and he went and looked at the damage and came back and was like yeah we need to leave and find another mode of transportation because this is unfixable…well at least today. I thought I could either stay with the bus and probably wait a long time or…..go with him and find a new way to get to nati. We stepped off the bus and there was a man with a car saying he was going to the next closest town. At that town we got a taxi straight to Nati because there were 5 other people (from our bus) going to Nati. Surprisingly I got to Nati faster than the buses.
On other bus trips the bus driver has left people at the bus stops…one time a lady started hitting the driver while he was driving to get him to stop and wait for her friend. Then the entire bus started fighting about if the driver was right to leave or if they were on the lady’s side. Also on one trip the bus broke down 4 times; that trip took 11 hours. We were just outside of Cotonou the last time the bus broke down and another bus pulled up and let everyone get on their bus for free. I was so thankful! On another trip we stopped and this lady got off to get food for her kids and the bus started to leave without her and I told the guy next to me that she wasn’t on the bus. He then yelled at the driver to wait and fortunately because I SAID SOMETHING the bus stopped and let her on. She was yelling at the driver and the man next to me was like you need to thank the white girl because she was the only one to notice…the lady didn’t even acknowledge me.
It also never fails that they show awful Nigerian films dubbed in French. I’ve seen a Scarface spoof that is horrible. One thing that really brings bus patrons together is this movie where children play adults. The think its absolutely fantastic. Everyone laughs and talks to the screen or each other. Another popular video is this man who marries a French woman and comes back to Benin then decides to leave her for a Beninese woman….I always feel like a bad person after that film.
I guess life would be just too boring if there weren’t issues with transportation, or at least I should look at it that way! I hope you enjoyed these stories and I promise to provide future bus horror stories when they happen.
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