i love my bus

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

my bus

I have a short bus ride to school every day. Having lived in two major cities, New York and Washington, DC, I am aware that buses can sometime be extremely confusing. And that's when the driver speaks your language.

I'm lucky for several reasons. First, the stop I have to get off at for my new house is the LAST STOP! So, in the morning, the bus is waiting there for me, and in the evening, it's the last stop before the bus turns around. This is not only good for knowing where to get off and on, but also it ensures that on the way to school I always get a seat (as you can see in the pictures of the bus above...it's totally empty when I get on). The other good thing about my bus in particular, is that the stop I have to get of at for the school is one stop past a huge and important landmark: the Mall. The San Pedro mall is amazing, it has everything you could need. There's even a small private clinic inside in case I get sick or need a doctor. It's 5 minutes from the school, so that's great. There really isn't anything you can't get here in Costa Rica. Yesterday I bought Jif peanut butter, and this morning we had pancakes for breakfast with Aunt Jemima maple syrup.

Interesting things about the buses...there are paper signs in the window telling you which bus it is. It is based on the direction the bus is going. My neighborhood is called Carmiol, so there is a sign in the front window that says Carmiol. For people that have a stop along the way to Carmiol, they just need to know that the "Carmiol" bus is for them...it's a lot like the metro system in Washington, DC...red line to Shady Grove, for instance. But the fun part of all this is that they are just paper signs, unlike the illuminated displays on buses in the US. So, when a bus is approaching, at nighttime let's say, it's really difficult to see the sign on the bus, and you are supposed to wave them down if they are the correct bus for you. And SO, if a bus is approaching, you must be very quick on your feet to see the sign when it comes within a few feet of you and flag it down simultaneously.

Well, I'm at lunch right now, so I'm going to go eat a little, and I'll be back later.

Adios!