What's interesting about that?
on Colm in Kenya (Kenya), 12/Apr/2010 19:13, 34 days ago
How many people can you fit into amatatu?The law says 14 passengers.Okbut what about short distances, like fromKilifiacross the bridge toMnaranionmatatuthat’s as fresh as BarbaraCartland?I counted 21 on the journey home today, that’s seven more people stuffed into a smallnissanmini-bus fit for 14 passengers.Another volunteer last week asked me do you ever think what the f*ck am I doing here?Atleastonce a week I reckon.Stuffed into a small van with a 50 plus year old woman sitting on your lap at 6pm in the evening, it crossed my mind: How have ended up in a situation like this,its not like I’m Wayne Rooney or nothing.By the time we got to our village some people started to get out and my passenger rose from my knee and sits in the seat vacated beside me. I’m not sure what theetiquetteis on situations like this, it's a bit awkward. So I smile at her. I hope she reads it as a 'thematatuis packed, I understand you had to sit on my lap' embarrassed type smile and not a 'I enjoyed that' sleazy type smile. Oh dear, just look out the window for gods sake.By the time I go to get out at my stop, thematatuconductorsays that Arsenal have a big game on Wednesday.I agree but say hopefully arsenal will have they’re injured striker back and go to walk away (thematatustill almost full cant leave without him) but no, he wants to talk football.The passengers are getting impatient, I standing in the middle of the road listening to their conductor so it appears like its my fault for the delay and a few scowls and muttering get tossed from the bowels of the public service vehicle in my direction.“Ah we wetwendeboss,kesho…Big game Wednesday (thumbs up sign)” and he smiles, gives me a thumbs and disappears into thematatuto argue with the few impatient passengers.I walk toward my house…I get the usual greetings and I don’t care how many times I get it, I love when the kids fist bump Arsenal at me.I’m having four bananas and a bottle of water for dinner, I’m 200 pages into a mammoth book I started reading last week and listen to some Senegalese music a friend has given on my laptop.Every timeI get up from my seat and leave the fan I sweat.When I return, the cool air gives my an earache if I don’t move every so often.It turns out I haveInternetfor a while tonight, it’s thefirst timeI’vegot reception her in ages. It came and went but I managed to download and watch Saturday’s grand national on YouTube. I bet Tony McCoy is having a better meal than me.My clothes cleaner (that’s the name I have for her in my phone) is coming tomorrow morning at 8.She’ll bring her 3 month old boy and I’ll take cushions from my couch so she can place him down on the ground to sleep when she washes my clothes just outside my front door. I don’t know why I asked her to come so early come to think of it. There’s no power tomorrow so I cant go to work so shecould come later, but its probably to late to ask her to come later.No matter I’ll just get up a read for a while and then use my laptop for the precious 2.5 hrs power it will give me later on in the morning.Then the search for breeze somewhere for the afternoon. I’ll play football tomorrow evening at 6 on a surface that youcouldn’t land a lunar module on.The sun goes down at 6:50ishbut we’ll play until 8.There’s no floodlights or lights for that matter so I’ll have an excuse for a misplaced pass or 34.It’s not exciting, nor terribly interesting. It might even be dull.But I never thought I’d live one like it and I’ll get few 24hrs like it in a years time.