Blog #7 – TRAFFIC!!!

Traffic:

If you’ve been to India, then you know that the traffic here is a force to be reckoned with. If not, then picture traffic in New York, and then add a few cows here and there, some chickens, and goats running around the streets. Picture a dusty street with tiny Maruti cars bumper to bumper. Imagine flower stalls lining either side of the street. Think of how people might yell to get your attention, convincing you to take some vegetables home, or if you’re new in town, they might just stare. Feel the thin mist that still lingers around the hilltops, and take in the light scent of tea from tiny breakfast stalls in every corner. This paints a pretty picture, right? Well, now imagine people walking through this traffic due to the lack of any sidewalks. Think of how the motorcycles weave in and out of traffic, racing with other bikes, and basically causing a lot of people to crank their windows down and yell. Oh, and the honking. Sometimes you can’t hear anything else because the sound of the horns from every car just drowns everything out. And, if you ever decide you want to go out at three in the afternoon, forget about getting somewhere on time. All the schools in the city end their day around that time, and hundreds of kids in uniforms dot the streets in groups of maybe twenty at a time. Buses here aren’t air conditioned. Neither do they have enough room for one stop. So about fifty people sit, and another fifty stand, nearing falling on the seated people. It’s just insanity. But hey, at least you can’t say driving here is boring. You’re always braking more than accelerating, and no one owns an automatic car. Even the huge buses are stick shift! I can’t drive a shift, so that leaves me with three cars lying around, and having to get the next bus to wherever I want to go.