The plan was then for us interns, the Brennflecks, and Matt
and Laura to come back to Nsoko together. But for various reasons, the
Brennflecks and the interns were taken to public transport to get to Nsoko,
while Matt and Laura drove back with all of the luggage. So Matt dropped us off
and I am sure he was laughing as we got out and he drove off because he did not
prepare us for this adventure at all. So let me set the stage for you, Matt
dropped us at an intersection without even parking the car so we all
frantically get out and on the sidewalk so we don’t impede traffic. There are
people everywhere since we are at an area where all the buses come and go. No
words can really describe how overwhelming it was. So we are at the corner and
we go to cross the street. We all get across only then to be stopped by a
police officer because apparently we jaywalked. Apparently we need to go across
the other way but we were unaware. But this police officer wanted us to go to
the police station and she was very insistent about it. We all kind of
exchanged looks with one another and took a deep breathe knowing that today was
definitely going to be an adventure, its ok though because we all peed before
;P (Shout out to the Encounters Team). So she lead us across the street toward
the station and then she stopped and kind of chuckled and walked off after
another warning. No ticket, no fine, no jail time. Thank you Jesus for answered
prayers. Now it was then time to find the right bus to take us to Matata. There
are people everywhere and buses everywhere and it was just chaos. So many
people yelling trying to get us to get on their bus. We all huddled up to try
to make a game plan of how we were going to find the right bus. But as we were
doing so, one bus started backing up right near us without much awareness
because a gogo was definitely hit. She walked away unharmed but her parting
words were, “That bus drive is so rude!” We all may have had minor heart
attacks as we saw all of this unfold. Burger then found our bus as we all
stayed put. We then all headed in that direction to find more screaming people
who were very aggressive about us getting on the bus. There happened to be two
buses headed to Matata but only one was ready to go and it was definitely full.
We tried to get on the other one but with everything being so chaotic and all
the screaming we got on the one that was ready to go. We all climbed in to find
out that there was just enough room for us to be smashed together in the aisle.
Holding on for dear life we started going. There was a slight sigh of relief
knowing that we were on the right bus and on our way. But the stress returned
as people kept having to push their way through the aisle to collect the bus
fare money from everyone or to get off at the various bus stops. I don’t think
any of us have ever experienced so much awkward touching from so many people.
Eventually, the bus emptied out some so that we all were sitting. Unfortunately
though it was too late for me to avoid motion sickness. (The Dramamine I had
was in my luggage that was in the car with Matt). We eventually got to Matata
and had lunch at a café and then got to our house in Nsoko. It was quite an
adventure and Matt is lucky that he is still alive. Only in Africa would
stories like this occur frequently. We are fortunate that their were no
livestock on our ride though.
Needless to say, we are safe and glad to be back in Nsoko.
We got to go to church at Eskhaleni which was such a blessing.
Sarah, Amy, and I on the bus
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