S o I heeded their warnings and did. The buses are like the colorful ones you would find in the Philippines. You just flag it down at any point and pay when you want to get off. They are called "aiga" or family buses, and not run by the government. There really is no schedule. Service often stops at 5pm, and they rarely run on the weekends. This basically means for me that I must get a used car here. Until then I have been bumming rides off neighbors and co-workers. I really can't do anything until I get my first paycheck. Until then I am keeping my ears open and letting all my friends know that I am looking.
I walked across the street and stood under the bus shade. And the first aiga to appear was dark purple and yellow, and from far away I could hear that it was blasting Queen! Of course...just for me, obviously.
I hopped on and grabbed the last seat. There are no pulls or buttons to push. When you see your destination, you knock on the wall or window, or clap to get the driver's attention. They will actually take the time to park where you can safely get off. In some instances, I have seen the driver take a person directly to the store or building! I swear I was only on the bus for a few minutes when I saw the post office.
I knocked on the window, and he let me off at the crosswalk.
Amazingly, for the second time in a row, there were no lines at the post office. I got my key and the employee kindly showed me where my PO Box was located. The post office was maybe 1 mile away from work (at most), so I decided to walk back. It only took 15 minutes, and I was mozy-ing along, stopping at little stores too.
Right across from our building is a park with benches, tables and public beach fales. Fales are thatched huts. In more remote areas, people still live in them. There are a few hotels with luxury beach fales that you can rent for the night. And it common for family compounds to have one huge fale where they family holds it meetings and celebrations.
I wasn't in a hurry to go back to my windowless office. So I decided to have lunch in public fale. And soaked in the view.
I walked across the street and stood under the bus shade. And the first aiga to appear was dark purple and yellow, and from far away I could hear that it was blasting Queen! Of course...just for me, obviously.
I hopped on and grabbed the last seat. There are no pulls or buttons to push. When you see your destination, you knock on the wall or window, or clap to get the driver's attention. They will actually take the time to park where you can safely get off. In some instances, I have seen the driver take a person directly to the store or building! I swear I was only on the bus for a few minutes when I saw the post office.
I knocked on the window, and he let me off at the crosswalk.
Amazingly, for the second time in a row, there were no lines at the post office. I got my key and the employee kindly showed me where my PO Box was located. The post office was maybe 1 mile away from work (at most), so I decided to walk back. It only took 15 minutes, and I was mozy-ing along, stopping at little stores too.
Right across from our building is a park with benches, tables and public beach fales. Fales are thatched huts. In more remote areas, people still live in them. There are a few hotels with luxury beach fales that you can rent for the night. And it common for family compounds to have one huge fale where they family holds it meetings and celebrations.
I wasn't in a hurry to go back to my windowless office. So I decided to have lunch in public fale. And soaked in the view.
I only stayed for so long because the sun appear from behind the clouds and the wind stopped - it instantly became brutally hot.
Nothing much to report - I can't believe that my second week is almost over.
I am eager to learn the local court procedures, so that I can start clearing the backlog of child support cases!
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