Nathan and I had already figured out by experience that riding the free WuMae bus BACK from the store when you had lots of bags was a really stupid idea. The hard seats are so small I could not sit straight because my knees would not fit in front of me. We also figured out that you shouldn’t sit in the back of the bus (as we had) for two reasons. One, you can’t get out because more people are getting on for the next round of shopping and two, being bounced over the many speed bumps on the roads were kidney killers.
On this trip TO WuMae I talked Elizabeth into catching the WuMae free bus instead of waiting for a green “stuff it bus” incorrectly assuming that it might be less crowded than the one coming home. Well you know what they say about “assume”. I counted more than 100 people as they got off at WuMae – The bus had seats for about 50. Elizabeth who was on the front engine hump behind the driver said that after the last pickup the door would not close all the way. We splurged (10 Yuan or about $1.20) and took a real green taxi home (different prices for different colors- blue is more expensive). The “stuff it buses’ are looking better and better -- so what if it cost 2 Yuan (25 cents).
Side note: I am looking into buying a bike. The only problem is that the biggest selection is in Xiasha, about 10 miles away and I haven't figured out how ride a bike back to the college or ask for directions – let alone deal with the traffic…. I will have to ponder the problem for a while, but it sure would be nice to have a bike when going to the fruit/vegetable market.
