riding in to work

I left for work late this morning because I absolutely had to sleep in a bit and because it was so nice to have the house to myself for a few minutes after all my roommates left.

There are three options for getting to work. The first is to take the UN shuttle, which comes to our house at 7:30 am (not conducive to sleeping in). The second is to take a taxi (minimum $4). The final option is, as mentioned yesterday, a dalla-dalla, which costs 20 cents but stops everywhere and gets really full. On my own, of course I took the dalla-dalla. It was approaching as I reached the tarmac road from our dirt one, and I got on. The only available seat was in the far back, so I sat there. As the bus completed the filling process, which ended with every seat full and four or five people standing hunched over between the seats and the door (it was hard to see how many at that point), I got pushed further and further back into the corner furthest from the door. Unfortunately, I needed to get off at the first stop in town. So I hesitantly knocked on the metal above the window, the dalla-dalla screached to a halt, and about 8 people got out so that I could. The man next to me and the woman next to him and the man next to her, who were crammed with me into the back seat, did not, however, move or make any other concessions to my need to exit the dalla-dalla. I had to clamber over them in a move that seemed destined to end in a head-first tumble out the sliding door, but somehow didn't. I had no grace or poise left by the time I got out the door, but at least I was right-side up (particularly good since I'm wearing a long skirt).

I walked alone to the Tribunal. The "you must fear Arusha" people keep telling us that we are about to get robbed in broad daylight and must always stay in groups, but I can't make myself feel any more unsafe walking around alone here than I did in Kigali. Less, actually, because I walk around alone here more.