Ta-Tas... A Whole New Meaning

In Dakar there are many forms of transportation. So far, I've been limited to taxis and walking. However, on Friday, when Tom, Bira, Bira's friend Mami, and I decided to go to Ile de Ngor, they all wanted to take a taxi but I suggested saving some money and taking a car rapide. These colorful short buses have been calling my name, they just look like such an authentic experience. So we all agreed to wait to wait for a car rapide. The funny thing about the public transportation, at least the car rapides, is that there is not a specific spot or station to be picked up at, you kind of just wait on the side of the road and then flag one down when you see one going the direction you want to go. Car rapides add a lot to the madness of the streets because if one is flagged down it just pulls over immediately and stops even if there are cars and taxis driving where they need to stop. Unfortunately, my first car rapide experience has still yet to happen. A white short bus showed up instead but don't get me wrong it was still quite the experience! As it was pulling up, I asked The bus has two ways to get on and off with one door that is the main entrance where you pay like most buses in the US. However, the main entrance is in the back of the bus through two larger swinging doors that have the fare collector hanging off the ladder connected to one of the doors. You have to rush in because the bus driver will only stop for a minute or so, not really checking to make sure that everyone who wanted to get on has done so. Once inside I realized that I was in for a wild ride. At first, all of the seats on the bus were taken, it even looked like people were sharing the end of a seat so that they could half sit in the aisle. Because there were no seats available, we stood in an area in the back where you have to hold onto the roof for dear life once the bus is in motion. That area was even too full, so Bira joined the money collector and held on to the ladder outside. Oh yeah, one of the back door is always open so people can get on in a rush, so I had to worry not only about falling all over the people surrounding me but also about flying out the back! Then once the bus started clearing a bit, I realized that people I thought were pulling a sharesies to be able to sit were actually sitting on the little chairs in the aisle that folded up and to the side so that people could walk past and fill the front of the bus  but then sit down. That's one thing I've noticed about the people of Dakar, it seems that they use every bit of everything like in the bus- why waste precious aisle space when someone could be sitting there? As I made way up to the front I spotted some very shiny colorful decorations, I told Mami (in French) that in America you'd never see such a thing and she informed me that they were to decorate for Noel (Christmas in French). If there is one thing I never thought would be all over Dakar, it would be Christmas decorations but quite a few places here went all out in decorations. Even last night, on our way into downtown Dakar, the streets were lined with an extremely beautiful light display that traveled about six blocks. Anyways, when we got out of the bus I asked Bira what the name of the bus was since it wasn't called a car rapide and it wasn't as big as the other buses that I had seen bumming around town. His response "Tata" and he couldn't understand why I started to laugh. hahahaha