It's a Funny World I Live in Pt 1

I've decided to mix in little stories about some of the things I've seen since getting here.  They are funny anecdotes about my experiences. (At least, I think they're funny.  You might think it's pointless drivel. But if so, the joke is still on you for continuing to read.) I'll try to mix in some pictures to, but I won't always have anything.  In some of the situations, it was not smart to bring out a camera, in other situations the events were just not something I could have taken pictures of. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.
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Typical transport bus

On The MiniBus

On Mondays and Saturdays I take a bus like this one to get to our territory, which are an 1 1/2 to 2 hours away.

In the States, this would be 12-seater mini-bus.

But we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

In actually practice, usually about 20 people come on this bus, and I've counted as many as 25 (TWENTY-FIVE!) people including small children.

So here's the story.  It was maybe my 2nd time ever taking the bus, and myself and Sis Vina were the last 2 people to get on this particular morning.  All the buses have 2 or 3 guys standing around yelling the final destination of the bus they work with at the top of their lungs (Example: "OCHI, OCHI, OCHI, OCHI" for the town of Ocho Rios). These guys also try to herd us into the bus like cattle attract passengers to fill the bus up as much as possible. Since the bus was full (and I mean full, like if we got into an accident, I would have someone's hat lodged into my eye) I figured we'd have to just wait for the next bus.

Wrong again.

The 3 guys trying to get passengers swooped in.  They squeezed Sis Vina as the 5th person on a row that had seats for 3 people.  The guys now studied the inside of the van for a couple seconds.

"Small person can fit." "Room for small person." "Small mon (me) sit here."

The passenger row next to the door is not as wide as the other rows, to allow room for people to climb out the door.  This row was where my "seat" would be. And I use the term "seat" very loosely, because in reality it was a fraction of the seat big enough to fit part of my right buttcheek on.  My leg is still partially sticking out the door when one of the guys goes to close it so we can move ("small mon, mo' ya' foot") and when he does my shoulder is smushed against the door and the whole left side of my face is pressed up on the window. Sis Vina, who is sitting behind me, leans forward and whispers "आप ठीक हैं बेटा?" (Are you okay my child?) I could really only talk out of the right side of my mouth.

"Never been better."

I've discovered that the idea of personal space is a laughable concept here. At times the taxis, and always the buses, will squeeze in as many as possible to maximize profits.  It didn't take me long to get used to this.  As long as I have a space big enough to fit both buttcheeks, I'm a happy camper.