I have to apologize about the lack of posts thus far. Internet problems here prevented me from sharing my stories with you. Now that they are fixed I hope to post one or two times a week (time permitting). Traveling throughout the city of Wuhan reminded me of a children's book my mother often read to me when I was still cute and adorable with bleach blonde hair. The Bus For Us was my favorite book as a child. In the book, a child waits anxiously for the bus to school. Meanwhile, other buses going to different places come by and the child asks repeatedly, "Is this the bus, is this the bus for us?" The less cute, less adorable, fading blonde version of me is now stuck waiting for the correct buses when I travel here. As I wait, sometimes I think, "Is this the bus, is this the bus for us?" When the right one comes, the pushing and squishing begins. Don't think about waiting in lines here. First come, first on the bus. When a full bus comes, those are the fun rides. A comfort zone does not exist either here. Buses have maybe 30 seats and room in the middle to stand. With correct calculations you can easily fit 75 people in the buses at max capacity. I will post some pictures later that show just how full the buses get here. It is always an adventure traveling around here.
One benefit I've noticed about bus travel is that it provides opportunities for people to talk with foreigners and hopefully exchange phone numbers. This has happened twice since I've been here so far. When someone begins a conversation I talk with the father to allow doors to open. Perhaps we are the start of this persons journey from darkness to light. What a privilege to be an instrament. This happens on buses of all places. You never know what will be used to bring others into the light of life. Even the buses of Wuhan.
