Buying a bus ticket – Play to Win!
Things went surprisingly smoothly in the Immigration Office in Nampula, which might have had something to do with my charm in explaining to the officers: “But I don’t want to leave the country! I love this country! Look! I’ve already been here 3 months, and I just want a little more time to make it to the Tanzanian border.” OK. No problem. Solved! The next day I met the Immigration Officer in the stationery store, who told me my visa was ready ahead of schedule – unheard of in Africa! I would be out of Nampula faster than I thought, which can only be a good thing.
Buses leave unbearably early in Mozambique, but you get used to it. Other things, though, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to, namely being the lack of queues, or lines. The morning I left for Pemba, my next destination, the taxi driver picked me up at 4am and dropped me at the bus station. I hadn’t yet bought my ticket, so I headed to the ticket window. To my utter disappointment I saw the mob of people crowded around the window and joined them, laden with my backpack.
I stood and watched people reaching their arms over people, shoving their hands in the window, screaming out their destinations while people pushed into and in front of me. As one guy left, two more came, all pushing themselves into position as I stood on the side, being pushed. Well, you gotta play if you wanna win, and there’s only one way to play: Play to Win.
Fine, you wanna push? I’ll push! You wanna reach in over me? I’ll push you out of the way and get in ahead of you. I pushed with all my might, shifting the crowd to squeeze my hand into the window with the others who were also Playing to Win. And I waved my money in the face of the cashier, screaming out “Pemba! Pemba! For the love of god – Pemba!” And I won! I got my ticket to Pemba, pushed my way out of the crowd, perhaps giving a little extra shove with my backpack, and got on my bus.
I sat on the bus with a sigh of relief and looked on my watch. 4:20am. It was still dark. It’s incredible to me that such behavior can carry on before daybreak. That and the fact that it didn’t occur to me that I could just purchase the ticket on the bus. But, I won, and that’s all that matters.
The bus ride to Pemba was the most relaxed bus ride I’d had in a long, long time, and I enjoyed talking to my neighbors who were headed to town for some sort of religious convention. Actually, if I remember correctly, they were Seventh Day Adventists – Mormon Mozambicans!
I spent about a week in Pemba, ruing the fact that I would be leaving the country soon, and stocking up on all my favorite music and other items from the country. I met a few nice people, one of them being Tej. Tej is from India but living and working in Pemba now, buying minerals from the surrounding areas. He offered me a ride on his scooter one morning, as I walked down the sand road into town. It is very common to give lifts up and down these roads. We skidded through the sand for a while until I reached my destination, and we made plans for dinner.
Tej showed up later that evening, and as he turned to greet me, it became obvious that he had me in mind when he dressed himself that evening. He wore a simple t-shirt with AMERICA printed in large letters across the front. Yay! USA!
The most memorable thing about Tej (besides the nice dinner he bought for me), was his impression of Chicago. “When I think of Chicago, I think of the big dragon!” he said, triumphantly. “Hmmm…yes, the big dragon…what dragon?” I thought. (How could I not laugh?) My mind raced to think of the dragon in Chicago…is there even a dragon in Chinatown? How do I not know about this dragon?! I mean, there can’t possibly be any “big dragon” in Chicago that this guy would know about and I don’t!
“Uh, what dragon are you referring to?” I asked politely. “Well, in America don’t you have really big, fast roller coasters everywhere?” Well, uh, no. There is a place with roller coasters far outside of Chicago, but all the city has is a big Ferris wheel. I don’t know about any big dragon.
“Damn! My friend is always telling me lies!” he said, and this was at least the second thing he had said this in reference to that day, although I can’t remember the first. It’s funny, though, what people think of America, the impressions they have through the media and, particularly, Hollywood. This incident precisely reminds me of Kafka’s book “Amerika”, which he wrote without ever having visited the United States. The book is full of fantastical visions of huge luxurious houses, women dressed as angels playing large golden trumpets, and, undoubtedly, rags-to-riches type opportunities for everyone.
But, of course, how can we blame them? We are all subject to what we are told and what we see through the media. People are surprised to learn that there are beggars in the United States. Others are surprised at how often I’ve been able to access the internet while abroad… Or – “You’re in Zimbabwe?!? What are you doing there?!” How about: “Isn’t everyone starving in Ethiopia?” [A lot were during the famine of 1984!]
And I tell people here that some people back home think that Africa is full of starving people, skin and bones with big bellies, in civil wars with elephants and lions roaming around. And they laugh…just as I laughed at Tej with his idea of the big dragon in Chicago. Incidentally, I think a big dragon would complement the skyline remarkably.
Tania
January 24th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Good to hear from you once again……Sounds like you are doing well…..
Take care. karen
January 24th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I intend to make a call to the mayor’s office this afternoon. I have to agree with your idea about our skkyline .I will make sure to describe the additional beauty a dragon could provide during the sunsets. a sure tourist attraction. Think he’ll bite? Maybe it will be completed by the time you get home. love,mom.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
i agree with your mom! DRAGON CITY CHICAGO!