Public Transportation

This, my friends and family, deserves its own post.

Today we had our first encounter with public transportation here in Cape Town.  We took a bus to the beach after visiting a couple venues where we would be doing volunteer work at (more about that later)... So we were at Muizenberg Beach, one of the few close warm-water beaches, and we had to take the train back to Rondebosch (where we are living).  I had heard many stories about the train here varying from "take it whenever you can because its a hilarious experience" and "you may as well just hand over your wallet to the man sitting next to you".  I'm not quite sure what category to place my particular adventure under quite yet.  First of all, we are told to ride third class because first class is dangerous and you are more likely to get mugged.  So we (a group of about 30 Americans) get on for a leisurely ride down the coast.  There are a few people in our car, and we are seated chatting loudly and sprawled out across the benches.  We make a few stops and the car slowly begins to get more crowded, we scoot together and invade each other's privacy that we Americans hold so dearly.  A few more stops, the benches are all full and people start having to stand in the middle.  We hold our bags on our laps and stop talking to take interest in the clicking language of Xhosa speaking people around us.  We stop at the next stop.  I begin to sweat and clench my jaw-- not in fear, necessarily, just in pure bewilderment.  I glance out the window and see a CROWD (that's an understatement) of men and women SPRINTING towards the train.  It is so full of people that I can't even make out what stop we're at.  Then it occurs to me... there is no regulation here on maximum capacity of any kind.  They ALL squeezed on the train.  By this point I am sitting on the lap of the woman next to me, who is dealing candy out of her purse and people are reaching over me left and right to hand her some change.  There are a few men looking at us, talking loudly and laughing- always a great feeling- and the suffocation is almost unbearable at this point.  Finally, the time arrives to get off at our stop. Problem: we are in the back of the train car, nowhere near the door to get out.  Our guide shouts to the people up front, and the crowds part into a 1-foot wide pathway that we are all supposed to run out of.  We push-- no, we SHOVE through the plethora of people shouting "OBAMA!" "AMERICA!" "ENJOY OUR COUNTRY" "HELLO PRETTY LADIES" and helping us- i suppose- by pushing us down as well.  Not to mention that at the same time that about 50 people are trying to get ON the car through the same passageway.  Finally I saw and smelled fresh air, and was literally SHOVED out of the train and ran into someone head-on.  I was finally out and turned to watch the train of people hanging out of windows and doors wave us goodbye.