a day in the life of a racer…on a bus…in africa.

10:50 am: finally make it onto bus

11:04 am: lady gets on bus holding a bag of underwear and socks that she’s trying to sell

11:06 am: man gets on trying to sell beginner-reading books

11:08 am: lady on bus trying to sell us ‘chips’ (french fries) on a plate with some veggies (no thanks!)

11:09 am: man tries to sell Charlotte some drinks through bus window

11:12 am: look out window to my left to see a man handing another man a tire through another bus window (all kinds of things travel on buses here!)

11:14 am: man gets on bus trying to sell us electronic razors

11:17 am: lady on bus trying to sell us water to drink

11:18 am: man on bus trying to sell newspapers

11:19 am: sweating profusely with Charlotte and Michelle touching both sides of me

11:20 am: lady trying to sell us bread loaves through bus window

11:21 am: Charlotte telling Michelle and I that she can’t wait to eat cheese again (we haven’t gotten to eat cheese in months!)

11:21 am: man trying to sell us fake hair, jewelry, and scrunchies through bus window

11:24 am: man gets on bus trying to sell a super old-school radio along with some electric razor equipment

11:25 am: man trying to sell Charlotte shoes (most likely used) through bus window

11:26 am: man tries to sell us toy police car through bus window

11:27 am: Charlotte tries to buy hairspray through bus window

11:27 am: bus FINALLY starts moving and we FINALLY get a little airflow

11:28 am: men are hitting/banging on outside of bus

11:29 am: Charlotte still trying to buy hairspray- he tries to sell her deodorant spray instead

11:30 am: man holding up a live, full-grown turkey- trying to sell it to us through bus window

11:32 am: already stopped- sitting in traffic…we’ve moved about 10 feet!

11:35 am: see 2 white girls walking down street outside and think we’ve left teammates behind because we’re the only whities around

11:36am: finally start moving again down a bumpy, mud infested road

11:50am: man comes around to collect bus tickets

12:04pm: look out bus window to see 2 goats fighting on the side of the road

12:30pm: Charlotte opens cookies and man behind us puts his hand forward…wanting a cookie- sooooo Michelle hands him one

12:36pm: bus stops on roadside on a huge slant- trying to lean opposite direction so I don’t slide and smush Michelle in my seat

12:43pm: “Home Alone” movie starts playing on a small TV at front of the bus with English and Ugandan lines intermixed throughout movie (one line in English- next line in Ugandan)

12:45pm: finally move off slant and start driving again

12:47pm: woman somehow got on bus- she has no seat, sooo she squeezes into back row

12:58pm: men running next to bus trying to sell us cooked meat on sticks, water, bananas, and chapatti through bus window- we do buy some water

1:02pm: everyone around us eating meat on sticks- GROSS!

2:41pm: randomly pull over on roadside for people to pee in grass/cornfield/wherever

2:50pm: start driving again

3:13pm: just went over bump and got airborne in my seat

4:10pm: finally arrive in town of Mbale!

4:12pm: trying to find and gather all our packs from underneath bus

4:16pm: meet our contact for the month- Reverend Moses!

4:21pm: all 7 of us (plus Reverend Moses and driver) cram inside small van with all 7 packs, which are pretty much human size!

4:26pm: Reverend Moses prays for ride into the village we’ll be staying in

4:27pm: andddddddddd we’re off!

4:39pm: make pit stop at gas station for potty break in which something constantly dripped on you while using squatty potty

4:47pm: on the road again- super bumpy!!

5:05pm: almost have head on collision

5:18pm: having thoughts that I’ll probably be living in a mud hut for the month from looks of the passing scenery

5:24pm: Charlotte talking about how there are actually lines on road we’re driving on, which hasn’t happened in most of Africa- however, just because there are some lines doesn’t mean we’re using them- been driving in the middle of road for majority of the time!

5:29pm: pulled over on roadside- women flock to car carrying tomatoes for us to buy- Charlotte counts 17 chickens sitting right next to car

5:31pm: on the road- driving again!

5:32pm: switch lanes because there is a herd of cattle in the lane we were in

5:51pm: just fishtailed in the mud