Uber Pool in Senegal... and other forms of transportation.

Hola chicos!

My last post was very heavy so I figured I would lighten it up a bit with one of my favorite parts of Senegal... the many different ways of transportation!

My first mode of transportation in Senegal was riding on a horse cart! Have you ever ridden

on rickety wooden cart behind a horse? Well, this was my first time and let me tell you... it is NOT easy! I am not going to lie, I screamed a few times when the horse stopped quickly because I thought I was going to fall off. In addition, the horse carts go right in the middle of the roads and next to the cars and motorcycles so sometimes I was scared that the horse (or me!) was going to get hit by a moving vehicle. As fun as the horse cart looks, it is not my most favorite mode of transportation due to the fact that it is very hot, slightly dangerous, and the fact that I feel badly that these very skin and bone horses have to lug myself and all of my school supplies in the desert heat. So that leads us to mode of transportation numero dos... the Car Rapide. The Car Rapide (or fast car in French) reminds me a lot about the

Chicken Buses of Guatemala. They are small vans (not school buses like the Chicken Buses) but are decked out in very vibrant colors and designs. They are super cheap and go almost anywhere in the city. They are also often jam-packed with more people than can possibly fit with sometimes a man or two hanging on out the door. I have also seen them with tens of baskets of food on the roof, piles of ladders, live goats, among many other bizarre things that travelers must be carrying around with them. The Car Rapide is sure to be a good time as long as you don't mind standing, being squished next to random strangers, or loud Senegalese music being blasted from the stereo. Which leads us to transportation type numero tres... or the TAXI. Or as I like to call it, Senegal's version of Uber Pool. Watch my co-teacher, Noel, explain below a little bit about these taxis before I begin...

So yes, the taxi's are often falling apart. Most have roll up windows without the actual piece that allows you to roll up the window so what I mean by that is that there is a little screw where the piece used to be but no way to open or close your window. Taillights are missing or are just exposed light bulbs. Air conditioning is not a thing. One time when we were driving the muffler fell off and the taxi driver stopped the car in the middle of traffic, picked up the muffler, jammed it back on, and kept on driving. Another time the taxi driver said that he thought he had a problem with his tire so he pulled over at apparently a "mechanic shop". The driver got out of the car and the mechanic got in and just starting driving Noel and I around. I had no idea what was happening so I had to confirm with Noel that the man now driving the car what not indeed the taxi driver, but rather the mechanic... to which she replied "yup" as we continued to be driven down random roads with the mechanic in the driver's seat and the taxista nowhere to be found. Five minutes later, the mechanic drove us back to his "shop", told the taxi driver that everything was fine, and we continued on toward our original destination.

My favorite part about taxis is that they don't need to look like taxis or even really be a taxi. They can be yellow or a two-seater where you have to cram in the back that is really meant for luggage. I once was walking with my host teacher, Mansour, and I am pretty sure he just waved a random car off the side of the road, and proceeded to ask him if he could taxi me home. Another time, Noel and I were in a taxi and the taxi driver stopped and let another random lady (who maybe was his friend?) in the front seat to accompany us to our destination. I felt like we were in an Uber Pool Senegalese style (except we didn't get a discount!) It is important to note that these were all "approved by" Mansour who is a very well-known and popular teacher in his village and who we knew would only choose taxis that would get us home safely. That being said, he definitely chose some interesting ones that gave us some great stories for later. Kind of makes me want to go home and drive my 2004 Hyundai Elentra which I am sure will feel like a Lamborghini after weeks of being in cars that are being held together by yards of duct tape.

What mode of transportation would you like to try in Senegal? Should we start a horse cart or Car Rapide in Canton? I call driving the Car Rapide!!

Senora Traub