Public Transportation

One of the great benefits of public transportation here is that I can go just about anywhere in this three million large city for less than twenty cents. The bus is the second cheapest form of transportation, right behind the metro which is only 5 cents. (Gas only costs 45 cents a litre and Diesel is only 25 cents a litre. For you Americans that is about 1.70 for one gallon of gas and 94 cents for a gallon of Diesel). Anyhow, that being said, it seems that teh bus would be the way to. However, the bus is also the perfect place for pickpockets to make a living, which I am now helping them do. On Tuesday, I woke up late for my language class and I decided to go to the second half of the class. I took the bus, as usual, and it was jam packed, as usual. (When I say jam packed, I mean the doors don't shut and there is most likely someone hanging out the door. Oddly enough, that person hanging out was not me for a change. This time I actually got to sit down. But that is where the magic happened. I don't know how, or when, but my cell phone was stolen out of my front right pocket. Kudos to the man (or woman) who was stealthy enough to swipe it. I am thoroughly impressed. So much so, that if I was rich, I would purposely try to have things stolen just so I could see how they do it.

Apparently this happens to many people here. Of the twenty students that I teach English, ten of them have had their cell phone stolen on the bus. (That sort of makes me feel better). And among our team here, six cell phones have been stolen on the bus. So I am considering this my official initiation.

If you have any valuable items that you would like to donate to the underworld, you can send them to me and I will willingly place them in my pockets and ride the bus. It's kinda like donating to your favorite charity, except it's not a charity and it's stealing.