Guest Blog: Peter en route to Sudan

Just a quick note from Cheryl: Thanks for praying for Jason. He recovered quickly and is doing fine. Brendan had a good birthday and I survived his sleepover with three friends. More on that to come . . .

Peter here. I've had several experiences with inter-city buses here in Zambia over the past year and you'd think that I would have learned more about how to work the system. But I still find myself wishing for a different system, after being burned yet again. The latest experience might best be termed 'a debacle'.

A colleague recommended that I take the Euro-Africa Bus from Kitwe city center to Lusaka, as the best bus. She noted that it is the only company that abides by the rule that buses are to operate in daylight hours on the highways. With the sun setting around 18:15 and knowing that it takes almost 5 hours to reach Lusaka, I planned my day accordingly. So, if I was able to get on a Euro-Africa bus before noon, it would fill in an hour or two (buses leave when they are full, completely full) and get going in time to reach Lusaka in daylight hours.

I had the taxi driver take me to the Euro-Africa stand around 11:15. But there was no bus there. I thought perhaps the bus had already filled and departed, so maybe I should try another bus. (Bad idea.) Besides, if I found another bus that was already filling, surely it would fill faster than a Euro-Africa bus that didn't even exist yet. (Wrong.) So, I went to the place where other buses fill and got in one that was about 1/3 full. It was 11:30 and I figured I was not in a huge rush to get to Lusaka anyway and had a fresh novel, so if this took a while, I could manage. (Right.)

Things were fine for the first hour of my wait. The bus did not seem to be filling fast, but I was sure that things would pick up. By hour two, I was becoming somewhat discouraged. The bus did not seem to be much past half full. However, I told myself, no need to panic. Sure, Eric and Kathy (country reps) were expecting me for supper, but worst case scenario, they might have to shift supper an hour or so. As we moved into hour number three and riders only trickled in, I was starting to become more agitated (at least my novel was good). I was mad at the bus company, mad at the system and mad at myself for not choosing better in the first place. These feelings did not arise alone. They were aided by observations and ruminations. Observation: a bus across the street that I had checked out and opted against, filled and left. Rumination: why didn't I choose that bus? Should I try to abandon my current bus now (will it be possible to get my ticket refunded when it reads 'no refund'?) and seek another bus down the street? Would such a move then put me on a bus that is even less filled than the one I am on, and therefore, delay me further? Or would the risk pay off and get me moving on the road rather than sitting, sweating in my presently parked bus? I decide that it can't get much worse. Surely this bus will fill in the next hour and my choice to stay put will be vindicated. (Uh-uh.) Observation: another bus from down the street filled and left for Lusaka. Repeat all ruminations from above, but with greater intensity and mix in more negative self-talk.

To cut this tedious story short (though it gives you a taste of my tedious day), by the fourth hour, passengers on our bus got into a huff with the operators because everyone was feeling taken. The hawkers were getting people onto the bus by saying, “We have only 3-4 more seats so this bus will be leaving very soon.” Problem was, they were saying that at 2, at 3, and still at 4 (though by that time it was actually closer to truth, but still not accurate). I don't know that the huff at the operators did any good except to release emotional steam, but by 4:45 we were finally pulling out of Kitwe for the 5 hour journey to Lusaka. Thankfully, Cheryl had sent along some food to sustain me and Kathy held a plate from supper that I could eat before going to bed.

So, I was on a bus from 11:30am until 9:30pm. It was crazy. The next time I sit on a bus that long, I sure hope it is actually going somewhere. Novel idea, eh?