As I’ve written about previously, the matatus are the public transportation in Nairobi. Sometimes I don’t get downtown to get on my matatu 108—which to goes my house—until after rush hour has started. On those days I usually wait in line for quite a while. While waiting for over two hours yesterday I wrote in my journal because I had it with me and because the situation called for me to record it.

1/31/07

“So here’s how it went down: first of all its rush hour and things are very busy anyway. Then, a power truck, with a bucket, decides to come work on a pole along the side of the street. He parks his truck in a way that takes up the most possible space on the street. Then, a full sized charter bus decides to turn down this street anyway. He clears out 50 feet of the matatu line as he tries to make the turn. He finally gets back on the street and begins to go around the slight turn in the street and he can’t do it. I looked below the bus and realized that the shaft that connects his right wheel to the steering mechanism is dragging on the ground. He tries a few more times to go but the bus will not turn right at all. The people finally unload off of the bus. And the story in only beginning. The power truck finishes its work and goes around the other side of the bus, only to be followed by another full size bus. Of course it can’t go around the bus that is blocking most of the street, so it is now wedged on the other side of the street, completely blocking traffic from both directions. As time has gone on the broken bus has been able to reverse enough so the other bus could get by. One matatu comes about every 20 to 30 minutes and they only hold 14 people. Hopefully things will pick up soon.”