Magic!.....just like Harry's

 A significant part of our lives is spent riding in the buses.....aftoboos, marshootka, and traumvauns. 

We are understanding more now how literally a bus can careen around on two wheels as it needs to negotiate the aftermath of an acccident  where the driver of a disabled car is standing in the middle of the road  scratching his head. The bus driver just blasts on his horn and (we think) must push a "magic" button to get through the congestion.  Then for sure we believe that we have actually experienced the reality of buses being able to make themselves thin and tall as we rush thru impossible spaces like where there are only two narrow lanes designated by painted lines, but we fit three and a part lanes of traciffic into that space while traveling at a high rate of speed.

 Even the possibility of people stretching into different shapes becomes beleivable as you watch from within the bus, all the contortions bodies must go through to fit the available space, cling on, and remain standing through these manuvers.  There are people pressing in on every side of you and because your feet have to be spread a little in order to remain upright through the abrupt stops, our legs are all entwined.  Then someone has to get off, "Eesveneetia" and we all have to cooperate in order to assist in getting all body parts and groceries or baby dog in a basket or plumbing pipes through to the door in time for the stop. Often it is necessary to begin heading toward the door a few stops early.

If you still have doubts about the supernatural cababilities of these buses and maybe need a clue regarding where their power comes from you need only look toward all the "danglies" hanging in the front window.  Would you believe the window of today's bus displayed a skeleton with an oversized head bobbing along, a golden buddah with his tummy bouncing, a shrivled-up little knome creature and two counterfeit US $100 bills.



Are you wondering how the driver can possibly see out of such an ornately decorated front windshield?  We wonder often.



This morning we rode to church. We let the electric traumvaun pass us by as we waited at our stop, because they are much slower .  They only cost 1 greiven per person, but we needed more speed so we took the yellow, smaller marshutka for 2 greiven each and passed up the slow one.  Tradition says that men should drive the faster buses that require manual transmission shifting while it is OK for women to drive the big ones that rely on the electic lines overhead and go sparking along.  This morning the bus was packed. That is usual but we can't take pictures on these busy days because we are unable to get our hands to where the camera is and holding on is more important right then.

Remember the game "It's a cat...it's a dog"?  Well, we play that game every bus ride. Only we play with coins or bills.  Someone gets in the back door and needs to send their fare (money) to the driver in front. Because there is no way that they can negotiate the body-packed aisle they pass their money forward saying, "Pashalusta, Tvwa"  (two) or  Pashalusta, Ahdeen" (one) depending on how many passengers they are paying for.  The right word needs to be repeated correctly all the way to the front so the driver can send back along the same line the proper amount of change.  I am usually standing so women can have the seats and someone will tap me from behind, " Eesveneetia, (excuse me), Tvwa pashalusta".  I can't let go of the rod at the ceiling which is ensuring my stability, and my other hand is holding my scriptues (Others might not have their scriptures but everybody has a babushka bag of some kind.)  So I use the scripture hand to grab the money and pass it forward, repeating the request to the person in front of me. The amazing thing is that a few minutes later the change comes back the same way and everyone is happy, even if the driver only needed to take 2 greiven out of a 50 greiven bill.  It seems nobody dips into the change.

Street names are some of the more difficult words in Russian  AND there are no street signs on the corners or anywhere so the great problem to solve is where to get off.  We don't want to get off in the middle of some place we don't know where we are and can't get anywhere from there, so we work with the maps and count cross streets before embarking.  But since we are standing up most of the time once we have boarded, we can't see out the windows anyway so we just throw our fate to the wind.

Every bus ride is an adventure!  We have new adventures everyday.

So, when you watch the Harry Potter movie with the wild bus ride and wild bus driver----think of us!

The marshootka pictured above is the one rented by the Makeevka branch to bring members to church each week.  The entire branch crowds into this bus.  Watching them disembark gives a feeling of the miracle of the widow's never-emptying barrel of meal.  After more than enough to fill two buses were already out they still kept coming and coming.  Where did they all fit?  The disembarking Saints above were the last few off the bus.