Free Spanish Lesson 50. Sardines in the bus?

Vocabulario semanal – Weekly Vocabulary

soy de – I’m from

la mayoría de la gente aquí – the majority of the people here

suelen llegar tarde – are in the habit of arriving late

sólo vienen cada hora o menos – they only come every hour or less

por la primera vez – for the first time

las personas/le gente – people

no tienen carros – don’t have cars

cada cinco a diez minutos – every five to ten minutes

mi primera experiencia – my first experience

y de repente – and suddently

apenas podía respirar – I could barely breathe

todas estas personas – all these people

no había manera que – there was no way that

de mi ojo – of my eye

un aviso – a notice

yo sabía que alguien – I knew that somebody

más bajo que yo – shorter than me

había un total de – there was a total of

sólo, solamente – only

y nunca había visto – and I had never seen

una caja pequeñita – a little box

empecé a preguntarme – I started to wonder

empezó a empujar – (he) began to push

me pregunté si – I wondered if

que fui a la ciudad – that I went to the city

se empeoró mucho – it got a lot worse

y más o menos siete personas – and more or less (about) seven people

todo mi cuerpo estaba – all my body was

como saben – as you (plural) know

me parecía – it seemed to me

sobreviví – I survived

Soy de Utah, where the public transportation system is anything but highly effective. La mayoría de la gente aquí have cars and usually don’t ride the bus. When people try to ride the bus, they (the busses) suelen llegar tarde. Sólo vienen cada hora o menos, and sometimes they don’t even show up.

It was quite an experience for me to go to Latin America por la primera vez and see their public transportation system. Las personas, especially in the smaller pueblos, no tienen carros so they have to rely heavily on public transportation. City busses usually leave for destinations cada cinco a diez minutos and are usually very efficient, at least in regard to keeping a regular departure schedule.

Mi primera experiencia with a city bus was a real shocker. All the seats were taken so I went to the back of the bus, stayed standing up and held on to the rail. As I stood there, more, and more, and more, and more people continued to get onto the bus. At first it wasn’t too bad, y de repente I was pressed in so tightly apenas podía respirar.

I felt like a sardine and wondered what the fire code enforcers of the United States would think if they could see todas estas personas in this bus. I didn’t even need to hold on to the rail anymore; all the people were packed in so tightly, no había manera que someone could have fallen down.

De repente out of the corner de mi ojo, I spotted un aviso that said the maximum occupancy for the bus was 35 people. Yo sabía que alguien, somehow, was blatantly breaking some kind of rule.

I am about 6′ tall and most Latin people are at least 6 inches más bajo que yo so I decided to count them all since I didn’t have anything else to do but fight for every breath. Finally, by counting the people I could see, I came up with a number.

Había un total de 72 people on that little bus that was supposed to hold sólo 35! I was amazed y nunca había visto so many people fit into such a small space. It was sort of like a circus act where a person fits into una caja pequeñita by moving their body in all sorts of unnatural ways.

As our destination began to get closer, empecé a preguntarme how I was going to get out of the bus. All of a sudden we arrived and the native person I was with empezó a empujar and struggle his way to the front and off the bus. For a few moments, I felt like I was in a violent hockey game (where people fight for fun.) Amazingly, we were able to get off the bus without serious injury. Me pregunté si all my bus ridding experiences in Latin America would be like this.

The next few times que fui a la ciudad I had very similar experiences. Then one day se empeoró mucho; I was one of the last to get on the bus. The bus doors were open y más o menos siete personas were on the boarding steps of a completely packed bus. The bus employee pushed me up onto the last available step. I had just enough space to put one foot on a small area of the step and hold on to a rail outside the bus.

Todo mi cuerpo estaba completely outside of the bus and my life was being supported by one foot and one hand! For any of you that have driven in Latin America, como saben, it can be very crazy! Car drivers were whizzing by me like madmen. Me parecía like they came within inches of knocking me off my perch. Luckily sobreviví and am here today to tell you about it.

Now you get to guess the moral of this week’s story: (multiple choice)

• Before you get into a Latin American bus, take a deep breath first because it may be your last for a while.
• Learn how to count to 72 in Spanish.
• Practice pushing people so you will be prepared to fight your way off at your destination.
• Don’t worry about the bus, take a taxi, it’s much easier.
• For a crazy, fun and potentially stressful cultural experience, take the bus and forget the taxi.

¡Hasta la vista! (“Until I see you next!” – Literally: “Until the sight!”)

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2010 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.