Christy, one of the returning teachers, just helped us learn to use public transportation - hurray! This is a picture of a “tro-tro” which works somewhat like a city bus. The driver calls out or you ask which major tro-tro stop he is going to. You flag him down, hop on, and pay a very small price to get there (you get to know the going rates). He takes as many passengers as physically possible. We had sixteen people in one like this picture. If you want off before the stop, just call out, “Bus stop!” and climb towards the door. We went to the mall this way. The mall was (drumroll, please)...a mall! It was very similar to the States. We took taxis back to the school, which was faster but just a little more money. Rates are somewhat set, but negotiable. We will have to get to know these. However, we will walk most of the time. Our apartment is about one-half mile away from the school with a grocery store just another half mile beyond that and plenty of roadside stands and a couple of restaurants along the way. Christy has been here for two years, and she was very comfortable shopping and getting around. It was encouraging to see because we are definitely in the overwhelmed stage.
