By Ngozi-Jason Nwadinobi| I never realized how interesting and therapeutic riding on a bus could be.
Back home in Nigeria, the last time I got on a bus was about 5 years ago, when I worked at the refinery in Port Harcourt.
I hated it!
I thought riding on a bus in Lagos was bad, until I moved to Port Harcourt.
The buses were always cramped up, more cramped up than Lagos buses (better believe it) and the conductor didn’t “fly” on the bus, he sat right in front of the passenger by the door, sharing their personal space!
There was barely enough room for my legs (and I’m not a tall person o), much less, room to come down at my stop.
As I moved to the UK, I wasn’t really excited about having to hop onto buses again.
For weeks, I avoided them and spent some very good money on taxis.
There was always a good reason not to take the bus…..
I’m running late, the journey by bus is longer, I don’t know my bus stop, I’m not in the mood, I’m tired, I’m cold, it’s raining, etc, etc.
One day sha, I decided to forget my usual excuses. Br Jason offered to walk me to the nearest bus stop, and he did.
Na so I take enter bus o, and I loved it. The only downside is having to wait at a particular place at a particular time. Asides from this, I find I really do enjoy taking the bus here in the UK.
Like I said earlier, I find it interesting, and it has a therapeutic/relaxing effect on me.
First of all, the bus is spacious, with enough leg room for most people and it’s never crowded or rowdy.
I get to see all kinds of people come and go…men, women, boys, girls, black, white, gay looking people, straight looking people, young, old, students, children, teenagers, working people…The list goes on and on.
When you look at the many faces, coming and going, you wonder who they are, what they do, where they’re coming from. Why does he limp, who convinced her to dye her hair green, why does he wear 3 nose rings, what made her decide to go for the gothic look?
Questions, questions, questions…!
I try to see into their minds, understand them.
Do you think I’m weird? Maybe I am, I don’t know.
Talking about the therapeutic aspect…..
Though the bus is noisy, most of the occupants are either quiet or speaking quietly, and it’s also moving at a not so very fast pace, so there’s this serenity that can even help you speak in tongues or do some quiet time if you desire.
If you get tired of people watching on the bus, you can fix your gaze outside and entertain yourself with the stuff your eyes catch as the bus cruises along.
What about the long walks to the bus stops? I absolutely love those!
If no be for the plenty waka I dey do for here, God knows how much weight I’d have added by now.
Ha, food is another day’s gist!
It’s harder to lose or maintain ya weight here than I thought o.
Ngozi-Jason Nwadinobi contributed this piece from London
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