Planes, trains, and colectivas

What is a colectiva, you ask? Colectivas are long distance taxi's that collect passengers as they drive to the destination written on their windshield. I tried to find a picture of a colectiva - but to no avail. However, if you can imagine six strangers squished into the car below, it may give you an idea of what a colectiva is:



Six people in a car with five seats? Simple solution, put two people in the front passenger seat. As you can probably guess, having to be one of the people sharing the front seat is not a super comfortable experience. But, taking a full colectiva means a faster trip - since you won't be stopping to pick up more passengers.
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So, guess who took their first colectiva today... I hadn't planned on it, but as I waited for a bus to take me back from the children's home, a colectiva pulled up and the driver said he was going to Oaxaca. I figured I'd give it a try. And guess which seat I got... yep, half of the front one.
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I have yet to stay awake during the entire hour long ride on a bus in the afternoon heat. But, I stayed awake for this ride - although I cannot say the same for the skinny little man sitting beside me. I was happy he was thin though, otherwise the sharing-a-seat thing just would not have worked out. I spent the first half of the trip planning what I would do to keep from tumbling out if the door opened up on me.
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I'm not super excited to take a colectiva again in the near future, but at least now I can say I've done it. :-)