One of my priorities while traveling is seeking out the simple realities of day to day life. The tiny microscopic moments that go unnoticed by locals the world over fascinate me and a bus can be a treasure trove of insight, and a minibus is like having a zoom lens.
As I board the van, a simple nugget of my travel research comes to mind. In many Muslim countries, a gentleman does not sit beside a lady on a bus, mini or otherwise, unless he is a relative.
Knowing this, I bypass the seat with a lady and her child and sit directly behind, in a row of three, next to the window. The minibus fills up, until the last of the 20 or so seats is the one next to mother and child. Just as we are about to depart, a local man climbs aboard and takes the last seat next to the young mother.
Even I know that this dog don't hunt, and we are temporarily delayed while a married lady is asked to vacate the seat next to her husband, so that she may fill the last seat next to the mother,so that the late arriving passenger can sit next to another man, so that the transgression of a man sitting next to a lady need not occur.
As the van pulls away from this remote locale I stare out the window at the daily bustle around me. I think to myself that while the cultural context may change, everywhere I go humans are doing essentially the same thing.
Caring for loved ones, meeting responsibilities, and chasing dreams.
After a time, the guy in the seat next to me and I begin chatting.
It turns out he is a doctor who is heading home after doing a volunteer stint to provide medical services to the Bedouin people who live near Palmyra, and suddenly I feel very small and inferior.
As we chat, he asks me if I am on Facebook. I notice the head across the row turn sharply towards us as we speak, and my paranoia meter goes up. Facebook is illegal in Syria, though I have seen people using it through proxy servers.
I give him an email and my web address, while explaining that I have no active Facebook account. I foolishly make an offhand remark regarding web censorship in the midst of a sermon about how being allowed in to any foreign country is a great privilege, and that when in Rome..........
As the jam packed minibus moves through the desert towards Hama, I realise where I am, and that I should shut my mouth as I grasp the concept that zoom lenses can work in both directions.
I've been in some pretty undemocratic countries, but this is my first police state minibus ride.
Lesson learned.
http://www.goyestoeverything.com
