Report: "The Bus Chase" by Anga Jamela

It started off as a day like any other. We had been in Tubingen for a few days and were proud in the idea that we knew our way around by now. The transport system in this town is a dream, less complicated than what we’re used to in South Africa. “It’s easy” we thought, “we can get around all by ourselves!”

The morning started off with the usual day plan. We met at ADAF at 9.00am and continued with the day’s activities. Certainly by the end of the afternoon, we were tired, our brains were drained from the information piled up in them and the only thing on our minds was how to relax and blow off some steam and what better way to do this than retail therapy. Shopping was all we could think of. I have to admit though, although we were confident that we knew around, when we talked about “around” we meant how to get to campus and back to WHO, going shopping was to be a new experience! We then took the bus to Nunnehause and made our way into town. Retail therapy was fantastic, and we were sure to return with bags full, for friends, family and of course ourselves. A few hours later, we discovered we had lost track of time and hadn’t had supper. We decide that pizza would be ideal to round off the day filled with learning and much-needed shopping.

After grabbing pizza, we headed for the bus stop and waited a short while for the bus to arrive. Hlengiwe assured us that she knew how to get back to WHO and that we OK with her. Some of us, I have to admit, were a tad bit sceptical, but we put our faith in her, because she gave us her word. It was already dark outside, but we were not scared. We embraced that we were safe in Tubingen. It was a short wait, before the bus arrived and the “sistas” jumped in. We enjoyed the warmth of the bus so much that we were completely oblivious to the fact that the bus hadn’t made a stop where we should have gotten off (Ahonweg). The next thing we knew we were at the bus station, unaware of how we got there or what to do next. We stood at the unfamiliar place, gazing around wondering what to now next. We all looked at Hlengiwe, wondering what had happened since she “knew the way around”. At this time, laughter is in the air, as this was an adventure of note… Getting lost in what suddenly seemed like a foreign town. (And I say this because over the past few days, Tubingen had started to feel like home- nothing foreign anymore). We were not sure how things operated around here, but in Mzansi (South Africa) people often asked when they didn’t know their around. “Let’s ask then” we thought. So we went to the nearest bus which had a driver inside and asked him. He understood that we were “tourists” so he was more than willing to help. He pointed us to the direction we should go to catch the next bus, and as we made our way, we discovered that the bus we were in fact meant to catch, had just driven past us. Again, unaware of how things worked around here, we decide to chase the bus (this is normal in Mzansi). With our hands in the air and waving at the bus driver, in a gesture attempting to get him to stop, we started running towards the bus. The diva in me was not happy with this, but it was to be the survival of the fittest. So we ran, juggling breathing heavily and laughing. Fortunately, the bus driver spotted us and stopped, probably after having embraced the fact that we were probably “tourists” lost in town. Some of the ladies (I shall mention no names for the sake of their dignity) ran in front of the bus, just to ensure that the bus had in fact stopped for us. We jumped on and made our way to our seats, the heavy breathing and laughing had not, by no means stopped. A friendly man saw this and stated that our laughter “brings beautiful vibrations”. How beautiful this was to hear. South Africans had indeed brought beautiful vibrations to Tubingen, on this day we labelled “the day of the bus chase”.

by Anga Jamela