Bus Ride to Nagapattinam

On the way back from Vailankanni, I had a really hard time getting on a bus back to Nagapattinam. When a bus came, and huge crowd would push and fight and yell and scream, trying to force their way onto the bus. They wouldn't even wait for the people that were on the bus to get off. I think people were even climbing over eachother and trying to climb in through the windows, which had bars on them instead of glass! So, I tried to get on 4 buses and was about to give up...I was considering my options: Should I take an autorickshaw all the way home? Did I want to deal with bargaining? Were there any private buses available at a different location?

So I was standing there, and I here the word "foreigner" coming from a bus, and an older woman turned around and said, "Do you need to get on the bus?" in English. I said yes, and I ended up following her onto the bus where her son had fought to save a seat for both of us. It was such a relief, because I think I never would have gotten onto a bus otherwise. Once you fought you way onto the bus, people had reserved seats for their friends. I even witnessed a fight over a seat between two ladies, and the whole bus was getting involved.

Anyway, it turns out that this lady had just come from a Catholic retreat center called the Divine Life Center, or something like that. We chatted, and it was nice to speak English with someone! It turns out that she volunteers for an NGO in Karnataka (a state in India) and works through Anganwadi Centers (state-run health centers in villages) to educate rural women on the importance of nutrition and things like that. So, her work is very similar to what I did last summer in Rajasthan.

I felt so happy to meet this woman and her son...and they even paid for my bus ticket, although I tried to pay for it myself.

I have a video that shows the craziness of the bus, but I am having trouble uploading it...I will have to upload it when I get home.