The coaster buses are intimidating for someone like me, who does not have the strongest grasp of Arabic: on board these buses, there are often people yelling destinations to places I cannot understand or recognize. There are also specific social norms as to where you should sit on a coaster bus: for instance, men and women must sit apart. There is also, typically, a worker hanging out the side of the door, looking for other people to pick up. It was also very difficult for me to ride coaster buses because I could never find one! These buses apparently run on their own schedule, as I could never find an offical schedule posted anywhere. Taxis were just like taxis anywhere else, although there is the cultural norm that women should sit in the backseat of taxis, which did make me feel slightly uncomfortable.
These ways of getting around are connected to the culture and environment here. For all their challenges (for me, at least) coaster buses show how open and flexible the culture is here in some ways with the lack of schedules and the willingness of drivers to stop for anyone on the side of the street. Taxis are connected to the culture, too, because there have been many times that I have taken a taxi, and found the driver to be very hospitable and curious about who I was. And the driver, in return, has frequently shared his story and advice with me to make my experience in the taxi more comfortable and my life in Jordan safer and more interesting.
