This is also how I travel around South Africa! Taxis are the most common form of public transportation. The taxis here are actually vans, and they have 15 seats per taxi, providing transport all over the country! To get to my shopping town, I pay R22. Buses are also a popular form of public transportation. The bus only runs through my village once a day, leaving to go to the shopping town at 8:00 a.m. and returning back at 6:00 p.m. Although it only runs once a day, this system provides consistent transport to and from work for those who have jobs in the town.
The most interesting place I visited this week was the shopping town. Most shopping towns in South Africa have a mall, similar to the malls we have in the U.S., as well as outdoor vendors. The vendors sell a variety of items such as fresh fruits and vegetables, hats, and traditional clothing and jewelry. The mall consists of big grocery and clothing stores.
The village I live in is very small, only about a mile long! Every day, whether it is raining or super hot, I walk to wherever I need to go. Since the main road in my village is a dirt road, it gets very muddy when it rains and very dusty in the heat. However, I enjoy walking no matter what. From the road, there is a beautiful veiw of the mountains, and I enjoy seeing all of my neighbors. Something that I love about the culture here is that everyone will always greet one another. If I am walking down the street, everyone who passes will say "Hello, how are you?", and I will probably get stopped at least once to have a conversation.
