Traffic

I have seen 2 traffic accidents since I got here. Mind you, the first one was just the aftermath and the bloody cleanup, but today I saw my first full-on collision. It was between a bus and two kids on a motorcycle and thankfully it didn't end as badly as the first one looked like it did. The bus clipped the boys as they were trying to squeeze in a left turn and they were thrown to the side. They both appeared to have broken legs but were conscious.

Honestly, the traffic is pretty nuts over here sometimes and I am surprised that I have only witnessed 2 accidents. Motorcycles drive on the sidewalk, cars do not slow down for pedestrians ever, and buses plow through intersections a good 3 seconds after you've been given the OK-to-walk sign. Jaywalking here is a dicey proposition and should be left to the experts. Apparently, a teacher at my school died a year ago after being hit by a car while riding a bike. I've been keeping my head up and my wits about me so I've been getting by just fine so far. I'm going to start buckling up in cabs now cause the last one was like something out of an action movie where the cop commandeers a taxi just as some arrogant white guy (me) jumps in the back and says "take me to Laguardia!" or whatever and next thing you know the cab is vaulting off of flatbed trucks while I'm flailing around in the back.

Anyways, there might be a lull in the picture posts too because I dropped my camera and now it's not letting me take pictures. I'm going to have to either see if I can get it fixed or use this as an excuse to buy a digital SLR like some avid blog readers have suggested. I did get some pictures of the wild night that led to it getting broken (the show I mentioned 2 posts ago), so you can stay tuned for that.