Mat Ride

Dodging people while walking purposefully, I navigated the streets of downtown Nairobi with ease. I approached a tinted, thumping matatu (or simly "mat") parked on a side street. Peering in, I saw a couple of people sitting inside. The conductors, young men with red vests who collect the fares on these small vans, pulled me on the shoulder to get inside. "Westlands! Mbao! Mbao!"

While I was headed to Westlands and thought the price fair (20 Kshs, or about 25 cents), I knew they wouldn't leave until the mat was full. As I stood there waiting non-chalantly in my sunglasses and baseball cap, a few women passed me to get on board. With a few spots left, I decided to board. The Kenyan passengers simply sat there, as if the bumping music wasn't shaking their bones or about to rattle off a piece of the mat.

No sooner had I taken my seat than a police officer appeared and began yelling at the driver through the passenger's side window. The driver immediately gunned the engine as the conductors scattered... only to reappear onboard at the next block. Adeptly dodging other cars and mats, the driver bullied us through the free-for-all traffic of Nairobi.

Soon we found ourselves stuck in the lunch-hour traffic (yet if it's business hours then there's sure to be traffic in Nairobi). Hakuna Matata: Our driver swiftly swerved off the road, creating his own way past the line of traffic along the dirt and stone path for pedestrians. People jumped out of the way as we careened past, occasionally cutting through oncoming traffic and then back off the road again.

Crouched in my crammed seat, I hung onto the seat in front of me to keep from flying side-to-side inside the mat. Every so often we'd stop and the conductor would invite more people on board. All passengers were not guaranteed a seat, much less a seat belt, despite government regulations. After a thrilling 10-minute roller coaster ride, we arrived in my neighborhood of work, Westlands. I dutifully gave my 20 bob coin to the conductor as I deboarded. "Asanti."

I thanked him for not just getting me to my destination, but doing it in thrilling, Kenyan-like fashion.