Hakuna Mata-tu

"The vibrations in this matatu are loosening the mucus in my lungs!" Dave shouts over the bumbing bass as we drivethrough the busy streets of Nairobi in our "Ghetto Army" themed matatu. We have just stepped off the 8 hour planeride from Amsterdam and the QHO travellers are sleepy, excited and just a little confused when we all pile intosomething none of us have seen or experienced before- a Kenyan style taxi called a matatu.

A matatu, the word not directly translating into english, can best be described as public trnasportation thatis bigger than a taxi but smaller than a bus. Picture an old VW winnabago outfitted with a sweet sound system,strobelights, black lights and decals all over the interior and exterior. A matatu works similar to a bus, stoppingall over the city to pick up people who pay about 20 shillings to cross town.

Being in a matatu is unlike any other transportation I've experienced before. I can describe it like being in areally loud dance club except no one is really dancing and the club is on wheels. Many matatu drivers pimp their ridesby choosing a theme and covering the interior and exterior with decal, in hopes of appealing to the youth. We'vestarted keeping track of some of the most amazing matatu themes we've seen to date. These include:
1)The "Ghetto Army" Matatu
2)The Nelson Mandela Matatu
3)The Obama/Osama Matatu
4)The "Pain is Love" shout out to the Emos Matatu
5)Other Matatus showing pictures of Shakira, lil wayne and many other celebs

The music in the matatus is probably what makes them so much fun to ride in. There nothing quite like pulling up toyour destination in a huge Nelison Mandela themed matatu with 90's rap remixes we all forgot existed blarring on the sweet sound system, the bass pumping so hard in the back seats, you almost smack your head on the cross bars. Drivingto my first school last Thursday in Lake Solai was pretty amazing. The kids would run out of their houses when theyheard the music in the distance, similar to an ice cream truck, and then dance on the side of the road to the music playing from our speakers.

This week I learned that a matatu has the same capabilities as an army tank. After getting stuck in the mud about 7 times this week and the wheel falling off the matatu, I have learned that matatus are hardy little creatures that can drive through just about anything. Kudoes to our driver, Kim, who oddly resembles Pharrell from NERD, who is by far the best driver I've ever seen.

I'm always excited when the QHO/YESS team hops into a matatu and departs for the next eye-opening, amazing experience.It's like getting into the wooden roller coaster at Wonderland everyday day of my life. I don't think stepping onto a bus in Kingston will ever be the same.