From another Perspective #5- By Maria

October 28th 2014

What I want to remember from today is our ride home on the dahla dahla.  The commuter vans are marked with every imaginable western logo.  Adidas, puma, element, high school musical even can be found plastered in brightly colored decals on the sides of every single one.  There was even one the other day, which had multiple sports logos on it along with the pope on the back windshield.  They are the most mismatched things I have ever seen.  I always try to sit next to the window and let the wind wash my skin of the dust from the day.  The windows all stand open letting the air rush through.  The sun on my skin and the wind and radio overwhelming my ears is such an immersive experience.  I hear a language I do not understand and I see a people I barely know.  Babies stare at my skin in perplexed astonishment while the older men and women eye me as if I am not to be trusted.  The tightly packed seats extinguish any kind of personal space, which may have yet existed.  When asked what my favorite part of this trip has been I have to say the dahla dahla rides.  I know it seems odd and even superficial.  I mean I am living in an orphanage for goodness sake but the complete immersion into the culture and complete immersion of my being has been strongest on these rides.  My senses are fully absorbed by the experience as I am pushed against a culture, which at that moment, has no choice but to let me in.