11

“El once”. Need I say more? For many of us in Malaga this bus is our life and blood when it comes to transportation. Our only means to get from El palo to El centro. For some it’s a time to reflect on their day or read a book. For the elderly of Malaga it’s their reunion room. After spending over an hour on this bus every day I have come to like the time I spend just sitting back and relaxing while watching the city go by. The bus can be overcrowded at times, just like every other one in the world. I often remember back to when I was in high school. I always took the number 8 bus down York road into Baltimore to go back home. I can’t help but making comparisons between these two famous bus lines in my life.
In the 11 I have become much more accustomed to the polite manner in which people uphold the “if you were there first, you get on the bus first” code of honor. Back home this was a very distant thought. The elderly were respected of course, but after that it’s everyone for them selves. The 11 also has good and thoughtful drivers. On more than one occasion I have seen them get out of their seat to help the elderly or the disabled. Switching to the 8 in Baltimore I have seen a driver skip a bus stop on the grounds that the wheel chair ramp doesn’t work and he didn’t want to deal with the man in the wheelchair waiting for the bus. As I said earlier the 11 can get packed, but I will always be left with the memories of the 8 when I was squished into the back corner of the bus with no way to get out and a man in a white suit sitting next to me preaching at the top of his lungs his version of the “word of Christ”. With these comparisons in mind I leave this entry with the hopes that I have many more culturally fulfilling rides on “el once”.