Insha'Allah I'll get there...

With one school situated in the far away suburb of Salvador and another in a neighborhood municipality - interviews with people at the state university, in a favela in the city center, and yet other strange places to come in the following weeks - I’m trying my best to locate my self on the map of Salvador.

It is not the easiest task to travel with the community transportation in this town. The traffic situation is more than chaotic and if you don’t have a car, the only way to travel is by buss or taxi. During 15 years a central metro line that does not extend further than 6 kilometers have been under construction. According to media, the Metro is finally finished, although it won't start running until 2014 - the year when Brazil hosts the World Cup. I cant confirm it, but I have heard that the entire project have had higher expenses than the under-ocean-tunnel that was built between France and the United Kingdom…

During the last couple of years an increase in living standard among many of the cities lower middleclass have been evident – something that manifest it self especially in the increase in traffic. The roads don't support the amount of cars and busses and the traffic stays nearly paralyzed in certain parts of the city during most of the active time of the day. However, every one with the possibility to buy a car does it - it is considered insupportable to travel by buss (and some days, I assure you, it really is). Still, a majority obviously doesn’t have an option and the buss-stops and busses are always overcrowded.

The buss route is indicated with signs on in the front window of the buss as well as on the lateral, just beside the back door – the door where passengers enter. The sign is composed of a list of names for places or neighborhoods, which the buss passes. Most of the time it is not sufficient to know what name you should look for on the list though. Since there are several busses with the same names taking different routes you also have to know how to ask your way around.

Last week I visited one school in a nearby municipality of Salvador, Vila de Abrantes. I waited one hour for the buss. To morrow I will go to a school in a northern suburb to do Interviews and to arrive there I will have to take two busses.

The historical - and current - situation of transport in this city probably has some blame in the fact that a frailly modern and active city such as Salvador still suffers from a “Manhana, Manhana” mentality where no one lifts an eyebrow when you arrive one hour and a half to late for a meating... Could be comparable to stories you might have hired about Arabic or African outskirts where you’ll be able to ravel on a set time “if Allah wants”...