Currents of People - The Busses

Odessa is a living system. The currents of Odessa flow everywhere: some visible, and some not. The most powerful are the ones you can’t see, because they are in the hearts and minds of the people. But if you can't see the currents, then you can feel the breezes they produce. Take riding on the busses, for instance, which are called “marshrutkas”.

A fast-moving bus will pass you on a busy street almost every minute, in its wake, wind and dust. Take #145 to Suvorovsky; #191 or #221 to Tairovsky; #175 to the Boksal (train station), and then #25 to Illichyovsk. All of these are places we go, so we ride on the busses a lot. If the streets are the blood vessels, the buses are capsules or corpuscles of people moving along in bundles, very efficiently.  Everyone who cannot afford a car rides the bus, and that is most people. That means the buses are sometimes very crowded. The bus comes to you and stops, but you have to get on quickly, because the next bus is right behind. When it is time to get off, you make your way to the front, you say the name of your stop, and you drop the fare on the platform beside the driver. Exact fare, please, or you get a grumpy scolding. Also, tell the driver how many of you there are. Then when the bus stops, move smartly out the front door (always out the front), or you miss your chance.

When the bus is full on a warm and humid day, riding the marshrutka becomes more interesting. In a letter home, Marsha described what happens then as a “full-body contact sport”:

“Full Body Contact Sport:

Riding the #25 bus from Odessa to Illichyovsk

Duration: 55 very long minutes

Object of the game:  Cram as many people as possible into a marshrutka, and then have them exit the bus one at a time

Atmosphere:  Very warm and humid, no open windows

The Players:  SITTERS-People seated two-abreast on both sides of a narrow aisle in rows.  

                      STANDERS-As many as possible, facing sideways in the aisle until more players enter the game, at which point Standers must face forward or backward and stand as close together as possible while clutching bags and packages to their chests. The difficulty is that more Standers enter the game at every stop.

                      GETTER-OFFERS-Eventually all players become Getter-offers, trying to make it to the front of the bus to pay the driver and then exit the bus.

The Play:  Getter-offers push forward from the rear of the bus, twisting and turning, squeezing past the Standers in their path. Standers try to make way for them by bending over Sitters and squeezing in to make a way for the Getter-offer.

Scoring: All possible body parts should touch: fronts, sides, backs, arms, torsos, bosoms, hands, heads, and feet. (Maximum points awarded when 2 people actually occupy the same spot.)

Team Spirit:  All players remain friendly and cordial and helpful and patient. No harsh words are exchanged. This is a cooperative game. Everyone wins.

Uniforms:  Women: Beautifully painted and decorated fingernails. No gray hair allowed. All well groomed. Sleeveless for the heat. Mostly sandals. Shorts and short dresses for the heat.  

Men: Casual shirts and mostly shorts, all lengths.

Referee:  The bus driver. Don't mess with him. Virtuoso performer with the horn. (Do not yet understand the rules for lane switching and dominance over other buses, but the driver is clearly playing for points as well.)  Highly skilled: Can drive and make change for passengers at the same time.

Winners:  We all were. Illichyovsk is a quiet, pleasant town by the Black Sea. Quieter, with more families and open spaces than in central Odessa. We saw a large poster of the Family Proclamation hanging in the window of the chapel.”

People are very patient with these inconveniences. We have found the current of people flowing through Odessa on the busses to be very human and very likable, because they treat each other with honesty and mutual respect. One book on Odessa features it as a “city of thieves”.We have experienced just the opposite. When the bus is crowded and the riders can’t get to the front because of the crush to pay their fare, they give the amount to the person seated in the row in front of them and say the name of their stop.

The money is passed forward to each successive row until it reaches the driver, along with the name of the stop. The money never disappears into a pocket, that we have ever seen. This system works because of the honesty and mutual respect of individuals who are far from wealthy. A 5-hryvin (GR) bill (20 cents) could help a little to balance someone’s budget, but the money always reaches the driver. In one instance, Andy inadvertently dropped a 200 GR (8 USD) bill on the bus seat. As he walked away, he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see a hand extended with the money. One of our friends in the missionary work accidentally left her purse in a public place. Fearing it may have been lost, she returned the next day to find it unopened and all of the contents (including her papers) safe.

Odessa isn't perfect, but the majority of its people are good at heart. Of course, there are visible the same criminal elements and signs of corruption that you find in any big city of 1 million people, but the life-blood of the city that flows through artery-like streets in buses is good and honorable.