Transportation & Bomberos: July 16th

     On Tuesday we went into work and it had rained a lot the night before so Carolina told us we were not going to be using the horses that day. Instead she was giving physical therapy to one patient in her office. She then asked us if we wanted to go eat breakfast. Having no idea what they could possibly mean except some sort of adventure, Yamila and I said yes. Little did we know we were going to something very important.
     Public transportation, such as the mass amount of buses, in Oaxaca are all privately owned by individual companies. They all then are run through the department of transportation. There are no handicapped accessible buses in the entire city. One company along with a committee which Carolina is a part of were testing out a bus and talking to the transportation office to see if things could go as planned. It was the opening ceremony brunch which we went to. We were able to ride on this beautiful compared to what we had been seeing there. It reminded me a lot of a Rutgers bus. We talked to the man who had got the bus for this test run. The bus was made in China and brought all the way to Oaxaca. There were several handicapped people on the committee who tried out the bus as well. We all went for a 40 minute bus ride and ended up at the city's transportation office.

Testing out the bus.

Yamila and I with Carolina.

The bus, it was hybrid and handicapped accessible, how awesome!!

     Once everything was done, we were close enough to our homes that we could walk. Yamila wanted to make a stop on our way home. We had walked that route before and knew that there was a firehouse, something we had not seen a lot of on Oaxaca. Yamila wanted to stop and see if they had t-shirts there that she could buy for her boyfriend since he is a firefighter at home.
     We started as a quick stopped quickly turned into a 2 hour visit. We got a tour of the entire station. Both paramedics/EMTs and firefighters all come from that station. They cover a very large area, including the entire city and some of its outskirts. We asked if there were a lot of fires in Oaxaca and they said that it was more accidents and injuries that they report to. Good thing we got back from work that day because we were there for a long time. They showed us everything from their gear that we got to try on, to all of the vehicles, and where they eat and sleep. They also told us about all of their trainings they have had such has people from the Chicago Fire Company coming and training them as well as members of FDNY. They also had lots of 9/11 Memorial items there which was really cool to see. They were super welcoming and really excited to show us around. They were just having lunch delivered and offered us all different fruity juices to try. Yamila and I figured 2 girls don't stop by the fire station too often so that was probably partially why they were so excited to show us around. Yamila was loving every second since she is and EMT at home so she could relate and knew a lot of the stuff. We also kept laughing the whole time because we couldn't believe where we were and what we were doing while everyone else was still at work. We had gotten out of work early and were now at the local fire house. They did not have shirts to sell but the custom ordered some for us with our names on them.

Trying on the gear.

Testing out the rides.

     We had to go back a few days later to pick up our shirts. We were able to get our names on them and everything! We felt so special. We were officially a part of the squad.

The back

The front.

     That was an experience we never thought we would have they. It was just another example of how everyone we met there was super friendly. We were able to meet locals and learn about their lives. It was a cool chance to meet people and learn about something outside of our planned schedule, which I think is the great thing that living in a different country for 5 weeks and exploring gives you the chance to do. It was truly a day full of surprises and new things.

- Lindsay