Friday... When I Learn An Important Lesson

As I was taking my kids to school this morning, I stopped at a robot only to notice that a bus was blocking the intersection. I thought the bus was preparing to make a right turn and was waiting for traffic to clear, but when his robot turned red and mine turned green, and he didn't move and I couldn't go anywhere.... that's when I noticed everyone (all 500 of them - think Tokyo subway and you've got a good idea) getting off the bus.

I was frustrated. Why must a major intersection turn into a bus stop?? I moved over into the right turn lane, but by this time I had missed the opportunity to go. Everyone else was just driving around the bus on either side, through narrow gaps in traffic or into oncoming traffic.

20 minutes later, as I was returning from school, the bus was still there. That's when I realised it had broken down... in the middle of the intersection (hence the people getting off and the disappearance of the bus driver). Amazingly, traffic was not backed up at all. People just manoeuvred around the bus and... well... managed. My first thought was, "I have not had enough coffee this morning to deal with this."

Pathetic response, no? The truth is, the resilience of people here is astounding. When a car is stolen, when a roof collapses, when there is drought, when petrol prices go up again, even when someone dies.... people manage. If there is a mountain in front of you, put it under your feet. If there is a bus blocking your way, move around it. What good will it do you to sit there and complain? Of course it's not easy - at times it's downright painful - but find a way to overcome the challenge, learn from it, and keep going.

This is something South Africans have mastered far better than Americans, if I may be so bold and take the risk of offending someone. What is sad is that it took me a second cup of coffee to appreciate this.