Shout or You Miss Your Stop

You are in a small van with fourteen other people. There is no bell. There is no screen with the name of the next stop. The driver does not have a list, and nobody is going to help you.

Nasa maliit na van ka kasama ng labing-apat na ibang tao. Walang kampana. Walang screen na may pangalan ng susunod na hintuan. Walang listahan ang driver, at walang tutulong sa iyo.

This is a shared bus, and in many countries it works the same way. It leaves when it is full. It stops where somebody asks it to stop. Your job is to say something out loud before your street goes past the window.

Ito ay isang shared na bus, at sa maraming bansa, ganito ang paraan nito. Umaalis ito kapag puno na. Humihinto ito kung saan may humihingi. Trabaho mo ang magsalita nang malakas bago dumaan ang kalye mo sa bintana.

You only need two or three words. You say the name of the corner, or you simply say: here is good, please. If you wait until you can see your own door, you are already too late. Say it early, say it loudly, and say it again if nobody hears you the first time. The woman next to you will repeat it for you if you look lost. That happens more often than you would think.

Kailangan mo lang ng dalawa o tatlong salita. Sasabihin mo ang pangalan ng kanto, o sasabihin mo lang: "dito na, pakiusap." Kung maghihintay ka hanggang makita mo ang sarili mong pinto, huli ka na. Sabihin agad, sabihin nang malakas, at ulitin kung walang nakarinig sa unang beses. Uulitin ito ng babaeng katabi mo kung mukhang naliligaw ka. Mas madalas itong nangyayari kaysa sa iniisip mo.