A common sight in Tajik villages is a pile of logs with legs: People will pile so much firewood on donkeys' backs that it's impossible to see the donkey anymore!
Some people don't like traveling in marshrutkas. It's true that you never know who else will be crammed into the car with you. You might end up jammed next to someone who's just eaten garlic for lunch, or a lady wearing too much perfume, or a crying child. But personally, I love them because they are so cheap and efficient, and also because they are a good way to meet people and start conversations. When I travel in a marshrutka to go to boxing class, for example, people see me carrying boxing gloves and ask questions about where I study and what style I practice.
The first few times I took a marshrutka, I was worried about talking to the driver because of my accent. I speak Persian with a very strong Iranian accent, and I was worried that the driver would not understand me. I didn't know for sure how to tell the driver to stop. I tried listening to what other people said when they asked the driver to stop, but I didn't recognize any of the words -- they were all Russian! I started getting more and more worried as my stop approached. Finally, I summoned up the courage and asked the driver to stop the best way I knew how. "Haminja vaistin lotfan!" Stop here please! He burst out laughing, but he stopped the car. "Iranians have such silly accents!" he said as I got out.
In a foreign country, or in a foreign language, even the most day-to-day things can be nerve-wracking.
