Carpool Hygiene

The next story would be requiring the understanding of 'jeepney' so if you don't know what a jeepney is, better read this first. Everyday, I ride the jeepney. I go to a school a jeepney ride away so its very efficient and cheap. A jeepney ride costs about $0.15.

The story:

A few days back, I woke up very happy. I took a bath and took off.

I go to school at approximately 6:45 AM. Many people are still making out with their pillows around that time while a few others jog around the city. I rode the jeepney and waited inside it for the other passengers to come. I sat in the innermost part of the jeep because I knew I would be getting off of it probably the last. I entertained myself with music.

Over time, other people filled the jeep until only two seats was open. Two men, probably friends, climbed aboard. I was sandwiched between them. I was holding my phone in my hand because I was planning to send out a tweet that my jeep was leaving. I had a deep breath before typing into the keyboard of my phone when I sensed a peculiar smell. I took another deep breath and I realized, I just paralyzed my respiratory system.

The two people sandwiching me had a certain stench I have never smelled before. It was like pig sweat mixed with stale milk or something. The odor was just incredibly bad I turn bright green when I try to remember it.

Unfortunately for me, the jeepney ride took about 20 minutes. So I was sitting there, trying to forget breathing, tweeting on my phone the situation I was in, waiting for death to fetch me. I was pretty sure I almost passed out when the two of them moved. I realized they were getting off the jeep. For the first time in a few months, I appreciated the smell of nothingness. I was smiling at everyone in the jeepney and they smile back understandingly. I sniffed myself to test if the odor of the two people was contagious. Fortunately their odor only faintly infected my right sleeve.

For the $0.15 dollars I pay for the jeepney, proper ventilation is not a right but a product of circumstance.

For other Filipinos, sniff yourself before riding public utility vehicles or you just might be the topic of another blog post.

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