nearly falling head-first and backwards out of the bus is embarrassing...

....it's also dangerous, and scary. Today was one of those days. 80 year old grandmas manage to remain upright while an overcrowded Indian bus lurches left and right and rumbles over huge potholes, slamming on the brakes frequently and without any warning whatsoever. Meanwhile I fall over easily, even when I'm holding on to an overhead bar. I've fallen on top of people from time to time, and it's always embarrassing, but today was the worst. I was holding an umbrella and my bag and was trying to get two damn rupees out of my bag when the bus lurched and I fell backwards. I don't know how I didn't fall out of the bus head-first and backwards, because I was right in front of the entrance (three steps leading down to an opening with no door) to the bus and it was unobstructed. I flew across the bus and somehow or another ended up ass-first on top of a woman right who was right next to the exit. Lucky for me I landed on her, but I think she would have rather I fell out of the bus because she was really angry and started screaming at me. "CAN'T YOU HOLD THE DAMN BAR??" I looked like a total idiot who almost died because she wasn't holding onto the bar. People started grabbing my things and trying to help me the best they could. "Hold the bar!!" But if you don't keep your change purse inside your bra like most women here you require two hands to get your change out. And for this I nearly died.

going by bus in India is cheap, but it sucks.