The man at the van door was not scolding me, he was selling me a seat

A white van slowed beside me on the road near Centro, and the man at the side door called out a single word, again and again. I smiled and kept walking. The van kept pace. He kept calling. It took me three days to understand that he was asking where I was going and offering me a seat. The colectivo vans stop for anyone who lifts a hand, and the word is the name of where the van is headed. I have since stopped being shy about it, and the van stopped following me.