Also, I'm in front of a computer right now! And tomorrow I'll be in the Kombos! (See, this post is exciting). I've got lots of posts to write and time to write them--right now I'm the only person in the transit house, so I'm not paranoid that everyone secretly despises me for hogging the computer. Also, it's morning, so I'm likewise not paranoid that swarming bugs are planning to eat me alive.
So, as a reminder: the posts I'm going to be writing now I will be posting for your reading pleasure in the future. This means you will be reading about Tobaski in January, even though it happened in November. And the naming ceremony I attended yesterday, you'll also have to wait until January to read. Patience, young padawan.
But today you can read about today!
- Waited for the gelly.
- Boarded the gelly.
- Crammed between two large men, one of whom steps on my foot.
- A foul smell fills the gelly. The men sitting across from me plug their noses. Two of them tuck their heads into their shirts.
- Someone opens a window. A cold wind blows through the gelly. The smell goes away.
- The cold wind is still blowing. It was cold in the gelly before the window was open, so it is not pleasant.
- I shiver. I tuck my hands into the sleeves of my sweatshirt.
- No one closes the window.
- The driver turns off the main road because he's taking a different route to Basse. One of the guys gets really mad because he's not going to Basse, he's going to some other town. He complains about "time wasted"
- The gelly arrives at the car park. Because of the alternate route, the gelly comes to the car park without driving by the intersection with the mosque that I normally get dropped at. The distance I now need to walk has been doubled.
- I remember that I never received my change, but the driver and his apprentice have left the gelly and disappeared into the swarm of people shouting and asking where I'm headed towards.
- I struggle to put my suitcase (it's a small one) on my head. Two guys laugh at me. In Pulaar, I command them to help me. They obey.
- I attempt carrying my suitcase on my head for awhile, but my arms tire and I worry that everything will come crashing down. I attempt to roll the suitcase along the crumbling asphalt road, but even though the suitcase has wheels, it feels like I'm dragging it.
- I reach sand. I put the suitcase on my head again.
- I come to the transit house. The gate won't open. I bang on it, hoping someone will open it.
- No one hears.
- I bang on the door some more.
- No one's coming.
- By the way, the gate is made of metal and the banging makes a very loud sound.
- I sit on my suitcase and eat some peanuts.
- I text people for advice.
- I'm told to push the door really hard so that whatever's turned at the bottom (if I were a door manufacturer I would know the word) to keep the door closed will move.
- It works!
- I wander the house, admiring its cleanliness and emptiness.
- I wait for power.
- I hear a fan running.
- I rush the computer, even though I don't need to rush, because I'm the only one around.
No comments:
Post a Comment