Penultimate Bamako trip over

Tomorrow morning, it's back home to Douentza. I hope the bus trip isn't totally hot and unbearable, since the weather does seem to be getting hotter. As it stands now, I won't be back here until I leave Douentza for good--probably May 8th when Jeff gets to Mali. In the meantime, I am planning on two short trips to Sevare to get some wireless internet and 24/7 AC. I bought my very own webcam today to facilitate Skype-ing even when not at Rosemary's (but with internet fast enough, so that pretty much rules Douentza out).

I had to run a lot of errands today. First, Rosemary, Mohammed and I went to the embassy to cash checks and eat lunch (I had a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake). We ran into Spencer there, and he joined us for lunch. On the way to the embassy, though, there appeared to be some hideous problem on one of Bamako's two bridges crossing the river, so traffic was horrendous. The clutch went out in our taxi and we had to get out and find another one. An hour later, we finally got there and got our business done.

After that, Rosemary and I went to the cyber cafe to print some forms, then I went off to get my bus tickets, picked up something for Ramata, then went back to the see the linguists only to find no one there with a computer, then finished off my errands with a trip to the grocery store. I really wanted to buy my kitties a real litter box, but they didn't sell them. So I bought a box of kitten food instead. It was exhausting running around, but I was glad to be productive.

I'm ready to go back to Douentza. Bamako is nice and all, but I want to see my kittens and drive my motorcycle. I'm also anxious to not overstay my welcome here. I really only intended to stay with Rosemary for 4 nights or so, but then I got sick and the hotel I was thinking about was way more expensive than anticipated, so here I am, a week later. I don't think she minds, but I just don't want to intrude.

That's all until Douentza! Wish me luck on the bus.