Minutes after we left the smoggy streets of Bamako today, I knew I was in for a tumultuous trip.  Squeezed in tightly in the back middle seat between two colleagues, I braced myself, literally, for the 8 hour journey back home.  I dropped my head down to my knees; my stomach hadn’t felt this uneasy since I watched that Katie Couric interview with Palin online.  Furthermore, my head was throbbing and my body shaking.  Could it be Malaria?

I thought I could hold it until our lunch stop 3 hours away to stop, but within an hour from the time of departure, I urgently requested the car to pull over so I could hurl.  15 minutes later, I demanded the car stop again.  An hour after that, I begged the drive to stop at a real latrine or toilet.  The closest we could find to this description is pictured below.  Can someone please explain to me how, just how in the world, the following could be labeled a latrine, when there is no hole!?  I screamed out in fury when I saw it.

After several more rest stops, it was time for lunch.  Just the thought of food was enough to make me hurl, so I naturally opted out of lunch.

“That’s ok,” my colleagues undestood, “In that case, instead of stopping to eat together, we’ll just pick up some food.”

I could barely listen to what they were saying, as the ringing in my ears grew louder.  Still hunched over in my seat, I felt the car come to a halt and saw my colleagues descend from the truck.  Within ten minutes they were back in the car and placed beside a kilo of meat guts, and we still had 5 more hours to our destination.

Meat intestines

Needless to say, it was not a pleasant road trip.  But I am safe and sound back at home, internet working, cat meowing, and 100% better.