Trip to the Interior

Last Thursday I took a bus to a town three hours away to stay with a gal I had met briefly the week before. She teaches English at an institute there, and I thought that I would just be checking out the school while I was there--another option if political instability prevents me from returning to the country I really want to go back to. Well, she rolled out the red carpet for me and took me sightseeing most of Friday. I got to see some more traditional parts of this country, beyond the dusty border town my language school inhabits. Natives actually say that the border town isn't really part of the country--it's a cross between the bordering country and this country. The town I visited this weekend was old-school ("developing") and reminded me of the country I spent most of the year in.

The bus trip was a good experience. I just watched what the other ladies did and did likewise. It went quickly and smoothly. No one really talked on the bus. Individuals stuck to their own rows, unless they knew their row-mates. The lady across the aisle muttered to me some, and another girl talked to me a little, and the bus driver's buddy (who sat up front with him) also talked to me some. I had one panic moment when I accidentally turned off my phone, then turned it back on to realize that I needed a PIN number to use it. I didn't think I had my PIN number, so I was envisioning not being able to call my hostess when I arrived, as arranged, and seeing myself sitting on the side of the road for hours, until she figured out that I couldn't call. Then I remembered that I had brought my PIN number with me, and all was well.

I arrived in good season and had time to order a shwarma sandwich and a juice cocktail before my hostess arrived to pick me up. Juice cocktails are pretty much heaven on earth, so I was as happy as a clam.

Friday morning we visited the famous local goat/cattle market and the souk, and the pictures above highlight the goat/cattle market and the souk.

(Forgive the miserable picture layout; I haven't figured out how to cooperate with Blogger to improve it.)