The ride home

Heading back from Tsumeb was a bit more exciting than the way out had been. For one thing, I waited not knowing when my ride was going to come. At 3 I was starting to get nervous, at 4 I was panicking (not helped by the trippy movie I was watching) and at 5 I headed to the kombie stop to find a ride. At this point it was also pouring rain, so I arrived soaked to be yelled at by very aggressive drivers trying to convince me to take their ride only to have the guy I was waiting for call as soon as I found a suitable bus.
He picked me up and I was drenched, but it was nice to see a familiar face and know I had reliable transport all the way home. I got more nervous, however, when I found out someone had seen him driving me into town and told his wife, who had thrown a fit and ransacked his truck looking for evidence of an affair. I felt pretty guilty and it was clear that this was a fight that had gone on all weekend, but he still showed up to take me home. Whoopsie.
The ride back was mostly uneventful, full of nice conversation and I felt surprisingly comfortable with my new friend and we talked openly. The one interruption to the calm came when we almost hit a kudu that ran out into the road… which was terrifying but made me happy that I was with such a good driver. I also got to see bats, birds, springbok, dik diks, bunnies, and a porcupine on the way back, which was pretty sweet.
I made it home fairly late so I’m exhausted today, but it was nice to be back and the kids loved being at the library (their enthusiasm makes me feel so great!), now I just have to catch up on all the work I skipped this weekend!

p.s. another fun moment (not to complain, I just want to make sure you know how life is here…) on the way back from the store, I had a woman call me a liar repeatedly when I told her I couldn’t loan her two dollars. To be fair, it was a lie, I COULD give her money, but I chose not to since a. she is a stranger and b. I don’t lend money. Lots of fun.