three years

We just celebrated 3 years of marriage!

Since JP is away doing his school internship now, I made the long bus trip to go visit him for a few days.  I hadn't been there since Easter, so it was nice to see a lot of our friends and colleagues again too.  One friend let us stay at her house for my visit, and that was so nice.  Jean-Patrick is living at the mission base and it is kind of like dorm life, so I was thankful to stay in a house with all its amenities. 
If you've read this blog for a while you might remember that we've had some challenges trying to celebrate our anniversary well the past 2 times.  I hadn't wanted to do difficult travel again this year, but it was unavoidable.  To read about what last year was like, or just to get a good description of what a bus trip is like here, check out this post:  a nice relaxing weekend away   
This year I spent around 11 hours traveling each direction!  Exhausting!



Here is a picture of what can be seen from a bus window when the bus makes a stop at a small station.  You can see a couple trays of yellow apples (imported) and a lady with bananas on her head, bottled beverages (sometimes real Coke and Sprite, sometimes reused bottles filled with juice), there is a man with a cart trying to sell random plastic goods, and in the middle there is a woman who has a tray of meat, fried potatoes, and bread and she is ready to put it together to make a quick sandwich.  Its always a crowd of people waiting there.  Usually there are a couple of beggars too.

On this trip there was a guy at one stop who asked me where I was from - I was the only white person to be seen, so I guess he did see me!  I said America, and he said he was from America too.  Clearly he was not, but this is typical of the friendly Malian joking that I enjoy with strangers on a daily basis.

I got to spend 4 days visiting JP.  On our actual anniversary day (September 3) we enjoyed a dinner out.  We borrowed a friend's motorcycle and went to a roadside shop.  In the evenings they serve roasted lamb and rotisserie chicken with all the fixings.  You can choose to fill your plate with fried potatoes, fried plantains, beans, onions, tomatoes, and hot peppers.  Then you sit outside at a plastic table and enjoy the food.  It wasn't fancy but we enjoyed it!
JP will still be gone for quite a few more weeks and I've come back, still home alone.  I'm keeping pretty busy though, so I think the next 3 weeks will pass quickly and then JP will come home to visit for a long weekend.