a whiny post - you've been warned

I don't know what to say.  What not to say.  How to say what I would like to say.

Story of my life.

To me, there is not much to write about.  To everyone else not living my current life, there is a crap ton to say.  I think people look at my pictures or think about my life and think, "Wow! What a great adventure!"  Me?  What do I think?  Well, to put it nicely, I don't think "adventure".

For the most part, my life is currently pretty boring.  Yes, there are moments where crazy things happen, cool things happen, odd things happen.  But the majority of the time, my life is just full of the mundane.  Or at least my new mundane.

There are still moments where I get taken off guard by my life.  It's still an odd feeling that I live in West Africa.  I still have moments where I have to remind myself that this is not a trip.  Like for real. I have a house and bills and a car.  I have a dresser not a suitcase where I store my clothes.

My street isn't paved.  There are donkeys in the streets.  I see kids going to the bathroom and bathing on the side of the road, daily.

I can't find everything at an inside grocery store so I get my fruits and vegetables in a market and a broom and bucket on the side of the road.

It sounds adventurous, I know.

Reality?  On Saturday I wanted to go to the BIG {I have NO idea what to call it} store [think Dollar Store meets Pier One] to get a few household items.  My teammate and I get in the car and head to the store. No biggie, right?!  After sitting through 3 lights, it is finally our turn to turn right at the light and be on our way.  But no. Oh no.  The loud, annoying whistle of the policeman sounds and the finger point comes our way.  Yep, I got pulled over by the police.  Why?  No clue.  He never said.  Oh wait, maybe he did, I just didn't understand his French.

We made it through that just fine, no bribe necessary.  We inch our way and finally make it to the store, about 35 minutes after leaving the house. Whoopie!

We finish at the store and find ourselves super hungry.  Great.  Let's stop by a restaurant on the way home.  We make it to the restaurant, order, WAIT, eat.  All the while, I am starring out the window at my car, on the verge of tears because I don't know if I can muster up enough strength to get back in the car and drive the rest of the way home.  My nerves are shot.  My mind is foggy.  Why?  Dodging cars driving in the middle of the road, motos ALL over the place (on my left, on my right), stop lights that don't work, horns honking constantly, and oh yeah, the small thing about I'm still figuring out how to drive a stick-shift and not stall in the middle of an intersection.

Adventure?  Sorry, but adventure is not a word to use around me. Adventure is a short thing.  A temporary time frame.

This?  This is my life.

Cry me a river.  Yes, I know you are thinking it, so just say it.  I know, I picked it.  I know, I wanted it. I'm living an adventure seekers dream life!  Too bad I tend to avoid adventure like the plague....