almost the last transect (November 28)

Today was the toughest day I’ve had here. I simply didn’t want to walk. I was sick of waiting for people, sick of having to shake every single grown-up man’s hand, sick of introducing myself and my project, sick of all the millet fields and itchy pieces of dry vegetation that gets stuck in my socks. Sick of constantly sweating, of my dirty trousers, of not being able to communicate except through a translator. Sick of that translator, because he’s the only person I’ve been able to talk to for more than a week. Sick of the sweat rashes and always having to put on sunscreen. Sick of note-taking and photographing and the fucking GPS machine beeping.

Sick of walking.

Who though I ever would get sick of walking?

There wasn’t anything wrong with Firka, the village, as such. They didn’t have any mountains, or amazing old men, or watermelons, but it was just fine. Friendly people, plenty of funny-sounding goats, like most places here. I just didn’t feel it.

But I made it through, walked my 10 kilometers, with one thought ringing in my mind: Once I’m done, when we get back to Kaya, I’ll go to the grocery store and buy chocolate. I DESERVE a piece of chocolate.

So I did. Bought four tiny bars of Cho Cho milk chocolate. Got back to the hotel. Showered. And devoured a bar.

What an anti-climax.

It must be the least chocolate-tasting piece of chocolate that I’ve ever eaten.

Even the most crappy kinds of chocolate, the ones that are only sweet, always have at least an aftertaste of the real thing. But not this. This is only sweet, with an aftertaste of caramel or something thereabouts. Made in Indonesia. What do they know about chocolate? Not much, judging by the chocolate bar I just ate.

Tomorrow is my last day of proper fieldwork. In the afternoon, we’ll pick up Elli in the village where Helena is staying, and then head back to Ouagadougou. Hopefully things go smoothely tomorrow. Hopefully the grocery store by Chez Tess is still open when we get back. Hopefully they still have some of that German chocolate pudding left.