hargeisa to Bosaso And a 24+hour Roadtrip

Today morning I woke up with a clear goal in mind. I said to myself "fatima it's about time you tried writing again , so here I am staring at this blank sheet trying to come up with something worth reading.

It's been a long while since I've written anything other than medical notes and stuff like amoxicillin 1g PO Qd ..so getting back to using whatever vocabulary or grammar I have left will take quite some work (Bear with me if my yours are written as you're etc )

And what better way to start than with an update ...I'M HAVING A BABYYY 💗👏👏👏 ....lool  jokes nah I haven't gotten that far accomplished in life yet . but I GRADUATED 🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊 YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY . (you do realize I didn't mention that for nothing right? ...graduation gifts? Anyone? ) .

I've also been going back and forth between hargeisa and bosaso over the past year and it has definitely added to my overall Somalia experience . 

So the first time to bosaso , here I am thinking how far can it be yaeh? I mean a couple of hours by car ..I can handle that and I'd like to see all the little cities in between and sheikh mountain and take loads of pretty pics for Instagram and show off my #viewfromthe252 hash tags . sooo with no further delay , I made the overly enthusiastic announcement "Let's do this RoadTrip Hooyo!!!" 

you would expect my all knowing of all things Somalia related dear mommy to know that the roadtrip from hargeisa to bosaso is a long 24+hr ride ..But nahiii hoyoo dearest has herself never had the privilege of seeing most parts of Somalia too . 

A few phonecalls and packed bags later , we were at the "stopka" , also known as "stanka", a more Somali version of a bus stop .

 To those of you who haven't been on road trips inside Somalia from these stops , let me explain :

The stops are run by men called "kariyaha" or "dilaalka" , they're the person you call a night or two before your trip and they arrange for your car , they manage which car leaves first , and since they are so well connected they manage to find customers for the cars leaving .

Now the downfall of this system ..things are not in pen and paper and always subject to change or delay or even advancement . so when you say "i'm leaving tomorrow , its urgent .and I would like the front seat " ..please don't be disappointed if you end up sitting in the back with 3 other people and not by the window , and instead of leaving at 6am like the kariyaha told you , you spend 3 hours arguing how you got the wrong seat and being dragged from one car to another . (sharing my personal experience) . 

Being our very first time in one of these stops , it was definitely nerve wrecking.. Having to stand your ground in a testesterone filled environment is by far an understatement , so ladies if in the future you plan on going to these stops, its preferable if with a male relative or friend (seriously having a man around helps speed things up a lot in Somalia) . 

Another major problem is the overcrowding in the cars , (minivans) , so the passenger seat that's normally meant for ummm 1person is for 2 people . so unless you clearly mention you're paying for both seats [which is actually 1 seat but no one cares what your dhaqan Celis self has to say about road safety and whining ] you will end up either glued to the door or with one of your buttcheeks uncomfortably on the gearstick . 

and the same goes for the middle and back seats ; 4 people instead of 3 regardless of how obese or impossible it may seem to you , you all will fit in there and the kariyee will personally make sure of it