Alas! Hell hath no fury like the desolation of a lost American in Yemen! Little did I realize when I stepped off that bus, it would be the last time I heard English spoken in quite some time. 53 hours and 14 minutes to be exact.
The location where we had stopped was about 44 miles from the last stop on the trip—our hotel. After retrieving all belongings from said hotel in Sanaa, we were going to head for the airport on camelback to catch our flight home, 9 hours from when the heartless, punctilious bus driver stranded me. Not having my passport was a bummer, but I was carrying my PSP, a couple rubber bands, four paper clips, a small bottle of shampoo I took from the hotel, and a broken pencil, not to mention wearing a gold watch and chain. Water was essential at this time of day in the hot, arid climate, but there was no water to be found as I trudged purposefully on down the uneven road. I knew I needed hydration so I found a couple sticks, and, using a rock, sharpened the end of one. With the rubber bands, paper clips, and other stick I constructed a clumsy bow with which to fire the misshapen arrow I had whittled. The reason for this was that I saw some birds pecking holes in cacti to reach the nectar inside, and they were flying so I knew it wasn’t poisonous cactus juice.
“Maybe I shall also be able to fly after imbibing the ambrosial fluid,” I thought begrudgingly. I fired the arrow into a cactus, scaring the small flock of razor-beaked, bluish-green, bushy-haired birds into flight. I knew I would need more of the liquid than I could drink at that moment, so I stored some of the ooze for my journey by soaking my shirt. I then commenced licking up as much as I could while resting. After my brief respite, I continued my arduous amble in the direction the bus was heading.
Nobody at the stop had spoken English or Latvian, in which I am semi-fluent, but as I was walking I heard the approach of a horse-drawn cart behind me, occupied by an ostensibly poor farmer who had the bright look of one who knows how to use his mind. I quickly flagged him to stop and motioned with my hands for a ride to the airport. The several failed attempts at the bus stop had caused me to lose all hesitation in the proceeding. He looked at me skeptically, so I tendered my PSP and watch to him. His eyes opened wide as he smiled and graciously beckoned me to join him on the front seat. When I noticed his jug of water and a sack of some sort of grain I offered my gold chain to him as an exchange. He immediately accepted and stored his newly acquired goods in a small satchel under the seat.
This blessing in a horse cart finally allowed me to reach the airport, just 10 minutes shy of my flights departure. I couldn’t get inside the airport but the flight boarded outside so I ran to the fence and shouted to my fellow students. And the rest, as they say, is history. Incidentally, I sued the school for not keeping better tabs of the students.
