Back in the saddle again!

You may not have known it....but I was out of the saddle for a while, so to speak. About two weeks ago I got a horrific headache, breathing problems, fever.....it wasn't great. I felt better the next morning (after one kind friend had me stay at her house while she was away for the weekend and another two friends stayed there with me so Flora could shuttle back and forth to our host-family's house.....). Flora and I spent the next couple of days in denial. Sure, I had no energy, all sorts of weird symptoms that you don't want to know about, and felt crappy, but I was getting better and had some medicine, right? Right? Wrong. In the middle of Monday night I had a breakdown.....As avid blog readers will remember, I had QUITE a breakdown on an Indian train this fall which involved quoting Fifty Cent to passersby, losing all control of my facilities, attempting to launch myself off my bunk-bed......all in all giving Kate and Deepa quite the workout.

WELL. Apparently one of my subconscious goals for my year-off was to have as many of my best friends as possible get the chance to see delirious! Yippee! My breakdown last week wasn't as bad as the one in India, but it was one of my worser moments, so I went to the hospital. I tested negative for malaria, so they told me I had food poisoning. (Code for - we don't know what's up and have to say something.) Flora and I eventually went to Chiang Mai so I could go to a bigger hospital. It turns out I had mild hepatitis. AND, interestingly enough, that bump on my finger that I talked about in a blog about a month ago? The one I got from giving henna to the children at the Children's Home? Well it morphed into quite a nasty little wart so I had that removed as well. Flora returned to Mae Hong Son and I watched movies at Liz's house for almost a week....Pride and Prejudice, Chariots of Fire, Rocky, The Hot Chick, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.....I was certainly no longer suffering.

I've been back in Chiang Mai since Tuesday and I'm so happy to be here! I still have very low energy, but am infinitely better. I went to the Mae Hong Son hospital on Thursday and told them exactly what to test for, and I'm looking normal! Today, Flora and I turned to the tricky business of buying food for our host family (because they will NOT accept money and we will NOT accept a free ride). We had very little clue what to get, but a friend came and shopped with us, and we were pretty proud of the results......chicken, eggplant, mango, oranges, fish, vegetables I don't recognize, herbs I don't recognize, Burmese salad mix - All fresh!

In other big news - we know our address now and would love to get mail from you!

Nay Chi Labour Union
P.O. Box 113
Mae Hong Son, 58000
Thailand

Before I sign out on this one.....here's a little list I've been keeping in my journal:
You know you've been in tropical Asia for a while WHEN....

1) You see the mountains ablaze at night and think, "oh. Crop burning season." instead of, "Run for your life!"
2) Your English student apologizes for missing a class and explains that he was "beating back a fire from his house". He's excused.
3) Toilet paper is a fun luxury item
4) Your friend invites you over to use her shower and embarks an a lively description of its excellent water-pressure, ensuring you it's the best shower in Thailand.
5) The doctor says, "It's probably malaria. Everyone gets malaria at one point or another."
6) You can tell the difference between Northern Thai rice and Southern Indian rice (and wish you couldn't)
7) When you see a cockroach crawl across your backpack you experience immense relief because it's nothing sinister
8) When the doctor tells you that you actually have mild hepatitis you're positively giddy because it's NOT malaria (or dengue or yellow fever or...)
9) You hear more about the Burma situation than the US election
10) You broke almost a year of vegetarianism for pig intestines so as not to be rude....
11) All your friends want to know what YOU will be up to for the mid-summer water festival!



Much love,
~Alice

PS - I'm going to be at the fish caves with Maung-Hla and his family for the water festival, where will YOU be???