And then we returned home via Thumrait. We got in about 2:30 pm and I cannot tell you how wonderful that shower was. I had to use extra Q-tips to get the sand out of my ears. So Wednesday night is okay, but Thursday evening I'm not feeling so hot. So I go to bed, and I wake up about 2 am Friday morning: cramps, bloating, gas, bubbling stomach, diarrhea, really nasty. That lasted till almost noon. I crashed for most of the rest of Friday. Saturday is the first day of the week so I got up and decided to go to the clinic. Except that I had no money. If I had gone to school, I would have gotten paid that afternoon, but I was sick and missed school. And all the banks are closed on Saturday. And the clinic by the new hotel doesn't take Visa, and I couldn't find a phone number for the clinic at the old hotel. Argh!
So I survive, and on Sunday I decide to try again. The program sent my stipend home with a suite-mate, so I had money. I decided to go to the same clinic as last time, in Haffa House hotel. Well, the cabbie only heard Haffa, so he took me to Souk Haffa. Once we got that straightened out, I made it to the hotel. He also insisted on quizzing me in Arabic the whole way. “What is that, in Arabic?” It was kind of fun. I got to the clinic about 8:50, but they didn't open until 9:10 so I sat in the waiting room waiting for the doctors. When I was talking to the receptionist and nurse in Arabic (or trying to – they spoke Iraqi amia and I didn't understand much) the nurse asked if I was Palestinian. I'm very pale, so I think that's the first time I've ever been mistaken for anything other than some crazy white woman. Or maybe she was just being polite? This time I got the new female doctor who spoke English. And the same lab lady. When she saw me, she was like “Again? You went out and ate something didn't you?”
So, are you ready for my diagnosis? Hmm? Well, I have a bacterial infection and parasites. Yes – I have worms. Feel free to laugh if you wish. Once I got some antibiotics and some food into me I found it remarkably funny. I have roundworms, just like my dog did when we first got her. So I'm now high on some serious antibiotics and anti-nausea meds and more antibiotics and Immodium. The big antibiotics cost 12 Rials, which is kind of a lot over here, but still fairly cheap back in the States. And I have a final exam on Tuesday, so wish me luck. Pictures won't go up until I return to the US next week. Ciao!
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