Goats in Coats and Local Pests

Whew.... again, a long time since I have posted. I "lost" my house internet connection, and Jaipur is back to it's regular electricity schedule where the electricity goes off between at least 10 am-12 noon and sometimes even longer making my chances to sit down and write a blog far and in between.

So since my return from the U.S. for Christmas things have been going pretty decently for my stomach in Jaipur.. those probiotics really make a huge difference...

Now that my stomach issues have settled down, I have realized lately just how normal it feels for me to live in India. When I'm on a bus to Delhi on the highway the scenery feels so familiar and normal now, getting a rickshaw or going grocery shopping is run of the mill, and overall I feel generally... normal. I think that revelation came while I was on the bus and I just thought... wow. I have always thought I could live in India for a long term and feel happy, but I was really worried this fall that maybe I couldn't, and that maybe my whole plan in life would have to be rearranged.. A daunting task, to say the least.

Not to say everything is perfect and happy all the time, but any problems I have nowadays seem to be normal life problems rather than "living in a foreign land" problems.

So, then, the title, you ask. Well, it's winter here, which doesn't necessarily mean it is freezing cold, though it is really chilly without heating and the houses aren't really insulated in anyway. Generally I am doing fine with all that, but I came to know some really cute practices which I never would have guessed. First people put coats on their dogs, and sometimes the neighborhood street dogs also strut their stuff in their winter sweaters. But the best by far is the goats in coats. Now, these goats are herded about, with their big floppy ears and strange goaty-eyes, all over the place, city included. A cute little old grandma comes through my neighborhood regularly, herding her goats through the city blocks. These goats seem of a hardy stock, but for some reason, it seems everyone decides that in 40-60 degree weather, a goat needs a coat to keep itself toasty warm. Indeed. So, if I am ever down, I can think, of goats in coats.

The second interesting issue as of late are some local pests... now generally pests in a house could be... let's see... ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, maybe a mouse or such.... not so here these days.. the pests giving me the most trouble of all...

monkeys.

oh monkeys. How I fear them. One day they were in the front hall, stealing someones pants and trying to rip them up. I have to say. Monkeys are scary. ouff.

and then lately... even worse... the monkeys have decided to use my balcony as there special-monkey-gift-deposit spot.. aka... monkey toilet. This not only means that my porch is now covered in little miniature human-turds and pee stains... it also means... HELP!!! I can't open the door to my porch.. monkeys might come in...!!!

Someone at school told a story of former residents of their flat who left their porch door unlatched one day and a monkey sauntered in, open the fridge and started downing the eggs as if he did this every morning. Of course, they couldn't do anything but watch, those sale monkeys have teeth, yaar.

Where to begin?

Ah, it's been so long since I posted anything, it's so hard to decide where to start.

Let's see. I'm in Jaipur, India, and have been since the beginning of September. The month of August I spent in Delhi, and also traveled to Dharamshala for some time (with the WB too!)

I have been studying Hindi here and also visiting my wonderful boyfriend in Delhi quite frequently, and he often visits me here, too.

Actually, he just came to visit, and after about one day I unfortunately got sick (AGAIN!) so he stayed extra time and spent most of it taking care of me. Poor guy. I really hate having to rely on people for help too. It always makes me feel bad.

My stomach and I have not been getting along extremely well since I got to India, but I am determined to beat it into submission (or... whatever). When I first got here I kept having weird stomach aches which I think were just from jet lag/nerves, so they went away after awhile. Then I was all chill in Delhi. But since I have gotten to Jaipur I have had... erm.. I think three bouts of the old "delhi belly" (which I never got in Delhi...) and once I had conquered those and seemed well on the mend, I got this strange stomach affliction.

Now, it all started with linzi being not-so-smart. Sure my stomach has been better for a few weeks without incidence (and may I note, my roommate nor anyone else seems to be getting sick while eating the same exact things as me!) but I guess I should not have gotten carried away and thought I could enjoy an evening out with friends, which involved, three weak alcoholic beverages. Now, I don't know IF they were really the cause of the stomach incident, seeing as how it was three weak screwdrivers (from which I did not achieve anything near drunkenness) or if it something else (like my mysterious "IBS" diagnosis from the grand doctors of the USA, which means "yup, yer stumuch hurts n we dunno why. you want sum rolaids?")
but the next day I upon eating I was saluted with a mysterious pain right underneath where my ribcage and sternum meet. Hum. So I waited a day, but the pain was rather not so fun, and if I tried to eat it became horribly worse (thought I did not feel nauseous or have any other normal symptoms of stomachy-badness.) So at about 10 pm my boyfriend V and I decided to visit the doctor.

Now, keep in mind that in Hindi visiting the doctor is "doctor ke paas jaanaa" which literally means "to go NEAR to a doctor". Whenever I think about this particular phrase, I think of the doctor as a guru, and in his essence I may be cured. Well, going to a doctor here is not to much different (at least in my experiences so far) than gaining some doctor-y essence. On this particular evening the doctors visit went like this:

(also note, this visit did not start with taking of temperature, asking about current problems/medication, or asking about any allergies to drugs)

Doctor: "Come sit, tell me whats wrong"
Me: "Since morning I have had this strange pain right here, that gets worse if I try to eat"
Doctor: "right here?" (poke)
Me: "OW! yes."
Doctor: "and you said you have nausea?
Me: "no, I don't have nausea. Just this pain."
Doctor: "aha, ok. I will give you these medicines and you will be completely better."
(proceeds to write out a long list of drugs with various notes about how often to take each one. When finished I have a list of 4 different medicines. And since he is a doctor, it is of course, illegible)
Me: "um, what exactly is wrong with me? I mean, what are all of these medicines for?"
Doctor: (laughs heartily) "That's a silly question!"
Me: (interjecting weakly) "But I want to know what the medicines are for before I take them"
Doctor: (grumpily) "You are having gastritis (I think this is what he said) which is inflammation of the stomach lining. These medicines will make you better. (This was followed by a half-hearted attempt to explain each medication). "Ok, now the first medicine is an injection."

He gave us the list and we went into the lobby (which was luckily very empty) and asked the nurse on duty where to get the medicines. He told us the hospital pharmacy was closed, so we had to take an auto rickshaw, get the medicines, and then come back so he can administer the injection.
When we came back, medicines and disposable syringe in hand, the nurse took me back and had me lie down. Only then did I realize, EEKS, it was not a normal shot but an "IV" shot, meaning.... he was going to stab the syringe into a vein on my hand. He told V to hold me down. GULP. Luckily, after such a dramatic opening, I learned that Mr. Male Nurse was in fact excellent at stabbing people's veins causing only minimal pain. Yippee.

After this I went home and tried to follow my pill regiment (I still don't know what one of the medicines is for!) but the next night it was still bad so we went back and he gave me a few more medicines, and told me only to eat liquid or semi-solid foods. whoo fun.

So that began on Sunday, and today (Wednesday) I am starting to feel mainly better, though
still having a small amount of pain. V stayed with me until today, even though he had to miss some of the classes he teaches. He helped me a lot, made me food, and all that. I feel really bad though, I keep getting sick and having to be taken care of. Sigh. Poor guy. Of course he is a wonderful sweetheart, and gets upset if I thank him for helping me.

So that is the latest story. Maybe I can give you some more stories soon, since I have aquired some free wireless internet from who knows where.