PulpLit.net

back to business

Because I really and truly don't believe I have much to add to the political discussion, because my heart is broken after the election (either because we lost it or because it was stolen), and because I'm living halfway around the world, I'm not going to belabor the depressing point, or fill my blog with assertions, suspicions, or lament, or otherwise spread my own personal devastation. I'm going to focus on the positive, the uplifting, and the generally better news than American politics.

So, it's time to revel in the joy that is intestinal parasites! Woohooo! I have to say, that after seven months of eating everything I can get my greedy little paws on (whether it be raw veggies, fried noodles, or rock lobsters), it's really become a question of when rather than if.

Without providing too many horrifying examples, let's just say there was about a week and a half of uncomfortable distendedness, and some cramping grossness, and finally a totally terrifying episode on Monday that had me convinced I had ruptured ovarian cysts that were going to leak their toxins into my blood stream and kill me. Let this be a lesson: don't try and self-diagnose from WebMD.

After a very scared phone call to the beloved Steve, I made my way to Bumrungrad Hospital. (the nicest hospital in the world, I do think), where they promptly determined that I have some kind of creepy crawly living in my intestines that was causing all this horror, and it could be treated with relative ease and lack of discomfort with antibiotics, activated charcoal and some other magical pills. I go back on Friday to make sure things are progressing nicely and the parasites in my innards have been murdered. So all is (about to be) well.

The last few weeks, I've been keenly aware of how much I love living here in Bangkok, despite the heat and the intestinal parasites, and the relentless and unforgiving pollution. It's a glorious place: we get better phad Thai down the street from a gas-powered grill on the sidewalk for 20 baht (that's like 50 cents) than you can find anywhere in Europe, Australia, or the US. And it's just so easy-going; even though the streets are busy and there's traffic everywhere, there's not that much honking or yelling or hostility. People are always (always) smiling and willing to help you out.

Coming home from work the other day, I was waiting at the pier, which has recently become infested with fisherman-pant-and-strappy-tank clad tourists. There was one group of American tourists, an older couple and two sets of younger couples, maybe a whole family tour. The older fellow was using a walker to get around, but was smiling and enthusiastic as could be. The boat came....and his whole group dashed down the dock and leapt onto the boat! This poor guy was trundling along, doing his best going up the steps and along the uneven walkway, and the boat could easily have zoomed off and left him there all alone. But instead, the boat guy who throws the docking rope and blows his whistle came off the boat, and took this fellow gently by the arm, and got him onto the boat, with a huge smile and no questions asked. I was just so delighted and impressed at the generosity and sensitivity of this lovely Thai guy, just doing a job that I feel might not get done somewhere like New York or Paris or Geneva, particularly if it was obviously a tourist.

Thais are just like that, and while much of this grace is aimed at the elderly, the overarching kindness of the culture extends to everyone. I was having a bad, bad day a week or two ago, bored at work and tired of chattering to people I didn't really know very well, and standing down by the pier waiting for time to pass and for the boat to get there. Frowning and glowering, no doubt, in an epic manner. At this pier, there is the extraordinary phenomenon of swarming enormous (more than a foot long!!) catfish. They are huge, and there are thousands of them in the water, piling on top of one another and splashing all over the place. It's part of a Buddhist ritual, I gather, to toss bread and food pellets into the water, as it gathers you good blessings to give life to other creatures. So there are vendors down there selling bread and pellets and people toss them in, and the fish go nuts, rolling out of the water and whacking each other with their tails. Anyway, this 20-something guy was there with his little sister (I'm guessing), and they were throwing a loaf of bread bit by bit into the water. It was very cute, and I smiled at them. And the two of them smiled back in this huge way, and handed me a piece of bread to throw into the water! It was just so nice, and so unexpected and unasked for, and I just grinned away the rest of the day, mood lifted, spirits sailing, and good blessings upon me.