Sidelined by illness

What a weird week!

I felt tired and dizzy on Thursday last week so I took a little nap on my classroom floor during my non teaching block. I was tired Friday, but made it through the day - I think the energy created by meeting new teachers kept me going.  Saturday morning, I felt really tired but thought if I kept my gym appointment with my trainer.  I told him to take it easy on me because I didn't feel well.  When I stopped my bicep curls at 10, he looked at me shocked and said "too heavy?"  it was a third of what I usually lift.  We decided I should go home.  I made it home and took my first of FIVE naps that day.  I couldn't stay awake longer than 2-3 hours.  Sunday was far worse.  Couldn't stay awake more than an hour.  Speaking exhausted me and made me gasp for air.  I was concerned - I hadn't felt that badly since I was bedridden and drugged up when I was sick with Lupus.  I texted the doctor (such a convenient thing we can do in India!!) and made an appointment for him to come to my apartment the next day.  I nodded off 6 times in the 15 minutes he was in my apartment.  He was alarmed at my lethargy.  He said I had to get someone to stay with me or go to the hospital.  Spending the night in an Indian hospital did not sound like fun!! He called a chemist to bring electrolite packs and a med tech to come and take my blood since there is no way I could leave my house.  The guy came and took a urine sample and a bunch of vials of blood.  He did a pretty good job - left only a small bruise.  I often get huge ones because my veins are so hard to get due to my health problems.  They generally stick the needly in then wiggle it around in there trying to stab a vein.  It is not for the weak!!  I have to look away.  Within two hours they texted me a code to get the results online and I gave access to my doctor. It looked pretty good.  some blood counts were low normal so he thought that fit with his idea that it was a viral infection.  It was so weird - I had no fever - no outward signs of illness except that I couldn't move or stay awake.  The electrolites worked and I started staying up 2-3 hours again.

I have a good support system here.  I called the secretary to tell her that I'd be out Tuesday and Wednesday too.  She contacted the school nurse and she called to check on me and gave me the phone number of the school doctor in case I had to go the hospital.  My principal called and arranged for Evelyn to spend the night.  I was having horrible chest pain so I had to get Mr. Ducky out - He went with me to the doctor's office lots of times when I was sick.  Squeezing him makes my chest feel better.

 
Evelyn sang for me - she was singing for a teacher band at our school - Blues No Bar.  My teaching partner, Jordan is the drummer for the band.  They have been working for months covering a Jimmy Hendrix album and they were performing at a club - The Blue Frog - in Mumbai.  I was going to go even though it was at 10:30 on a Tuesday, but because I was sick I couldn't.  On Wednesday my friend Gretchen came over with Mexican food and my principal Fiona brought chocolate chip cookies.

My Visa was running out so I had an appointment with the Foreign Registration office.  Always a crazy experience in Indian chaos.  I thought if I made it through that ok, I could teach on Friday.  I went to school for a meeting at 7:45 and planned on getting my class started 8:30 to 9:0 and then leave for FRRO.  10 minutes into the meeting I knew I couldn't go to school Friday!!!  I was so tired and dizzy.  My kids were happy to see me, if only for a short time - my advisory made me get well cards.

By the time we got back from FRRO, I felt awful!!  My principal had her driver take me home so I could sit in an actual car, not a rickshaw.  I came home and slept off and on for another three days.

I am going back on Monday and I am excited!!!!  I love my job and I miss my kids!!!  They have been emailing me and telling me how much they miss me!!  So glad I get to go back.

Spring Break - Chiang Mai

I did not do much on Thursday.  I got up took a 90 minute walk, did some work, went to lunch with Zach then we met Nancy and went to the airport to Chiang Mai.  We landed and got to our Guesthouse around 9pm.  It was called Awana house and was near the city wall.  It was about $15 a night and was clean, had hot water, and free wifi.  My room was small, quiet, and had a tiny balcony. It also had AC that didn’t work to well but did have an awesome fan so I was comfy. Seriously.  Can’t ask for more than that!! 

We got up Friday and had breakfast at the hotel then went to Tiger Kingdom.  I know some people have issues with animals on display and how they are treated etc. I would never intentionally hurt or exploit an animal, but I am not a huge animal rights activist either.  I rode elephants in India and they were mean to the elephants – whipping them and yelling at them.  I wouldn’t go back to that place.  But this place seemed ok.  Of course I don’t know what happens when tourists aren’t around.  The staff knew all the tigers names and approximate ages.  I didn’t see them be cruel to the animals or anything.  They played with them etc.  You can pay to go to one tiger cage and pick the size you want – the smaller the tiger, the more expensive it is.  Or you can get a package and two 2 or 3 cages.  Nancy and Zach did smallest, medium, and large.  I did small (about 5-7 months) and large (about 2 years).  I also paid for a photographer to take pictures and got a CD with about 50 pics from each cage.  The cages were big and there were multiple tigers in each cage.  In the big cage the had me sit with a tiger playing in the shade, I petted the only female tiger who was playing in the water, and I got to play with 2 other big tigers.  About 6 other people were in the cage at the same time.  The smaller tigers were a little trickier, they were more impatient and didn’t want to sit while we laid on them etc.  They said not to touch their heads but if I touched past halfway up their back, they would jump and look at me and sometimes growl a little!  They weren’t going to hurt me but they only wanted me at the back!  They didn’t care about their tail – you could do whatever you wanted with it.  Some people got great pictures where they were laying all the way along the tiger’s body.  I am at the tail end every picture because they would get all weird if I went higher.  Maybe they could tell I was a little uncomfortable laying on an animal that could kill me!!  Zach was loving it.  When I told him my chances of getting married would be even less if I was missing an arm – he disagreed and said having my arm ripped off by a tiger would make me cool J  Zach and Nancy went in the cage with the babies and they were so cute!!  You could touch their heads and paws and get great pictures!  If I ever go back I will just play with the babies! 

Afterwards we got back in our red truck (kind of like one of the military ones in MASH – they had benches on the side) and the guy took us to Doi Suthep – one of the most famous temples here.  We hiked up the stairs and walked around.  Zach and I went in the actual temple – Nancy couldn’t because she had shorts on.  We had to take our shoes off and even though we were “in” the temple, it was still outside and the cement and tile were HOT.  Zach and I were trying to walk fast enough to keep our feet from burning, but not be disrespectful by running.  J

We got fresh passion fruit juice and a cup of strawberries.  I seriously love the fruit and juices here!  And I love eating street food without the fear of getting sick.

We had our driver take us to a handicraft market where they make the fancy umbrellas.  It was near bo sang – which is where we wanted to go, but ended up somewhere else.  Nancy was looking at stuff for their wedding this summer.  I can’t go because I will be in Ireland L

Friday night we went to a restaurant called 3 Little Pigs – it is owned by a man from Alabama and it served all kinds of southern food!  Chicken and waffles, Jambalya, biscuits and gravy, fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, etc,  Oh my gosh – Nancy isn’t familiar with southern food, but Zach and I dived it!!

I had to fly back to Bangkok Saturday night so I just walked around Chiang Mai in the morning while Nancy and Zach went to a nearby town to look for furniture.

I saw the temple Wat Chiang Mun – the oldest temple.

I flew into Bangkok and had to get my luggage and check in as an international passenger.  Vacations are nice, but anxiety starts on the way back to Mumbai.  There are always lots of Indians on the plane and that involves pushing, shoving, rudeness etc.  There were 23 people in line and 19 big TVs.  Apparently you are allowed to buy two TVs and bring them back so it looked like a group of people flew to Bangkok to buy two tvs each and fly back to Mumbai.  A western woman started freaking out when an Indian crawled under about three rows of lines and stood in front of her!!  There is just no way to describe the pushing and shoving on an airplane – you wouldn’t understand unless you saw it yourself.  It is beyond comprehension!!

I barely scratched the surface of Bangkok and Thailand.  Will definitely come back.  I love that it is very clean and quiet.  It is fairly cheap to get around.  There is lots of stuff to see and EAT J I wasn’t too keen on the motorcycle taxis but mostly because I was the third person on there and it was a little uncomfortable keeping my feet up because there was nowhere to put them unless I put them on Nancy’s feet.  But I still felt safer being the third person on the back of a motorcycle with no helmet driving in Bangkok than I do sitting in a rickshaw in Mumbai.  By far!! 

It was a fun, relaxing spring break and I so enjoyed seeing Nancy and Zach J

Spring Break Bangkok

We've had a few crazy weeks at school and I was soooo ready for spring break!!  I left on the Friday we got out of school - my flight left at 1:30 am.  I saw several students and teachers at the airport - everyone was trying to escape Mumbai!

The flight was uneventful, but since I had a seat in the row in front of an exit row it didn't recline and I was exhausted.  Bangkok was HOT!  It was only high 90s/low 100s which is what it is in Mumbai, but it felt so much hotter!!!  The pollution and buildings in Mumbai keep the sun from beating straight down.  I was going to visit Nancy and Zach!!  They were at ASB last year, and I miss them!!  My cab dropped me off at the Starbucks in their neighborhood. I was welcomed with a big hug from Zach and he took me to the house and I got a big hug from Nancy too!  Their house is HUGE!!!  and is in the cutest neighborhood.  That night we went to a market along the river and I ran into two of my students and his parents :)  We had a nice meal and walked around and it was pretty cool by the water.  On Sunday we went to Chatuchak market.  It's Thailand's biggest market - it has 6,000 stalls and is the size of 5 American football fields.  You could spend DAYS there and never see everything.  It was hot and crowded, but still a lot better than Indian markets.  No one was pushing or shoving, no one was haggling us to buy anything.  There is no honking in Bangkok.  NONE!!  We bought some fresh squeezed orange juice on the street :)  best part of Bangkok - you can eat street food!!  We ran into two of my co-workers.  Bangkok is a busy place for my school :)

On Monday, I slept in, took a walk with Zach and did some work.  We went to an actual grocery store and they had string cheese!!  It was Nancy's birthday so we went out that night for dinner with some of their friends. We went to Tuba - during the day it is an antique store and at night it is a restaurant. There were old toys staring at us everywhere.  I left to go spend the night in a hotel so I could go to the floating markets in the morning.  I am staying in Tara Place which is very near Khaosan Rd which is the epicenter for all the backpackers.  It is an awesome hotel for $45 a night!!  It is a few blocks from Khaosan Rd so it is a little quieter, but close to all the action.  I had planned a tour to go to the floating markets and they were to pick me up at 6:10am at a nearby hotel.  I called a couple times and they said I was in the right place and they were coming.  At 7:30 I called for the third time and they said they had left without me because I wasn't there!!  augh!!  I was so disappointed.  I took a nap, then walked around for a few hours.  I took a cruise through the canals on a rice barge.  We left from Sheridan River shops.  Nice area.  We got to see a snippet of Thai life on the river.  At the end of the two hour trip they served a fruit buffet - dragon fruit, mangoes, pineapples, jackfruit, mangosteens, coconuts and guavas.  They also served free Mai Tais :)

Tomorrow I was supposed to take a tour of the Grand Palace, but I switched it to go see the floating markets. Hopefully I will make it tomorrow!!  I will have to see the Grand Palace the next time I come to Bangkok.  After the markets tomorrow I am going back to Zach's and Nancy's Wednesday and Thursday.  It will include walks, naps, string cheese eating, and me dodging him shooting me with toy arrows.  On Thursday night we are all going to Chaing Mai :)

Pakistani border crossing ceremony

We had a three day weekend so we went to Amritsar - I wrote about the rest of our experiences in another post - this one is dedicated solely to the border crossing.

After lunch on the first day, we rested for a little bit then met the Turkish woman in the lobby at 2:30.  The hotel arranged a car for us.  It cost 750 rupees (about 15$) for him to drive us to the border, wait for us, then drive us back.  It took 4 hours. Good wage for him, cheap for us. 

The drive was nice- there is lot of wide open space here and we were on the best road we've ever been on in India. There was a huge line of trucks trying to get through the trade border.  They had makeshift tents set up so I think they were going to be there awhile.

trade line- it stretched for over a km

this is a school bus full of boys - they kept waving and one blew a kiss at me

I never thought i'd be here

boar feeding on garbage on the side of the road

we got Indian flags for 20 cents.

Pakistani side

The border crossing was unreal.  We laughed so hard.  There were tons of people there.  They have a separate line for foreigners and they let us and women in first.  Even though we were foreigners we had to get in the women’s line – they had guards on horses keeping us in a very tight line – hundreds of women being forced to walk in a very tiny area.  Jordan and the other foreign men were wandering in wide open road doing whatever they please!  We stood by a separate gate and watched the women come in, the watched the men run in from behind and pass them.  So polite.  We sat in stadium chairs and had Indian flags to cheer with.  The Pakistani side had far less participants but they were very enthusiastic. 

Indian side- crazy outfits

men's line waiting to get in

Before it started they had indian women run the flag back and forth, the women were dancing down front.  It was a lot of fun.  When the ceremony started the men kicked their legs up really high and looked ridiculous. 
Information on the ceremony
border closing video - upclose you can see how aggressive it is

I have some of my own videos, but blogspot and I are having a disagreement.  Hopefully I can get them up soon.

Amritsar, India

The other math teacher, Jordan is moving this year so he’s trying to see as much of India as he can so we headed off to Amritsar this weekend.  The school driver picked us up at 4am for the airport. We flew to Delhi and stayed on the plane while new people boarded.  OMG.  Indians boarding a plane is a nightmare – pushing shoving etc.  but Mumbai is a little more civilized so it isn’t too bad.  Those people getting on in Delhi – horrible.  Getting off was just as bad – this guy kept laying on me to get his luggage instead of just waiting until he could get in the isle.

Amritsar is a small town – 1.3 mil near the Pakistani border.  The pollution is better, the weather is cooler – we got to wear jackets!  We both got rooms in a  hotel  called Hong Kong Inn – Jordan thought it had good vibes since that is where he is moving to next year.  It’s kind of loud, but it has hot water 24 hours a day and the people are nice. 

We got in around 10am on Friday so our rooms weren’t ready. While we waited in the lobby, we met a Turkish woman who was traveling northern India on her own and she wanted to share a ride to the border ceremony that night.  She went off to see things and we went for lunch.  I had garlic naan and garlic chicken so you can probably smell me from where you are and Jordan had butter chicken and butter naan so you can probably see a greasy sheen on his skin in pictures :) We took a nap and then met the woman to go to the border - I will write a separate post on that because it was such an event :) 

When we got back, we went to visit the Golden Temple - the most holy place for Sikhs.  Here is some info on it. Golden temple info It is lit up at night.  You have to walk through some crazy streets to get there and it was dark and we didn't know where we were going.  We live in Mumbai so we have a lot of tolerance for dangerous roads, but this scared us a little so we did something we thought we'd never do - took a bicycle rickshaw.  Poor guy had his work cut out for him try to pedal two big North Americans through the streets!!  We got to the temple and there were tons of people there, but it still felt peaceful and religious.  Not all religious sites do.  You have to take your shoes off and walk pretty far through streets to get into the temple area.  It was cold and lots of puddles from when it rained this morning.  There are some mats laid down to help people keep from slipping on the tiles and mats on the roads so you don't hurt your feet too bad.  It was cold and uncomfortable and we kept making jokes about athlete's foot.  Once we got into the temple area we didn't have to walk through freezing water so  my feet were a little warmer.  The view was amazing.

My friend Paula said I looked good in scarves :)
Good because I wear this a lot in rickshaws

Even the men had to cover their heads

It is pretty spectacular

We got some pizza on our way home and called it a night - after we scrubbed our feet!!

The next day it rained.  and rained.  Now that we knew where were going and it was light out, we walked to the temple.  We stopped at a coffee shop on our way there and ran into some Americans who worked in Delhi.  The temple looks different in the day and there were a lot more people there.  I am glad we went the night before so we could actually go in it.  I didn't take a lot of pictures today because it was so cold and miserable.  The barefoot walk to the temple was miserable.  It was so cold we could see our breath and we were walking in ankle deep water at some points.  We went to see where they feed all the people daily - that is in the link I put above.

Next we went to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre site. It was a short walk, but by this time, I was soaking wet and freezing cold.  I took very few pictures today because it was too wet to take my phone out.  My shoes were soaked through - my only pair! so I will have a wet ride home tomorrow. My jeans were soaked to the skin.  We decided to take an autorickshaw to the hotel.  I got some video of the flooded roads, but am having trouble uploading them :(

I took a nap and did some school work.  We went to dinner at the same place we had lunch yesterday  - crystals. I had tomato soup and a cheese omelet.  Yummy. and warm!

I usually travel with a poncho - extra shoes etc. but it never occurred to me that it would rain in India in February.  It was good to be out of Mumbai for awhile, but I have a lot of work to do when I get home tomorrow.