they're back . . .

the stomach gremlins!



i seem to have gotten myself mixed up with h. pylori again after a two-week respite. my stock is too weak for afghanistan-level contagion.

and the bacteria in my stomach really are like gremlins - they get all worked up into a rage but can be calmed by small amounts of food. gruesome!

falling

[tile detail from mosjid-jamé/friday mosque/blue mosque of herat]

this morning, while skyping with one of my two west coast life coaches, our chatter was interrupted by increasingly loud helicopter sounds. over the internets, these noises resembled the buzzing of angry bees. suddenly, it became clear that a helicopter was about to land on my rooftop - the sound was excruciating + the wind nearly blew the glass out of our windows. when we ran onto our terrace to see what was going on, we were shocked to see a group of u.s. helicopters radiating around our home + from two doors down onward, dust + smoke completely obscuring the landscape. a bomb?

[unmasked eid celebrant w/toy gun]

our security company reported back about 5 minutes later than a u.s. helicopter had made an emergency landing within a 1/2 block of our house. we have the tallest building in these parts, + i think it nearly swiped us. ridiculously frightening!


[the workers are busy working]

chaos pursued en route to the german clinic. i was delighted to see three donkeys grazing by the roadside but was completely flummoxed as i watched one poor soul tumble into the v. deep drainage ditch! the driver pretended not to understand me when i cried for him to stop. happily, the dear donkey did manage to right himself + was left looking just a bit confused but not apparently too hurt to return to his grazing, which he was conveniently able to continue from his stance in the ditch.



[sweet friends]

the germans confirmed my self-diagnosis of h. pylori bacteria ("thousands + thousands of bacterias swimming in your stomach") + also said i have some sort of secondary infection, so i'm on 4 different antibiotics, oh my. i can't say that i'm surprised that there's something fishy going on . . . i was awakened this morning by a dream in which i was the new devotee of a religious leader who lived in an edible building resembling the taj mahal. as we approached the compound, one of my fellow devotees instructed me on my new job: "the leader has two dogs: care bear and care bear. they each need their own private time in the yard but also time together. you must manage this."

airborne

no herat weekend, after all.


i have successfully evaded the various kabul illnesses that strike most internationals - illnesses primarily due to the lack of a sanitation system, the abysmal water quality, + the 30% fecal matter (!) found in the city's air.









no more . . . it looks like i probably have h. pylori bacteria or something similar. the german clinic is taking good care of me, but i am v. sad to miss seeing lovely herat. perhaps another opportunity will arise . . .











in the meantime, i may be found at peach house,

nursing seltzer +

listening to barking dog ...