| 18 June 2010
Well I am still adamant that street meat doesn't give me diarrhea. But something sure as hell did. Last Friday, Sam and I went out for our usual Friday Night bouzi and wonton soup after class. And when we got back to the school to wait for the van, I suddenly got that curdling, gut rot feeling in the pit of my stomach. Clenching my buttocks and focusing intently on my breathing, I climbed into the "couldn't come soon enough" van. With sweat on my brow, every swerve and slam of the brakes cause my heart to start racing. A sudden pothole led to a whimper, tightly shut eyes and biting my lower lip in a silent prayer.
Sam, being the supportive girl she is, laughed the whole way home. The longest 15 minutes of my life... Thankfully the van drops us off right outside our building, and I hastily flew through the door and proceeded to create some of the most amazing splatter art I've ever seen. With the crisis dealt with, it was time for bed. A few times throughout the night, my bowls felt inspired again, so timely visits to the toilet interrupted my slumber.
Waking up in the morning to get ready for a full day of classes, my gut dropped out from under me again. This was not a good thing. Nine hours at a school with no western toilets when having the shits does not a happy situation make. Now is probably a good time to tell you that after five and a half years of traveling, I've always successfully avoided shitting in a "squatty potty". It's something I'm quite proud of. I went to school, and by noon I was still doing ok. Justin showed me how to roll toilet paper into a little spool to bring into the toilet with me, if necessary (They don't put toilet paper in bathrooms in public buildings, but that's another post..). I only half joked that I hoped I could make it to the end of the day, since crapping while squatting and avoiding getting it on your pants wrapped around your ankles for the first time is hard enough, let alone when you have to deal with a 3 foot spray radius... Thankfully I made it through the day, but opted to grab a cab instead of waiting a half hour for the van to arrive.
The evening and night greet me with gut wrenching pain and trips to the toilet every hour and a half or so. Sunday morning had me very concerned, as I had spent the night in a cold sweat, and was severely dehydrated. I forced myself to go to work, knowing Sam was available to take my afternoon classes if I couldn't get through the day. As it turns out, I couldn't, being lightheaded and on the verge of fainting multiple times during class. I went home and proceeded to visit the toilet every 20 minutes. The secretary has written the name of some medicine down for me, and I prayed it would cause some relief. Unfortunately it didn't and the 20 minute schedule continued throughout the night. I only had one class Monday evening, but after seeing the state of me in the morning, Sam wouldn't let me work, and called the school to arrange a substitute. The was no change in my condition throughout the day, and ole pink eye was red and raw (I'm only guessing the red part...it did FEEL red though...). I was becoming very concerned about my health, and decided that if there was no noticeable change by Tuesday, I'd see a doctor. Around 3am I visited the toilet and then fell exhausted into bed. And didn't wake up until 9. Hurray! My intestines still hadn't sorted themselves out yet, but the frequency had reduced dramatically. I returned to school that evening, and got through my final two classes before having two days off. And now I'm pleased to announce I'm the owner of solid stool once again.
Aren't you glad to clicked "read more" today?
But honestly, it was a shitty last few days...(I've waited this ENTIRE entry to say that.)