Who IS this girl?!

Wow, does that face say 'I’m done with India', or what? What IS that expression? I think it’s a culmination of these things:

- There are cockroaches in the kitchen drawers, ants marching across the tub and an infestation of fruit flies breeding on every fresh scrap in the house

- I got robbed on the metro in Delhi

- I have a cold that won’t quit and I just finally recovered from the most painful stomach ailment my gut has known

- It took me 2 ½ hours (actively interacting with 7 staff) to mail a package at the post office yesterday

Believe me, I could go on. Silence and competency are severely lacking from my daily routine. The thing is, India is a dirty loud place with too many people. Just let me pretend to hate it for one blog, ok? If the “Superbug” (antibiotic resistant bacteria) really manifests itself as an epidemic in India, we should be scared. Why? Let me show you the “the eye flu”:

That’s my recent travel buddy and friend from Seattle, Liza. She got “the eye flu” (let’s just call it Eflu) while volunteering with a mobile medical clinic in India – it’s pink eye on steroids. In Delhi alone, Eflu has increased 30 percent since last year. Around the country doctors are reporting 20-30 cases per day of Eflu. A highly contagious disease, the ailment is worsened by “overcrowded places, dirty surroundings and unhealthy living standards” . . . like say, India. And because it’s not obvious to the general public, India Today quoted an ophthalmologist as saying, “Looking into someones eyes can't spread the infection.” The combo of a population regularly taking antibiotics, lack of awareness about how disease spreads and the overcrowded, dirty bit are not favorable.

I believe I’ve mentioned the fact that most eating establishments, bathroom sinks (or even say my home kitchen sink) do not have a hot water tap. If I were mentally ill or wealthy I’d dedicate my life to the worldwide public service announcement: “Remember folks, soap don’t work without warm water”. And I’m not even a germ phobe!

Ok, to summarize . . . “Eye Flu” = yuck. “Superbug” = scary. Tomorrow I’ll be totally ready to show lovely pictures of the last few weeks.

- S. Mangosteen