… and why is it now covering my entire body????not one of my best days… was really looking forward to seein’ the potala again… and enjoying my nearly last day with the kids…. life didn’t see things the same way… as mentioned, i awoke yesterday with my tender rear (and then some) covered in some strange rash/welt/hive love monster/child and decided it was time to do something about it… therefore, our awesome guide, tashi, took me over to spend the morning in a tibetan hospital’s version of urgent care (I think)… i really am eternally grateful for both kathy and tashi… this would have been really really awful to deal with solo…
funny, though, the doctor barely looked at me… asked me if I’d been at a park or eaten fish or chicken lately (apparently, yak is hypoallergenic?)… determined that it was an allergic reaction (i have my doubts)… and ordered a glucose drip, calamine and some mystery medication... what i reacted to , I’m still not sure… a few locals seem to think it’s the bath water (no, I don’t drink the water…) … so, just to be safe, I’ve been advised wait until I’m back in chegndu to shower… ick… instead, I’ve bought a bunch of bottles of arrowhead and am going to do my best with that… ha ha!
anyhoo, I was really quite disappointed not to see the kids … I pretty much spent all afternoon covering myself in calamine… reading… napping… and crying for my mommy… :)
by evening, i was feeling better… actually left the hotel for dinner… hit new mandala restaurant, which has a sweet view of jokhang temple (but, apparently, sorely disappointing french fries… sorry, kathy... not every spot can server up fries like tashi I... ha!)… and walked the barkhor until about 10 p.m. (dusk is 9-p.m.-ish… weird)… most of the swelling has gone down… but it was nasty for a while there (pic of feet, not ass, above… :)
tomorrow is my last day here… and nothing will keep me from the school.. . that’s for sure… frankly, I’m stunned at how quickly the time has passed… and how familiar lhasa had become for me… if you asked me even a year ago if I could take a bus across this town; direct a taxi to a given destination (and correct the driver when necessary); and walk, at night, through the streets and NOT be a terrified nincompoop (despite those scary five-year-olds who chase you, calling "MONEY!!!! MONEY!!!"… the answer would have been a definitive “no”…
instead, what I’ve found is that i’ve met some amazing people… made a few friends… and found out that I can do quite a few things on my own (but having caring people around you in a crisis certainly is appreciated!!!)… i’ve also been reminded of a quite a few things here that I’m taking home and going to put to better use…
that a smile is the ultimate ice breaker, no matter where you are… that genuine kindness is humankind’s greatest treasure… and that when I ask “how are you?” it will be more than just a BS courtesy for which no real answer is wanted or expected… i will mean it… if I don’t want to know, i just won’t ask and save everyone the hassle (maybe that sounds mean, but I think it better than asking and not meaning it, si? no?)… the point is that I’m going to work on putting authenticity before etiquette or feigned politeness… ought to be interesting so see how that pans out…
so...packing… last-minute shopping for friends/family (seems like I should have had this done ages ago… i really don’t know where the time went)… school… and, then the toughest part… the part i've dreaded before i ever got here... i’m really crappy at good-byes and I’m really not sure how I’m going to do this…
breathing…
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