lunes, agosto 30, 2004

diagnosis vertigo

Friday evening I took a shower after swimming. When I got out of the shower I had no real will to stand, so I laid down. I had a terrible time getting up, so after a couple of hours I forced myself to get up, get dressed and stumble to the canteen for dinner. Dinner was uneventful, and quickly followed by bed (9pm). The next morning I was incapable of rising. Truly. After a couple of hours of trying, I finally made it to a sitting position from which I corrected papers and planned lessons for another couple of hours.

You see, I felt like I was in a dingy on the ocean in a storm...not something conducive to standing, let alone walking. The day was stormy, I gathered my bag and rain coat and took the small speedboat ferry to the other island to teach. I had a juice at the bar. It didn't help.

Trying to do a self-diagnostic, I figured it was something to do with the heat and lack of sufficient vitamins and trace minerals in my diet here. I ate something. I drank more juice. I didn't feel any different.

I taught one class, sitting down for a lot of it. After the class I had a long break...and decided I just wasn't capable of teaching in this condition. It took me fully half an hour to decide this. I just don't miss classes. I've missed three days of classes in 3 years of teaching. I'm the one that always covered for other teachers....but I couldn't.

Back on my own island, I slumped over A's (our Human Resource officer) desk and asked what I should do. I felt that this was not normal and I should see a doctor. He seemed surprised. Surely I was just tired? No. Definitely not. This is not normal. Everyone was quite willing to believe it was a hangover- but I hadn't been drinking. (I drank a lot at the staff party some 3 nights before...being non-drinkers, they thought maybe that was it).

There's a terrible irony to being so sick that you have to see a Doctor, and having to take a boat for 40 minutes to an hour to get to one. The seas were rough that day besides...

The Doctor did a few things- blood pressure, follow the finger, close your eyes and stand up...which all lead him to the conclusion that I had neurological based vertigo. In short, I was dizzy. HIS idea was that I should stay in the hospital for a day or so, so that they could give me some injections and run some tests. I didn't feel happy about that from a "you're dizzy" diagnosis. He would have been welcome to do a blood test, I figured it was something to do with my blood and minerals anyway, but injecting me with things when he had no idea what was the cause...that was going a bit far. He explained then that he thought it was probably fluid in my inner ear. Wha-wha-what??

He sent me to the ear specialist who did some hearing checks and came to the same conclusion, although she consented to prescribe some vitamins with trace minerals as well. She gave me some medicine which she said should clear it up, and the dizziness should stop within about 24 hours.

Yesterday I was still dizzy, but was upgraded from a dinghy to a dhoni (local fishing boat, big enough for two fisherman to live on- barely). Today, well, it's more like that slight dizziness you have when you are too tired. Discombobulated.

Who knew that a little water in the wrong place could upset your whole universe?

domingo, agosto 22, 2004

the big blue

Friday I swam between the two islands- something which (I think) has added to the general respect, mystification or whatever feeling that the men here have for me. A lot of the guys born and bred in these islands can't make the swim (they probably could if they believed they could-it wasn't that hard).

It was more than a little scary in the open channel- the blue is intense and you can't see the bottom the way you can in the crystal clear lagoon. You begin to imagine all of the things you have ever seen or heard of living in the ocean...not the least of which are the sharks which you've overcome your fear of in the lagoon, but here it's deeper...they're bigger, and.....

I had dragged "Barnes" (19 year old guy who also had the day off) out with me- I made him take the kayak in case I had any problems. The irony was that he had never been in a kayak before and more than once I had to move the kayak manually to put him in the right direction, not to mention the treading water with only my legs while showing him rowing techniques. He was pretty tired from fighting so much with the (calm) ocean, but determined not to be tired because I wasn't and I swam the distance.

On the way back, he was going to swim and I was going to take the kayak. Suddenly, when we were about 50 meters out, the horizon was dark. I told him to get in the kayak so that we could get back to the island before the storm. I was alarmed. He argued with me and continued swimming...and in seconds was far away from the kayak. It took me a minute to figure out that he was in a current and not just swimming the wrong way. He had no idea.

The sea was getting much rougher and I had to really fight to catch up with him (the current was under the water, not at the surface, and the wind was going the opposite direction). He argued with me- if I could swim it he could...I told him that I absolutely believed that, but pointed out that I didn't swim it in a storm! Feeling the winds picking up, I was getting very insistent, but he (later) said it was the look on my face that convinced him. He finally agreed and got in the kayak. He was in the back and I was straddling the thing in the middle so that I could more easily control it. There was no question which of us was using the one paddle back: I was experienced and he was not.

By this time, the waves were getting really rough and some were crashing over the kayak. "Barnes" , not being used to being in such a small boat was trying to stand up and look over the side and I don't know what! Fighting with the waves AND him made me quite cross. Unable to convince him of the importance of him sitting still so that I only had one battle, I finally convinced him by threatening to knock him unconscious with the oar if he didn't sit still, in one place in the middle! *

I think it made quite an impression. I was serious. He made a comment about how I didn't seem like a very nice person, a comment which I agreed with and repeated my threat. He sat still.

Having lost precious time fighting with him, the storm was full upon us, the winds and waves were making it a terrible struggle for me. (He was just bored in the back) When we finally achieved the lagoon, he began fidgeting again and fell overboard. He then grabbed onto the side of the kayak- in the middle where I had to row. The waves and wind were VERY strong now. I told him I would tow him if he held on to the back, but he couldn't stay there. He let go.....and in seconds was about 20 meters away from me. The lagoon isn't deep though, and I knew he would be alright. I was swept to the other end of the beach before I managed to land the kayak about the same time he hit shore the other direction.

It was an adventure to be sure! I learned a lot about currents and wind this day. It did not boost my confidence, but rather gave me more respect and care in the future.

*Today, when recounting it, he said that all he heard was ".....still" and he kept thinking I said, "stand still". It did not occur to him that I wanted him to SIT.... it was after all, his first time in a kayak. You can stand up in fishing boats.

I have of course promised, pending the weather, to row the kayak for him next Friday to give him the opportunity to swim the distance. I know he can. I'm hoping that in the future we can swim there and back again...but I'll watch the weather a little more carefully this time!

sábado, agosto 14, 2004

don't you know, we're talking 'bout a revolution

It seems to me that the world is calling for changes. It may simply be my own awareness in combination with all of my travels, but I think that the powers of the world are shifting and no one knows how it will come out when the game is done. Money, governments, and power vs the ordinary people. It seems to me (and comments welcome on this) that the times are changing, and there has not been such a time since the 1960's that has had, or will have such a profound effect on all of our futures. Democracy, Capitalism, Socialism, Christianity, Islam, terrorists (truly, perceived or propagated ones), tourism, oil, global warming, human rights, and above all...money and power. Which ones will come out on top in this struggle?

In Spain the new government is Socialist and the people want drastic changes. All over the world, the dramatic revolutionary image of Che Guevara can be found on T-shirts and posters. In Barcelona I participated in three huge peace demonstrations in two months time.

When I landed in Peru, the President had just declared a state of emergency because of the large scale demonstrations. Everywhere I went, there were roadblocks and protestors. In Lima there were widely televised riots.

My first day in Chile I ended up in the middle of a peaceful demonstration by the university students who shut down the public transportation of the city by filling the roads.

Now I am in Maldives, a very peaceful country with very few protests. I mentioned before that there were whispers of change in the air.

Thursday night the main jetty began to fill with people. The kept vigil through the night, and on Friday all tourists were advised not to go to Male. Somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 people gathered to protest the jailing of people who had spoken against the government, and to call for President Gayoom's resignation. What began well ended badly. Unlike last year's riots, when he was elected for his 6th term, there were no tanks this time, only tear gas, rubber bullets and swinging batons.

BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3561340.stm

Amnesty International
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGASA290042004

Dhivehi Observer
http://www.newsofmaldives.com/



sábado, agosto 07, 2004

under a full moon

It’s a different lifestyle. I live and work on an island, and commute to the rest of my job by speedboat. If I have to go into town, I go by boat: slow boat (1hr) or sometimes by speedboat (30 min.). If a group of us want to go out, we go to the airport hotel or to another resort by boat (45 min.). Alcohol is only sold at the airport hotel bar, or in the resorts. You can’t go into the city and relax with a drink. The airport is on its own island a few minutes from Male, the capital island.

I went to the airport hotel last week for the first time. I went with a four friends and we had dinner in the café, and then went for drinks in the bar. The bar had a funny feel. It was like a theme bar left over from decades gone by, with a heavy smell of air-conditioning and old smoke. It’s the watering hole for the ex-pats…mostly because it’s the only place you can drink off of your own island. There’s a slight air of desperation mixed with the smell of ashtrays and the dark woods so reminiscent of the 1970’s and early 1980’s. Of course when you are finished going out, unless you have taken a room there for the night, you are faced with the long speedboat ride back to your island. For me this was sufficient motivation not to drink too much!

After going out, the five of us were waiting by the docks, half asleep waiting for our boat. No parking lot, no subways or taxis…we sat on the edge of a high cement planter, well, I was lying down with my head on my friend’s lap who’s eyes were half closed, one of the girls still had energy and was walking around, another was curled up trying to sleep under the arm of the other guy in the group who looked happy and also trying to sleep with his head resting on top of hers. For a moment I stepped outside myself and looked at us all sitting there outside the terminal and it reminded me of the streets of Barcelona lined with half asleep young people at 7am after they leave the clubs.

I slept with my head on my friend’s leg, shoes off, feet up over the side of the boat all the way back. The guy next to my legs went to sleep curled up against them as we all returned home under the stars and full moon with the sounds of the waves like so many dreams dancing through our heads.