Hallucinations > Malaria...I guess

One of the common side effects of most malaria medications is weird dreams.  Sometimes anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations can occur.  On the other hand, without it, you know, you risk malaria.  And then they just give you the same meds at a much higher dosage.

I was just in Haiti, where it is now the rainy season, and full of mosquitos, and therefor we were all taking malaria medications.  I was the only one in the group on chloroquine, which is taken once a week for 6 weeks as opposed to every day for the week you're there.  I hadn't thrown-up, or experienced blurred vision, and my dreams are always vivid and weird, so I was under the smug impression that I was avoiding all the possible unpleasant side effects.  Until someone in my group told me that by week 4, I'd be swatting at things that weren't there.

On the plane back to Pittsburgh, as we were about to land, I noticed that the woman sitting in front of me had a dog in the bag under her seat.  The plane was dark, and the dog was poking his head through the top of the bag, so that was all I could see. He had also been silent the whole flight, so I was surprised that I was just now seeing him.  Or was I?  I started questioning myself, staring at the dog wondering, "Are you real?"  I kept looking away, then looking back to see if he was still there.  Eventually, his owner leaned over to pet him, and I relaxed, relieved that I wasn't hallucinating dogs on planes.

I mentioned this to my fellow threadheads as we got off the plane, and we all laughed about it.  10 minutes later in baggage claim, I saw the woman with her dog again.

"That was the dog,"I pointed out to Lee.
"What dog?" he immediately responded.
"Don't.  Don't event start with me." I said.

So far, still no side effects, however, I will probably blame any weird behavior on my part for the next 4 weeks on the chloroquine.

Leaving Makes You Realize Where You Should Stay

I returned to my beloved Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon after a week in Israel, and 12 hours in the Charles De Gaulle Airport outside of Paris.

The trip was incredible. It was time-out from life. Israel is the most foreign place I have ever been, and I was lucky enough to be spending the majority of time with citizens, who gave me an awesome glimpse into the culture and country that I never would have experienced simply as a tourist.

I avoided sunburn thanks to 100+ SPF sunscreen that all of the Israelis made fun of me for, I swam in the Mediterranean, the Sea of Galilee, and floated in the Dead Sea. I kneaded the dough and braided Challah, learned about Shabbat, and enjoyed Shabbat dinner with an entire extended family including a grandmother who didn't speak much English but told me, "Eat!" as she passed me dish after dish. I didn't argue, it was delicious.

I slept outside on a roof in the small town of Tzfat during a meteor shower, attended a Klezmer festival, heckled with cab drivers, prayed at the Wailing Wall, learned approximately 5-10 words in Hebrew, and had the best hummus and felafel of my life!

I'm so grateful I could do this.

Even the flights/hours upon hours of waiting in airports weren't so bad. I cut myself off of all internet this trip, which was a really nice break. I read books, (remember those?) and had a lot of time to simply be. While too much time alone in my head can be a dangerous thing, it is a necessary experience every once in a while. Some people pay a lot for therapy. Myself, I've found that taking long flights alone, forcing me to be with myself, provides an excellent outlet to work through some stuff, and come home refreshed.

And now I'm back in the real world. Back to laundry and email and work and constant connectedness. Back to Iron City beer, and my best friends, and Madmen, and understanding the language being spoken around me. It feels really good.

Israel!

"Have you ever been to the U.S?" I asked him.

"Non," he replied. "I am poor so I do not get to travel."

I nodded, "I'm poor because I travel."

"touche." he responded.

This evening, I fly to Tel Aviv. To say I'm excited is the understatement of the century. There are a lot of reasons I am thrilled for this trip, not the least of which is the fact that it's the first time I've been overseas in a couple years.

Travel is unlike regular vacation. And I've been really lucky to take some fantastic vacations over the past couple years, but it's not the same. Vacation is great, and super necessary, and we don't take enough of it. Vacation, however relaxing it may be however, doesn't supply the same release/rush as traveling.

When you travel, really get far away, you put yourself so far out of your comfort zone, that you are completely removed from any semblance of real life. That break, while not necessarily relaxing, is incredibly rejuvenating.

So, I'm off to the desert, and off the grid for a week. Shalom.

YOU GUYS!!!

I booked my ticket to Israel this morning, and am so excited that I'm tempted to be typing this in caps lock, but that's obnoxious, so I'm showing a little self control.

Me! In Israel! For a week! With the other #1 Big Hurry Fan! ISRAEL!!! Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea! L'Chaim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!