CHAPTER FIVE — 10/02/2007 — Clumsy on 3 Continents
I was looking at my knees… not a pretty sight: each has a big bruise. Though I painfully remember how the left one got bruised, I cannot remember how I got the other… Choices choices. My toes are actually happy because they usually bear the brunt of my clumsiness.
Since I am looking at my wrecked body I can confess: I have some mosquito bites as well – 3 on the same arm. Maybe my right arm is not as tasty. Yes, I don’t always use the mosquito net. Bad bad bad me. What can I say?
My first night I was so paranoid I tucked every single corner and dove under it to read as soon as night fell. The second night, I did tuck but I read on the armchair… After several days, I still had not seen any mosquitoes. Other bugs would invade my space — death by slipper, may they rest in peace — but not mosquitoes. I asked Tim and he said there are more of them during the wet season (November).
So the net was left untucked during the second week, and then unfolded the third week… and that’s how I woke up with mosquito bites! Three times, I was actually awakened in the middle of the night by the ominous buzz — yes, I am a light sleeper when I am on malaria pills… I could write a whole chapter on sleep or lack thereof, but that would put YOU to sleep! Anyway, in the dark, I sprung into action, deftly un-knotted the net, spread it around me (no tucking) and went back to my lariam-induced dreams. Sweet.
Speaking on wildlife, I fell in love with geckos. I was looking at one while waiting for my driver. It came from a bush, stopped in a sunny spot, waited, on alert… decided it was safe enough and went into the ecstatic gecko yoga pause: eyes half closed, head up, front legs stretched off the ground, paws facing upward, soaking up the morning sun. I have to try that one day — covered in SPF 50 sun block.
Back to clumsiness: every now of then I have the worst of days and one happened last week. I spilled orange juice on the ground and water for my tea on the table cloth for breakfast. I spilled water on my skirt and broke a cup at work. On top of it, I was bare-foot because every one else was at lunch… yikes! I dropped the upper part of my sandwich and 2 appetizers (left over from a meeting the day before — don’t know what they were, saw some corn, were very good, once dusted).
Of course, that whole day was also horrible: I was hounding CSOs for our roundtable with President Zoellick through VC (I do work sometimes) and two reporters were hounding me (see chapter 4).
Every time I move, start over, I hope dearly that I will better. But so far I can officially say that whether I am on European, American or African soil, I am my same old clumsy self. My 2 short trips in Asia don’t give me much hope for that continent either. Do you know anyone in Australia/New Zealand? Maybe gravity on the poles will be more in my favor and those Emperor penguins did look cute…
Travelling Tastebuds 
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