6 June 2005
L’Enfer, c’est l’UTI
We believe that we have traveled fairly light on this trip. We only have one suitcase and one daypack each. And yet we are so spoiled, especially me. I have several items that require electricity with me: my laptop, my cell phone (which has yet to work), and the battery chargers (yes, plural) for the two digital cameras we have in tow. I considered these things necessities, but that’s not all: what about all the medicines I brought? My dailies include Zoloft (fodder for a whole ‘nuther blog entry), which makes me sleepy; thus I require another pill to keep me awake, and 3 different meds because my allergies are so bad right now. But let’s add a bladder infection to the mix, shall we? Fortunately, Kenny and Tara sent us with a huge number of anti-this and anti-that’s, so I was on an antibiotic within hours of the onset. We have other things with us that make our life on the road mighty comfortable: we have 100% deet to keep away the mosquitoes, which abound here in Breme, Italy, once evening begins to roll around; we have a rental car to facilitate our travels; we have toilet paper on a handy little roll. I look around and I see people who are living peaceful lives with very little. Contrast Madame Ria back in France, who has a wonderful home and is thankful for a washing machine (but I think, hmmm, no dryer); nobody, but nobody has a dishwasher; I’m frustrated by my lack of internet access (we did stay in an ultra-modern, tres chic, hotel in Lyon, but I had no time to figure out how to use the internet there since we were busy with the French Cukrowskis, and the next day we used up a couple of hours finding UPS to send home 4 boxes of souvenirs and other stuff [again, how spoiled are we?]). OK, end of sermon about stuff…But what about taking time to get to know people? When we arrived in Breme, a nice old man walked us to the Willits’ house, then to Giovanni’s to get the key (but he wasn’t home), and then to Flaviano’s, who was home. In this small town, everybody knows everybody; the old man was out in the piazza visiting with some other men (both young and old) when we found him in the first place (side note: I did notice that everywhere we go, men are gathered chatting, smoking, and hanging out, but the women aren’t. Perhaps they’re home watching soap operas and eating bon-bons, but I suspect they’re hanging up the clothes, watching the children, and cooking and cleaning). My point still begs to be made, however; we are so very busy in our lives in the U.S., rushing from place to place and from one event to another. I am committing myself to at least a somewhat simpler lifestyle upon our return home. And that’s my lesson from my urinary tract infection.
1 comment:
I remember when a Ukrainian teacher at the university in Kiev asked me if he could store his stuff in my office for one day when he was between apartments. I looked at my (what I considered) pretty full office, and said. "Alex, you see there's no room." He looked at me, hurt and confused. He asked again. I said, "Where will you put it?" He took off his small backpack--which contained EVERYTHING he owned--and put it on a shelf.
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