A tale of two kidneys

So our aforementioned field trip involved some ~7 hours in the car with a brief stay in a remote village as well as a quick trip to the char. Even though the weather has become much cooler as compared to the temperature on my arrival, it is still HOT. Our short walk to the house of our patient left me mildly sweaty. Then we were ushered into a relatively small room accompanied by no less than 5 family members. There was no “current” (electricity), thus no fan for circulation, and all surrounding windows were quickly blocked by curious villagers. Initially, we wore masks (to protect ourselves from the possibility of measles or chickenpox), which we removed after determining that the patient’s rash was most likely viral in nature. These masks are also HOT, suffocating even, given the right circumstances (such as NO circulation and a crowd of 900). What I really wanted was some pani (water) BUT I had to balance this desire with my EXTREME fear of having to pee. My terror is based on the fact that there is NO WHERE to go, other than the surrounding landscape. Even in the villages, latrines are not an absolute guarantee. Given that this white bideshi draws a crowd just standing there, I did not want to see what would happen in the event I needed to squat on the side of the road with my behind exposed. Not to mention that there is not much of a road “side,” and quite a bit of “fresh” water, just a slippery slope away. I, thus, decided that I would ignore my thirst and not drink ANYTHING all day. And hold any urine I happened to make for 14+ hours. Moral of this story: my kidneys HATED me! HATED.

A brief commentary on the bathroom in my lodgings . Unlike our “wet and dry” system back home, the bathrooms here (and in India, per Rupa) are a one-stop shop. It is as if the toilet bowl were literally in the shower. Basically if I shower and later decide to the use the facilities, the floor/shower floor is all wet/sudsy. It’s also quite difficult to dress post-shower as everything is wet.

(note my suds in the corner post "shower"... basically I dart in and out under the cold water... in the mornings it is so cold, it usually takes my breath away)

And lastly, the highlight of my day: Diet Coke!!
(tastes a little different , but still a nice change from water)