Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I am yet again, unable to ingest anything without getting a painful "instant replay" half an hour later. My body is dehydrated, yet refuses to keep water in its system. I seriously feel as though my body is at war against me these days. Weapons of mass diarrhea.

Anyway, things are OK. I'm back in the BRAC office a lot more these days, and ever since Sunday, my English classes are suffering. I can't seem to balance work on both projects, which is incredibly frustrating. It's hard running back and forth between offices (sometimes 45 minutes commute) in the heat, not to mention exhausting. With three months left, I'm both dying to go home, and wishing I had more time here.

I found out yesterday that I didn't get the UNESCO internship in Paris for next year (merde!), but they might say "oui" for Katie---she is a finalist for the health internship! I'm so excited for her. She also has great pictures of the wedding we went to in Chittagong, so check out her blog (www.imkt.blogspot.com).

My new roomate Yacine moved in finally. He's really nice--Morroccan, now lives in France. Speaks Arabic, French, English, etc. Mild-mannered, tall, and extremely chivalrous. He keeps opening doors, carrying stuff for me, and offering to get me food. A feminist and an old-school gentleman under one roof? This is never gonna work.

I also strutted into a social gathering in my burqa last night. Friends seemed only mildly amused. I think the fact that I was wearing shorts under the burqa was more entertaining. One of the staff at the American club (Christian presumably) saw a picture of me in a burqa and went into this 6 minute rant about how silly the whole "purdah" concept was. He seemed disappointed that a nice Hindu gal like yours truly would "buy in" to all that. I tried to explain that it was for fun/research, but I just couldn't figure out how to say "just for kicks" in Bangla.

Anyway, should run. I have so much work to do this weekend. Sigh.

TKP