Sylvia's Journal

Exactly one week after I was miserable and sick in Tana, last Saturday, I was again miserable and sick in Tana this Saturday. I had been able to do my work all through the week, ins spite of constant coughing and blowing my nose. I thought I had recovered and looked forward to a productive weekend with some fun social diversions. The antibiotics appeared to have killed the bacteria but now I think it’s a virus that is responsible for my upper respiratory misery as the new course of antibiotics seems without effect.

I had to cancel two social engagements: lunch with a friend of our neighbor from across Lobster Cove and the other a late afternoon barbecue at the house of our chief of party. Ughhh, I am so annoyed. I go from wanting to scream and breaking something to curling up in a ball and pitying myself.

I went out for lunch, a 40 meter walk outside the hotel. I was exhausted from the outing. I went back and took a nap and then got myself another massage in a different place, and a pedicure. Walking back I was exhausted from all the activity. I ate the remainder of my lunch, limp cold fries and the other half of an Italian Panini. I was too tired to go to the restaurant and eat there. Besides, I have now tried everything on the menu and it gets a bit boring. There are also some German guests, stuck because of the Air France strike> Once they discovered I was from Holland, they insisted on speaking German with me. This is a problem since I haven’t spoken German in decades. I can’t remember much of the complex grammar that one needs in order to make sentences.

The Air France strike, which I thought I’d miss, has now been extended to include my return date. I sent out an urgent message to our travel agent and hope she can re-route me. I am dreading the return trip but since I seem to be particularly allergic to Air France, the re-routing may be a blessing in disguise.

I have a long list of to-do’s on my hotel desk and had hoped to make a good dent in it. The priority is preparing next week, so we can finalize another workshop on Monday and be ready to pull it off Tuesday and Wednesday. Although I did make some progress, with difficulty, and am not as far along as I had hoped.  It is 7:30 PM and I am going to bed now, hoping that tomorrow I can take on the world again.