These questions are from another friend:
1) With all the spicy food, are you having any, uh, issues...you know...gastrointestinally? Anything on fire? I'm sure your fans want to know this.
Everyone has asked me this. And based on how most people phrase their question, I suspect everyone wants me to say "Why yes, I HAVE had diarrhea, thanks for asking!"
As far as the eating part, I haven't eaten anything that was either too hot or too yucky to get down. I've had a couple things that just didn't please my tastebuds, and a few things that made my nose water, but that's it.
As for the rest of my food's journey... Yes, a few times I've had to hustle to the toilet with a little more urgency than usual. Fortunately, it hasn't been bad or interrupted my plans at all. I certainly haven't had to stay inside for a whole day, unlike some other travelers I've met on this trip. Here's to my cast-iron stomach!
Sort of related: I now know how to use these, but I don't like them:
2) Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place and people were sizing you up?
Only in Dar Es Salaam. It wasn't an overwhelming feeling that I was in the wrong place, but as I mentioned, it was vaguely shady. That's the only place I've been where I felt like I had to wear my money belt. I've worn it a few other places that were really crowded (pickpockets, you know), but Dar was the only place I felt like I had to guard my possessions.
Now that I think about it, I got one or two looks passing through some of the shantytowns in Ghana. But those didn't feel menacing, more like "crazy white lady -- what's she doing here?"
Mostly I've been surprised at how little people seem to notice me. Even when I was the only white person in a 10 mile radius and therefore REALLY stood out (all of Ghana, most of Sri Lanka), people rarely gave me a second glance. People noticed me in Cairo, probably from my uncovered hair and pale skin, but overwhelmingly it was "Where are your from? How to you like Egypt?" and wasn't hostile or chauvinistic.
3) What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
What do you mean? An African or European swallow?
1) With all the spicy food, are you having any, uh, issues...you know...gastrointestinally? Anything on fire? I'm sure your fans want to know this.
Everyone has asked me this. And based on how most people phrase their question, I suspect everyone wants me to say "Why yes, I HAVE had diarrhea, thanks for asking!"
As far as the eating part, I haven't eaten anything that was either too hot or too yucky to get down. I've had a couple things that just didn't please my tastebuds, and a few things that made my nose water, but that's it.
As for the rest of my food's journey... Yes, a few times I've had to hustle to the toilet with a little more urgency than usual. Fortunately, it hasn't been bad or interrupted my plans at all. I certainly haven't had to stay inside for a whole day, unlike some other travelers I've met on this trip. Here's to my cast-iron stomach!
Sort of related: I now know how to use these, but I don't like them:
2) Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place and people were sizing you up?
Only in Dar Es Salaam. It wasn't an overwhelming feeling that I was in the wrong place, but as I mentioned, it was vaguely shady. That's the only place I've been where I felt like I had to wear my money belt. I've worn it a few other places that were really crowded (pickpockets, you know), but Dar was the only place I felt like I had to guard my possessions.
Now that I think about it, I got one or two looks passing through some of the shantytowns in Ghana. But those didn't feel menacing, more like "crazy white lady -- what's she doing here?"
Mostly I've been surprised at how little people seem to notice me. Even when I was the only white person in a 10 mile radius and therefore REALLY stood out (all of Ghana, most of Sri Lanka), people rarely gave me a second glance. People noticed me in Cairo, probably from my uncovered hair and pale skin, but overwhelmingly it was "Where are your from? How to you like Egypt?" and wasn't hostile or chauvinistic.
3) What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
What do you mean? An African or European swallow?
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