Wasting away in margaritaville
Trip Start
May 09, 2005
1
17
53
Trip End
Aug 01, 2005
Dahab,
Egypt
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
I also saw my first locust yesterday. Back in December I believe it was, the entire Middle East was devastated by the locust--lovely pink ones in fact. These that I saw were yellow and they are freaking huge!! I don't believe we're having an invasion and they were just isolated little guys come to pay a visit.
Another new experience was the Dahab hospital. I got to see the hosptial in Honduras once and this was pretty much the same: no windows, flies zooming around, stray cats lounging in the hallways, no hi-tech equipment to be seen anywhere, etc. Luckily, no examination was needed and I simply needed a prescription. Again, I had to put all of my trust out there to receive the proper medication for my ailment. I had to go to several doctors as the first one recommended to me was shot down by Anwar. You see, about a year ago an 18 year old Swiss girl was on her first day of vacation here in Dahab. She was out swimming and noticed a fin in the water. Thinking it was a lovely dolphin she swam over to pet it. Well, unfortunately, it was a shark. It was learned later that the shark had a baby with her and was simply protecting her young. In doing so, she bit off the girl's hand. She was rushed to the Dahab hospital where it was determined they did not have the faciilities to treat her. She was then sent by ambulance an hour away to Sharm El-Sheikh. In true Dahab style, the ambulance ran out of petrol 1/2 way there. Once the young lady arrived to Sharm, gangreen (sp?) had set in and her entire arm had to be amputated. Well, the original doctor I was sent to here was the doctor who had attempted to treat the girl here in Dahab and because of the final outcome, Anwar did not see this man in the best light. I tried to explain that I had not, in fact, had my hand bitten off and that I am sure it was fine to see him. In the end, I let him take me to another doctor who he assured me spoke perfect English (which he did). Regardless, it is always rather unnerving to have to seek medical attention in a fairly undeveloped country. But the positive is that you can buy just about any drug you need over the counter and it is dirt cheap.
My other qualm about Dahab (and Egypt in general) is the trash everywhere. This is a symptom, unfortunately, of most poor countries. In fact, it's a problem even in America--but I'd argue not even close to the same degree. The only thing recycled here are the glass bottles that cola still come in-as these are re-used. But water is drunk here in massive amounts and the plastic bottles line the roads and desert and even the beaches sometimes. I've asked several people if there are recylcing plants in Cairo for plastic and paper and the like and no one seems to think so. It is so frustrating for me to see the green dumpsters that are strewn about in Dahab and are left unlocked. Believe it or not, the goats do not receive regular feed--their food is what they forage for in the dumpsters! These animals rip through the dumpsters and further add to the trash that is strewn about. I spoke to day with a guy about how the trash is destroying the coral reef here in Dahab. In the past, the Egyptian government has stepped in to protect its tourism industry as it is its bloodline. Without tourism (and, er, the massive aid from the US), Egypt would probably not prosper. It is my hope that they will realize the potential loss of tourist dollars should the reef be further destroyed...and that they will attempt to do something about it. I have gone over and over in my had a plan--a campaign to clean up places like Dahab. But of course these things cost lots of money. If I were one of those real 'go-getters' I'd start my own NGO or non-profit and do something about it. But inshallah, the tourism industry can have a positive effect in regards to how the garbage issue is dealt with in the future.
Ok, enough of that. I'm slowly but surely working on the finding a job thing. I learned that in the local school here that the children are hit and aren't really learning much of anything. It'd be nice to think I could go in there and make a difference and teach the kids some things, but I don't know that I could deal with seeing the children physically hit by the teachers. It's been suggested that the nicer hotels i.e. Hilton are in need of English speakers to do "guest relations." It's not ideal but pays well. In any case, I know something will come about soon enough. And it needs to because my workaholic tendencies are beginning to get the better of me and I need to feel a bit more productive around here. Although, I did learn how to play Egyptian dominos last night...so I guess that's productive, right?
PS. Promise to get those pix up soon. I've run out of storage space on this website and need to buy more space in order to put up pix.
