New Year's Fever!

What's covered with white spots and red all over?
Me!
Fresh back from my fourth visit to the doctors here in Surat Thani (who have to date prescribed me with five tubes of cream. three powders for digestions, two sets of antibiotics, and an arsenal of other pills that have yet to be fully explained to me) I have an official diagnosis. Dengue Fever.
"What's Dengue Fever?" you might ask. Well, to contract this special Oregon Trail-esque disease (right up there with cholera, the pox, and scarlet fever.....sadly, I have actually had scarlet fever too) you get bit by an infected mosquito and get really sick (nausea, high fever, diarrhea, sweats, chills, loss of weight) culminating in an itchy red rash with white spots all over your body. It's also called the "bone-break" disease (sounds like a WWF move) since you have great pain in your bones and joints. Imagine a really bad fever where you feel delusional and when you walk you feel like your legs are going to snap in two with each step. That's been the holiday season here for me over the past week! 2009! Wooohooo!

Low points included trying to teach last week one day with full blown 102 degree temperature and then getting hit by a tuk tuk on the bike ride home from school. Luckily the tuk tuk only grazed me and I was fine albeit delusional to the point where I caught up to the tuk tuk on my bike and tried to explain to him, close to tears from feeling so miserable, how it was "not OK to hit bicyclists in the bike lane just because you want to get in front of one car". All this was said in broken Thai and English which probably came across as "No. Hit. I die. Very sad. Understand?"
As I am recovering I am covered in spots giving me the youthful glow of an Oompha Loompha with acne. Hopefully the rash and fever are on their way out so I can write about more adventures soon. While you're waiting, check out the Cambodian infused psychedelic rock band "Dengue Fever" from LA. We saw them at the Eugene Celebration a few years ago and danced. We figure this is the disease coming back to get us for mockingly dancing to a band of its name 3 years ago. Curse you dancing fever!