tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34309613.post8715470252874076748..comments2023-12-09T05:46:08.050-05:00Comments on Why Oh Why?: Notes On TravelingGavinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11529817984024909175noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34309613.post-41303636090238788962010-06-29T15:16:46.927-04:002010-06-29T15:16:46.927-04:00I FEEL YOU!
For one, the "identification&quo...I FEEL YOU!<br /><br />For one, the "identification" issue. More and more often, I'm asked by various "cops" (mall, campus, transit...not the actual police...) if they can, "see some identification". My answer? "Absolutely not." I don't know why I'm a target - because I dress a little eccentrically? Because I smoke cigarettes? Something about me has always been "just a little off" in the eyes of the majority of the general public - but why exactly do I need to "identify myself" constantly now? Are the words "bipolar queer" actually stamped on my head? In some kind of ink that is only visible to people who think that because they're wearing a uniform, they have the right to harass me? <br /><br />Second of all - in February my partner and I went to Peru. I was quite ill at the time and scheduled for surgery, but we thought some R&R in a beautiful place. Unfortunately, our hosts had different plans for us. We believed we would be staying at their home in Cusco. Instead, we were taken on a whirlwind tour of the worst spots in the country. Taking a flight over the Nazca lines made it worth it. A week into our journey, my partner had a feeling we should return home, but I thought it was just homesickness. When we took a domestic flight to Iquitos, the capital of sex tourism and exploitation, I started to fear that indeed, the situation was only growing worse. The next morning we woke up with e.coli poisoning. The others got over it in a day, but after three days of delirium, I ended up in a Peruvian hospital. It was rather unnerving to be hooked up to an I.V., not being able to speak the language, and thus not having any idea what was being pumped through my veins. :???:<br /><br />We caught the next flight back to Canada, somewhat miraculously, as our hosts had an altercation with the manager of the final hostel we stayed at, and took off without paying their bill, leaving us in the lurch. There is only one flight from Lima to Toronto per week! We're located in Vancouver, and also decided to take a trip to escape the horror of the 2010 Olympic Games.<br /><br />While we waited at the gate, we listened to others chatting about how much fun they had in Cusco. :lol: Since our flight was delayed until 3:40 am, this became a little tiresome. We were also rather peeved that we had been asked for "identification" at about seven checkpoints, each after which we had to pay "airport improvement fees". They grew more and more expensive each time. When we finally boarded the plane, the pilot announced the reason for the delay:<br /><br />"They had been refurbishing the runways."<br /><br />So that's where our money went! Sadly, the trip ended up making me much sicker, instead of being healing as I thought it would be. "Luckily", I had to have emergency surgery (endometriosis/ovarian cysts), so by the end of May I was back to myself again - originally the surgery had been scheduled for late-June. They also discovered a bowel impaction - whatever I was given in Peru did not flush the e.coli out, it made it stay in one spot, festering!<br /><br />We realized that our home would have been a better place for a vacation - we're both graduate students and the campus was shut down for the "Games". It actually took us a long time to recover from the trauma of being led on a wild goose chase by a friend we hadn't seen for several years.<br /><br />I'm sure your journey will be more pleasant than ours :)<br />Cheers!<br />scarsscarsarestorieshttp://www.practiceofmadness.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34309613.post-79062685393611595192010-06-28T10:21:22.629-04:002010-06-28T10:21:22.629-04:00Sounds like you had a nice weekend even if it didn...Sounds like you had a nice weekend even if it didn't end perfectly. Fell better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34309613.post-53704175814396906822010-06-27T23:37:01.138-04:002010-06-27T23:37:01.138-04:00I'm sorry that your kidney stone had to act up...I'm sorry that your kidney stone had to act up for this trip! :-( I miss have NYC close. Sending healing thoughts your way!ArichNYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194247769773468507noreply@blogger.com