THIS BLOG IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED

OK, I am really going now. New blog is two peas, no pod . Hope to see you there.

Take them out!

OK, I am now officially over my tonsils and wish to have them removed from my throat as soon as possible. I was not coming down with Paul's cold last week, but rather with yet another dose of tonsillitis. I woke up on Friday morning with a painful throat and a growing suspicion that this was not just a brewing head cold. When I shined a headlamp down my throat my suspicions were confirmed. My tonsils were covered in absences and behind both of them where a number of rather large groups of white pussy sores (or whatever they were...).

Paul kindly went out to purchase me some amoxicillin - the antibiotic that I always take for tonsillitis... and I spend most of the next three days in bed. Boo hoo!

So now I am firmly committed to getting these things removed from my throat. I asked the doctor about it quite a while ago now. It was before I left for my longish overseas trip (the in-between Uni and work, before I ended up going back to Uni after work etc...). I told her that I had been getting tonsillitis around 3-4 times a year and that this was not only inconvenient and unpleasant, but that I was worried about getting it somewhere where it was difficult to get treatment etc... She told me that doctors didn't really recommend getting this done anymore, that taking antibiotics was a less invasive treatment and that I was unlikely to get it overseas because I wouldn't be stressed (I always got it around assessment or exam time).

Well, she wasn't quite right. I actually got tonsillitis (really badly) in Nepal and it didn't respond to their dodgy amoxicillin, but instead got worse. I then went to a doctor who prescribed a combination of penicillin and some other drug (after I refused that injection he wanted to give me out of fear of the needles in his clinic). Well I took this combination once before I went to bed, and 6 hours later as prescribed (around 1am), only to wake up around 5am with my skin burning. I went into the bathroom to discover to my horror that I had a bright red rash all over my body - including my face - that consisted of rather large raised red circles. It was distressing to say the least.

At first, I blamed the hotel bed - thinking that it had bugs or was washed in a detergent that I was allergic to - and moved hotels. Then I went to a pharmacy with my medicine packets to see if they could look up the side effects for me (which the doctor had kindly failed to mention). Well the other medication (I forget the name, which is silly) stated quite clearly "May cause rash", and indeed it had. I had that rash for the next 10 days - it was still fading when I got to Koh Chang and wanted to swim in the ocean!

Anyway, now I have it again, while overseas etc... although this time I didn't take the combination and didn't get a rash (thank goodness!), and this time I am just over it. No more! Once I get back to a place where there is some level of hygiene available in the hospital system, I am getting someone to cut them out.

Anyway. while I was in bed, Paul took advantage of his sudden captivity and our new broadband connection (dodgy as it has turned out to be), and started to set up a new blog for him and I - two peas, no pod. Since I thought that whining about my tonsils probably wasn't the best way to start a new blog, I thought that I would write about that here before making the switch. Now, of course, this blog will be left with a legacy of my ending on this whiny note, but what am I going to do?

English (and Lao) lessons

So I managed to solve the question of what on earth Nok can do with all her time here (and to give myself a whole new category of procrastination activities) by teaching Nok English in the afternoons. She started it, really, by sitting down with our phrase book and Lao-English dictionary when she had run out of things to do around the house on her first day. On Friday when this happened again, I offered to help and we ended up swapping pronounciation tips and going through the basics like "Hello, how are you?" "See you later" and the days of the week. She ended the day saying "See you Monday", which I thought was pretty impressive as I have yet to get that down in Lao and have been paying someone to teach me.

Over the weekend, Paul and I found some beginning English books in the morning market and Nok ploughed through the first 4 lessons on Monday afternoon - after greeting us with a "Hello, how are you?" in the morning. She also told me that she is 20 years old and has a 2 year old son. I can't imagine having had a child at 18, but I think that she was equally concerned that at 26 I still didn't have one. Like everyone else in Laos she asked me whether I had a baby, and suggested that now might be a good time to start getting on to that issue. Fair enough, I am a little 'over the hill' by Lao standards - and Paul, at 29 is really getting far too old!

Tonight Paul and I have our own lessons, in Lao. Our teacher, Pitsamai is fantastic, but I always feel exhausted afterwards and since I have come down with Paul's flu I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of our lesson. We are on to writing and reading Lao script and my head isn't really getting around it at all. I guess I did once got my head around Japanese script, so I should just plough on. I need a bit of Nok's determination. She is already writing in English and knows all the letters!

By the way, the reason I am finally posting again after my dial up disasters is that we finally got our 'wireless' broadband connection. The interesting part about it is that it is firmly 'wired' into our computer, so I am not sure what the 'wireless' part is supposed to describe. I am also not sure why I bought an airport card thingy to facilitate connection (at the internet company's request)! Oh well, it works and that is the main thing!

Maeban

While I was away our household increased in size and the kids across the road reported to their mother that it looked liked we could use a hand. So Joy (our neighbour) came over and suggested to Paul that we employ a Maeban (spelling?). Some negotiations ensured and he thought that they agreed to getting someone to come over once a week for US$60. Because all this took place in Lao, Paul then called his boss to do the translation. It turned out that Joy thought that they had agreed to getting someone over for 6 days a week (for the same price) - which is the norm here. So Paul negotiated again and (thought that he) agreed to having someone coming over 3 mornings a week for US$50 per month.

They decided that the new Maeban would start when I arrived (because I am home in the day and could let someone in etc...). So Wednesday came around and the gate bell rang at 8am. Paul and I rush out in our pyjamas (yes we were sleeping in) to greet Joy and Nok - who is littler than me and incredibly sweet! Some confusion ensured as we tried to communicate with our (extremely) limited Lao. Essentially they wanted to know where the cleaning products were and we could only present them with a broom, mop and ONE cloth.

Not long afterwards, Joy left and Nok started cleaning. At the same time Nat's friend Weena (a Quebecois girl that Nat met in Vietnam) came over to stay the night before heading back home via Hanoi. So I made Weena and I a coffee (Nok turned down my offer) and chatted to her about her trip while trying to work out how to feel OK about having someone clean around me. It was quite uncomfortable and weird.

At lunchtime, I went downstairs to see if Nok was going to go home. It turns out that she is actually here ALL day on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. In fact, I even had to tell her to go home at 5pm (she did at least go home for lunch). I have no idea what she will do with all that time!

Back in Vientiane

Back in Vientiane, this time until we both leave together next year. The weather is actually breezy and cool and I am feeling very lucky to be gazing out my window at the mango trees and coconut palms. We spent a long weekend in Bangkok and did some hardcore shopping. I don’t think that I have ever shopped so much in my entire life! It was quite exciting though, because everything in Thailand fits me – even the shoes! – unlike in Australia where the lowest size tends to fall off. I have been to Bangkok many times before, but never really during a time when shopping was appropriate. I was either backpacking or attending a conference, and the big malls seemed frivolous and uninteresting. However, this time, I came prepared to shop and surprised myself by enjoying the experience (by and large). Now, I think that I am done for another 5 to 10 years… I will get the rest of my clothes made here by the local tailors.
We flew home yesterday via Udon Thani – a town in Thailand near the Lao border – where we waited a couple of hours for some friends to fly in, so that we could catch a ride back to Lao in their borrowed car. While we were waiting, we were shocked by how many couples there were at the airport that comprised of Western men and Thai women. Some of these couples looked perfectly happy and unremarkable. However, lots of the Western men were a good 50 years older than their Thai wives. Quite a number were also extremely domineering – ordering their wives about as though they were small children or a junior employee – it was all a bit distressing.
I realise that there are plenty of happy couples where differences of age or cultural background are not an issue. However, I always find it a bit hard to imagine that this could be the case when a guy is several times older than his wife (I have yet to see this in the other direction). These women were younger than me, while the guys were older than my grandfathers. What does a 18-20 year old have in common with someone in their 70s or 80s? Interestingly, when our friends arrived, they said that they too had noticed this phenomenon in Udon Thani and speculated that it might have something to do with the fact that it was once used as a base during the American war in Vietnam (and Laos).
It was interesting driving across the border. The first time I came to Laos, I came across the Friendship Bridge, but I haven’t done so since. It is weird to realise how close Vientiane is to Thailand, when it really feels so cut off on a day-to-day level. Once we arrived home, we went straight to Vong’s – a restaurant around the corner, which is just excellent – and had his amazing Morning Glory with garlic (Pakbong in Lao, I think?). Time seemed to melt and I really felt as though I had never left.
I went out this afternoon to buy some food at the local market – just a baguette and some salad stuff – and my return caught the attention of the kids over the road who insisted on popping over for a visit. The four of them – a one-year-old, 8 year old, 10 year old and a teenage boy – piled into our living room and started to flick through the magazines before asking permission to turn on the television. Then they tried to chat to me in Lao, to which I generally had to reply “I don’t understand, sorry”, over and over again. After a while, they declared that they were hungry and set about trying to raid the kitchen. There isn’t a lot of food in our house, so I made them little sandwiches with the stuff I had just bought at the market. They also wanted some of the pepsi in the fridge, but I had to try to explain that it wasn’t mine to give… it was all a bit awkward. The teenager then set about washing the pile of dishes in our sink (apparently built up over the weekend by our housemates) and when he had finished asked again about the pepsi. Again I tried to explain that it wasn’t mine and this time they seemed to understand. Raid over, they then went home.

Extolling the virtues of Canberra

OK so I was unfair and unbalanced (a la Fox) it my last post and forgot to tell the other side of the story. Not only am I extremely happy to be heading to Vientiane to join Paul and live in beautiful Laos, but I am also happy about moving to Canberra next year. I have just spent the last few days staying with my Mum here and it has reminded me of many of the things that I love about Canberra.

First there is the sky - the enormous almost-always blue sky that dominates the landscape and makes me feel deeply relaxed and at home. I love Canberra's sky along with the four distinct seasons that it holds and the constantly changing trees it frames.

Second is family. With the exception of my Dad and Sarah (who I will miss badly), and a scattering of aunts, uncles and cousins in Sydney and Adelaide, almost all of my family and Paul's family are in Canberra - and that is a lot. We both have big families. While this is exhausting at Christmas (or when planning a wedding!) it is also a huge blessing and in Canberra we can spend more time with our family in that relaxing day-to-day sense, rather than doing the rushed weekend catch-ups that never really feel satisfying.

Next are my old haunts – my favourite Canberra places that I missed like an arm when I first moved to Sydney. Tilley’s sits at the top of that list, since I have been going there since before I could walk and have seen it grow from the size of a corridor to the mega-establishment that it is today – having taken over many surrounding shops, including the butcher (which, as a vegan, a certainly don’t miss). I also love Silo the bakery in Kingston, although Bourke Street Bakery has done a good job on convincing me that they are not the only people who know how to bake great bread.

I guess ultimately while Canberra is nowhere near as glamorous as Sydney and totally lacks the warm winter, beach and spectacular scenery, the quality of life in Canberra is better. It is just easier to live well here; there is more space, easier access to farmer’s markets and other people’s houses, and it feels more centered on people. However, while I just wanted to move back here when I first got to Sydney, now I am slightly torn between the two places. Sydney won me over, despite its traffic and harried atmosphere. I was lucky enough to enjoy the more people friendly layers and discover my own quiet spaces. So next year we move to Canberra, and then who knows… I haven’t really tried Melbourne yet.

One week!!!

In less than one week (well one hour less) I will be boarding a plane to Bangkok where Paul will be waiting. I cannot express how exciting that is! I am so over this whole separation thing - I do not rate it and never want to do it again.

In the meantime, life has been busy in the most mundane and annoying ways. I have moved out of our house, packed everything up, organised to store it, cleaned the house, cancelled utilities, paid up final bills, done our tax returns (including spending hours on the phone to the tax department convincing them that they had misinterpreted the Taxation Act - and finally succeeding), filling in security forms for Paul's new job (everywhere I have ever lived and traveled for the past 10 years - a book essentially!), blah blah blah. I have also tried to continue to do my research and get ethics approval for my fieldwork. All up, it hasn't been the best 5 weeks.

However, one thing that has been amazing lately has been Sydney's weather. It has been simply spectacular - day after day of blue sky and sunshine. It was almost as though it sensed that I was leaving and wanted to remind me of what I would be missing. And to tell you the truth, it really made me think about it.

So here is a list of some of things that I am going to miss about Sydney:
1. The beach - especially Coogee, Bronte and Balmoral
2. The weather (particularly warm winters)
3. The harbour
4. Crown Street
5. Bodhi - best vegan yum cha anywhere
6. Mint - best coffee (and incredibly friendly service)
7. The falafel balls from Zeno's - freshest I have ever tasted
8. The great Thai restaurants
9. My 30% discount at the Bookshop
10. My Dad & Sarah (should have put that higher up, I was distracted by food)
11. The black sesame soy ice cream from the green gourmet on King St
12. The secondhand bookshops on King St
13. The walks - coogee - bondi, spit bridge to manly...
14. Taking ferries anywhere
15. The abundance of public transport (even if it is unreliable)
16. My gym (mmm pilates and yoga)

OK that's enough. We can always move back, one day...

"China is our great friend"

So Mugabe's government is continuing to demolish the homes of thousands of Zimbabweans despite a UN report, which provided damning evidence to the Security Council that already over 700,000 people have been left homeless or jobless by "Operation Murambatsvina" (Shona for "Drive out rubbish").

Ms Tibaijuka's report said the forced evictions constituted "a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions", and demanded that "the culprits who have caused this man-made disaster be brought to book".

However, Mugabe apparently feels totally immune from international censure, believing (probably justifiably) that he will be protected by China's veto power. Yesterday in Beijing, he stated that "China will never allow that nonsense to happen. China is our great friend."

To make matters worse, South Africa is continuing to provide support for Mugabe, indicating yesterday that it may take over some of the Zimbabwe's foreign debt.

It certainly makes you despair at the effectiveness of the international system and the UN, when such a clear violation of human rights can be left unchallenged, just because China has an economic interest in maintaining a strong relationship with Mugabe. Rather than being a positive counter-weight to US unilateralism, China is emerging as something even worse again...

Why Mbeki?

So my optimism that the UN report might have an impact on Mbeki's stance towards Zimbabwe would now appear to be thoroughly misplaced. Instead, it would seem that he is not only going to turn a blind eye to the forcible and illegal eviction of 700,000 people, but also assist Mugabe by propping up his government. That is very sad.

China may also fill the remaining needs for Mugabe, as it yet again agrees to defend governments who abuse their own people in return for access to resources in Africa. As far as a countervailing weight to the US goes, China is a pretty crap one to say the least.

Update on Zimbabwe

As someone has kindly mentioned in the comments, things are just going from bad to worse in Zimbabwe. Yesterday, police illegally raided churches in Bulawayo and rounded up people who were sheltering in the church grounds (after having had their homes destroyed in Operation Murambatsvina). These poor harrassed people were loaded into trucks and driven to holding camps that are apparently unfit for human habitation. Can you imagine what that must feel like?

Also, I found an article detailing the ongoing harrassment that David Coltart has had to endure in Zimbabwe since he ran for government in 2000. I thought yesterday that he was very brave. Today I realise that this is a huge understatement. He has been called a terrorist by Mugabe on national television, threatens over and over again with arrest, his house has been searched, trumped up charges have been brought against him, several attempts have been made on his life, and, worst of all, the safety of his children has been compromised on numerous occassions. I cannot imagine how he gathers the courage and resolve to stay in the country - and I realise that this applies to countless other Zimbabweans, some of whom do not have the choice over whether to stay and some of whom have been forced to flee only to be deported back again by British authorities. Hopefully at least this policy will change in light of this latest display of complete indifferent to human rights and life by Mugabe.

By the way, here is a transcript of an interview that Mr Coltart did with Lateline yesterday - much of the information is the same as the briefing.