Omar prepares for India, expects lice.
Excerpts from an email chain that were too good to keep within the confines of gmail.
Bender: I hear India is dirtier than china. I hope omar is bringing cipro, becuase I dont want to experiment with chinese drugs
Me:
Im pretty sure omar is bringing his own medicine cabinet / has injected himself with every vaccine known to man. on the other hand, aside from alissa recent bout with rabies, weve both been (knock on wood) fine, so as long as you dont drink water off the street you should be okay. Also I found a house boat with a hot tub!
Omar:
while geets has spent more time in the subcontinent than i have, she has no problem living the third world life. i on the other hand prefer to take a decidedly more sanitary approach. my guide to south asia begins with:
* don’t drink the water unless it’s bottled and the bottle was clearly sealed. don’t feel bad about sending the bottle back if it looks like the seal as broken. in fact don’t feel bad about doing that with anything - the worst that happens is they spit in your food, which probably makes it more sanitary.
* don’t put ice in your drinks.
* fruit with skin is your friend. don’t eat the skin.
* poo and pee whenever you find a clean western toilet. it might be your last.
* cipro is always appropriate - 1/2 a pill a day will do
*trim your nails regularly if you are wearing sandals - you don’t want to get a staph infection
*leave your deodorant at home. you’d probably rather smell your own BO than that of the man’s next to you.
and really? a hot tub on a boat in india? i might as well just bathe directly in another man’s urine.
Me:so while omar makes some points, don’t let him worry you too much. I mean, he was maybe scared of muggings…in scotland. you know as well as me that omar is 75% a 75 year old man. the reamining 25 percent is about 10 years old. (see “poo and pee”)
also omar just notified me that he is planning on wearing hte following outfit:
1) shalwar
2) kurtha
3) this hat:http://www.rei.com/product/766021Omar:
please. i will look just like a native (circa 1960). my grandfather, the joint chief of staff for pakistan’s communication department pre-zulfiqar-bhutto and the secretary to the chief of communication in pre-revolution india wore a safari hat, and a white shalwar/kurta to work. therefore, my clothing will be appropriate.
i will also be wearing these: http://www.blublocker.com/prodinfo.asp?number=2701K
also, don’t take advice on what to worry about and what not to worry about from the girl whose roommate has rabies. geets probably gave her roommate the same advice she’s giving you - “don’t be scared of random stuff, that’s for old people. omar was scared of getting mugged by hooligans in scotland. that’s ridiculous! hooligans in scotland never hurt anyone!”i guarantee if you follow my rules you will not have rabies.
new rules:
animal bites/scratches/wounds demand immediate hospital attention.
if you come into close contact with an animal or poor person - expect lice.
Ordinarily I agree with Geets - Omar is a hypochondriac (freshman year he got elbowed in the face playing basketball and he literally thought his face was falling off, and complained of numbness for weeks) - but the more I think about it (and recall my own bouts with typhoid, meningitis, malaria, etc in India), I realize I’m firmly in Omar’s camp when it comes to third world caution. Follow Omar’s rules and you’ll be fine. And really, India actually has pretty decent health care, and worst case, Rajeev, Siv, Srini, and I have some pretty rock-solid medical connections in Andhra at least.
