Exotic and Exciting? No?

Alright, alright, yes. I have malaria. But everyone can stop worrying about it. Although it’s scary and exotic at home, it’s rather run-of-the mill here. I’m on meds, I feel pretty damn good too. I literally haven’t thrown up in days and days! Fever? Nope! Migranes? Nope! Aches and pains? Dizziness? Nope! Nope! Nope! Remember this? Yeah… well they kept making me get wicked sunburns. I thought slim chance of Malaria, or definite melanoma? Whelp, guess I lost that bet.
My only knowledge of malaria previous to coming to Yemen had come from popular archaeological fiction. Namely it involved a remote bedouin oasis, and a master criminal swooning gracefully whilst a chaste maiden dabbed at his feverish, perspiring brow... not quite my experience.

All is well here

I am safe, happy, having a good experience I have only felt unsafe one singular time and it was entirely Matt’s fault, not Yemen or Al Qaeda’s. Oh and also that time that we became an American Embassy Security threat…
My last night in Sana’a Matt wanted to go up to the mountain side and smoke shisha while appreciating the scenic beauty. He claimed he knew exactly where we were going, and I acquiesced to his superior familiarity with the Sana’anee countryside.
But as we continued mile after mile up a dark, windy, unlit, unpopulated, barely perceptible track of dirt road, it became clear that if ever I was to be kidnapped it would happen in exactly a situation such as this. Later we made contingency plans for our actions if ever we get in actual trouble- it’s a pretty smooth plan involving effusive praise of Yemen, hugs, and incessant jabbering away in Spanish. It’ll totally work. Luckily I already know what to do if I get ALL of my shit stolen again.
But other than that I feel quite safe and contented.

And this week I got my residency and work permits AND my passport! I'm legal again!

Malaria be damned!

I finally got my prescription for malaria. I will, at least initially, be living in Aden, Yemen’s second largest city, on the coast. The weather is exceedingly hot and muggy and a veritable breeding ground for mosquitoes and pestilence! You don’t need to take malaria meds in Sana’a or any place above 2,000 feet which, Aden is not. The pharmacist carefully explained the side effects and procedures for taking my meds- small concern being stated because of the extended duration I will be needing the medicine- and then proceeded to hand me the bottles. Yes plural. BottleS. Oh shit. I have gone ahead and put a normal size prescription bottle into the picture for size comparison. I’ve never seen anything like it. The pills are however, a very unusual shade of cerulean blue that I find quite becoming.