Meeting and then delirium – a lost day (7/16)

This morning I woke up feeling a sharp pain in my abdomen. Not a good omen. Then, Zach gave me no warning that he was heading to the Hideaway to meet Bill Aalbersberg (the professor we’re working with from USP). I was a little irked at his lack of consideration to at least give me some time to brush my teeth. So, I told him to go ahead and I might try to meet him up there.

I decided I didn’t feel like making the trek to the resort, so instead I started washing my laundry in the sink. As I was just about to finish up with a pair of my unmentionables, Bear, on of Jim’s sons came to the back door. He let himself in, as is the custom here, and started chatting. I didn’t want to finish washing my delicates in front of him, so I just sat and talked. I began to feel a little uncomfortable. Bear is really nice, but also kind of aggressive. He saw a yoga vinyasa that I’ve printed out to do in the mornings. I explained what yoga is and he said, “oh, that must be why you look so good.” And followed by saying, “you must be really good in bed.” Uh, what? Who says that to someone they don’t know? Fortunately, someone knocked on the door. Bear got really agitated. It was his father, Ratu Jim. I could sense that Jim did not approve. He kept asking me where Zach was. Damn it. How in the hell do I get myself in situations like this?

But, it all worked out. Jim decided that I needed to go with him to the meeting at Hideaway (where Bill was). I relented, and on the way he warned me to be careful of Bear, the “black sheep” of the family. I think Bear is a good guy, I just need to be cautious around him. Fijian ways are different.
Unfortunately, I got stuck sitting in meetings for several hours, and the pains in my abdomen were getting worse. Jim decided that I should eat lunch with him at Hideaway. Ugh. Food was NOT appealing, but you DON’T say NO to the Chief. So, I ate… painfully.

When I got back to the lodge, I told Zach that I wanted to lie down for a little while before heading out to the reef. He was supposed to wake me up after a 30-minute nap. When he came in to give me my wake up call, I asked him to feel my forehead. I was burning up. I had a fever, and later vomited relentlessly for several hours. It was all great fun. Actually from 2pm on, the day was a feverish blur. It was actually quite horrible, as you can imagine. I thought for sure I was going to die. I think my ailment was due to swallowing a huge gulp of seawater the previous day. I was snorkeling in a high run-off area (so lots of nutrients and accompanying algae and bacteria). The run-off was also most likely from a nearby pig farm. Gross.

When I was finally able to move (~3 am), I stumbled my way out of bed and groggily headed to the bathroom. In half a daze, I turned the light on in the kitchen only to be greeted by a terrified rat. He leapt of the food shelf and I leapt out of the kitchen. When I composed myself, I headed back into the kitchen to look for the extra tenant. I didn’t see him, so I assumed he’d made his escape to the attic or the great outdoors. I warily made my way to the bathroom, which has no light, so at night I leave the door open so I can see. Just as I had relaxed enough to pee, Mr. Rat came hauling ass into the bathroom. I hauled ass OUT of the bathroom with my pants down around my ankles. I screamed loud enough to wake the dead, but not Zach. Anyway, I guess I didn’t break his back that first night. That’s good. But, Mr. Rat and I need to come to an understanding of who gets to be in the bathroom and when. I’ll take care of that tomorrow.