Eye Wide Shut

P- Good morning.

G- Morning.  Uh oh!  I can't open my eye.


P- What do you mean you can't open it?

G- Well, let me be more specific. MY LEFT EYE IS STILL CLOSED, EVEN THOUGH MY RIGHT ONE IS OPEN, AND IT APPEARS TO BE CRUSTED SHUT!!!

P- Let me see it. Oh my gawd! It is totally swollen and red!!! Stay there and I'll get a warm rag for you to wipe it.

G- Great! Aside from my morning mucus expulsion, I was starting to finally feel better.

P- Well, that makes me worried. Maybe you should take your antibiotic.

G- No. I only have one prescription and it's too soon in the trip to take it. Besides, I'm not running a fever and, based on the color of the mucus,  I don't have an infection.

P- Well, we need to go to a pharmacy to see what they suggest.

We ate breakfast and called, via Google phone, all of the nurses we know. Finally, we reached Phyl's Aunt Faye and Uncle George, the doctor, who deduced that my tear duct was clogged with mucus. Great! We went off in search of a pharmacy. Along the way, we passed a group of children hosting their own little parade. They played symbols, drums, and some kind of sticks. Two of the kids were dressed in a dragon costume. It was cute. Unfortunately, we never could get a clear answer about why they were doing it, but it had something to do with the Galungon celebration.

At the pharmacy we purchased a theraflu type tablet to break up my mucus and some eye drops. I always have to get the freaky things. We then went to the Bintang grocery to buy some cough drops and a washrag.



inside the Bintang Grocery

 P- No washrags. Maybe we should look in the baby department.

G- I don't see anything here that would work, besides bibs.

P- What about this one?

G- Too scratchy. I already look like cyclopse. I need something soft?

P- This one is soft and it has a cute little bear on it.

G- Alright. That one will do. I just need something to keep moist and use to wipe my eye.

P- And here's a little squirt bottle that you can use for a Neti Pot.

G- It was a big mistake not to bring my Neti Pot, but it was just to big and awkward. I think this will work and it's only 40 cents. Let's try it.

Just outside of the grocery, in the parking lot, was The Scooby Doo Burger & Hot Dog stand. It was most unusual; it was surrounded by a counter with soda shop stools and in the center was a BBQ grill. We decided to have a burger and were very excited that it did not come topped with a fried egg. We ate and watched the people come and go. At one point there was a major traffic jam and nothing was moving, not even the motorcycles. Horns were honking and the drivers were getting crazy. We paid and headed up the street, back to our hotel. As we walked, we had to dodge motorcycles that were driving on the sidewalk.

P- This is ridiculous!! Isn't this illegal?

G- Well, I'm kind've doubting it because they're passing cops and the cops don't seem to be the slightest bit alarmed.

P- (to a cop as we passed) This is crazy! They're on the sidewalk.

Cop – (smiling) Yes. Crazy.

G- Well, apparently it's not a problem for him that they're on the sidewalk because they're almost running over his feet and he's not doing anything to stop them.







Adiyanti





Back at the hotel Phyl put drops in my eye and Adi gave me hot water to disolve my antimucus tablet. Not too bad of a taste; it reminded me of lemon/lime Theraflu. Of course the walk had made us sweaty messes, so we jumped into the pool and floated for the remainder of the afternoon. We watched as new guests arrived, and we were soon joined in the pool by Mike and Hannah from New York. They were the first Americans we had met since leaving home, and they had already been to China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, & Malaysia. They were a wealth of information and we just enjoyed talking to other Americans. Their next stop was Australia.



Mike & Hannah













We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, Indonesian dishes: Nasi Goreng (fried rice with chicken and topped with a fried egg) and Sayur Hijau (green vegetable with prawns or chicken served with white rice). Both were quite tasty. I coughed myself to sleep as the new medicine began to break up my head and chest.