Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Day 69: Obsessive compulsive me

I'm not a pig at home, I like to keep things relatively clean and orderly, but I'm no clean freak either. Which is why I find it somewhat disconcerting that I wash my hands somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 times a day.

Every time you eat, every time you visit the bathroom, every time you exit the building, every time you grab a bottle of water, after taking a shower, before getting dressed, just prior to turning in for the night etc. etc. I'm on the verge of washing my hands before I wash my hands.

In the late 80s I had the opportunity to live in S. Korea of nearly two years. The Land of the Almost Perfect as I called it came with some challenges. Your system had to get used to the food and environment which, sometimes, meant feeling like shit for a while -- the Korean crud if you will.

Well, here in Afghanistan it's the same thing. Many of us have the remnants of colds or have the full blown deal. You're chewing on dirt, it's hot as hell and environmental "cleanliness" isn't the best as of yet. Call it the Afghanistan crud.

So, just as soon as I publish this post ... well ... I'll be washing my hands again.