the way things are.: مستشفى يمني (Yemeni Hospital)

If some of you had not already heard, I had the pleasure of getting a nasty little bacterial infection I could not shake this week. After a few days of throwing up etc. the stomach cramps and dehydration was becoming a bit too much for me to handle, so I visited the Science and Technology University Hospital ER. Much to my surprise, the hospital was pretty amazing-- everything seemed very up-to-date and the staff was very professional. But, I was very happy to have known Arabic as the majority of the staff only knew medical related English. And the whole trip, iv, meds, dr.'s visit and all--$30!

I was given an IV for fluid and nausea medication, given about 3 prescriptions (antibiotics, and meds for before and after meals) and assured by all of the doctors, nurses and fellow students that pretty much everyone gets sick sometime while they are in Yemen and that it was 'just my time.' Alhumdulilah that's over.

But in all reality, the sanitation and water situation here is dire. As the poorest country in the Middle East (BBC), it has become almost impossible for them to deal with the water shortage and quality (even the Yemenis drink only bottled water!). Infrastruture is lacking big time, water is usually delivered by a large tanker truck to each facility individually. It is also estimated that "Total water demand of 3,400 Million cubic meters (MCM)/year exceeds renewable resources of 2,500 MCM/year, thus leading to a steady decline in groundwater levels, varying between 1 m per year in the Tuban-Abyan area and 6-8 m per year in the Sana’a basin," as reported by the World Bank. This means that literally running out of water is in the foreseeable future. The lack of infrastructure and inability to provide for the rapidly growing population can also be seen in the widespread power-outages that usually happen multiple times a day for up to two hours at a time. Also important to note, The World Bank predicts that Yemen's oil and gas revenues will plummet and fall to zero by 2017 as supplies are depleted.

Enough on that for today! Moving on! I began classes this week, I am sitting in on a class on the politics and future of Yemen with Professor Robert D. Burrowes (University of Washington) that seems promising and a private Arabic class with a Yemini Professor named Nabil who is absolutely amazing! I have also received a language partner named Karima (a native Yemini girl about my age) who I will chat with once a week. Besides all of this 'formal' education I have become pretty good friends with the guards (as have most of the students) and they love chatting with us and also I have made friends with one of the local scarf shop owners and I go and sit and have tea with him in his shop and chat. I'm learning so much more than I ever could have imagined and FINALLY got over being too nervous to talk, now it just comes out whether or not I really know what I am talking about. The light bulb has arrived!

This weekend we are taking a trip!! I will tell you about it soon/take lots of pictures!! Don't worry.