Morocco is Absoutely Breathtaking , or i've just been diagnosed with Morocco-induced asthma

There is no doubt that in traveling around the world to learn about things, one will also learn a few things about him or herself.
I have had many moments of personal realizations here in Morocco, but none quite as interesting as the one I got a few days ago. I was sitting in a friends kitchen in a house in the old city of Fes, I could feel an allergic reaction coming on, but my friend kept insisting that I go to the roof for some fresh air. I finally gave in, and by the time I got up to the roof, I realized that i was gasping for air. It was a bit off-putting and when my chest was still feeling weird the next day, i decided to go see a doctor. Only it was Sunday, no doctors open.

So on Monday, it just so happens that I remember that I promised a friend of mine who is a receptionist at a doctors office that I would drop by to visit her before I left for my trip to Tanger. I spent that morning looking up asthma symptoms and after putting a lot of "2's" and "2's" together I looked back over my life and said, I have been standing at the brink of asthma for many years but living in Morocco for such an extended period of time has really brought it on.

So I go to visit my friend and ask her if there is any chance I could actually see the doctor and I tell her about my wheezing incident. After a 45 minute wait, I get in to see him, he checks my breathing, I breathe into some contraption( but not at a rate appropriate for my age), we discuss my medical history and he decides to try me on some asthma regulating and allergy medicine to see what happens.

Then he realizes that I am not Moroccan and starts talking to me about how he has been fortunate enough to visit America, mainly Orlando,Florida and Disney world. His wife has 3 brothers who live there. He said that he was very impressed by Disney world and if all of America is like that, then for sure it is a great place. I tell him no, all of American is not like it, and that's why people go there for vacation.

Anyway, I take my prescription , and although I am the queen of homeopathy, I go and purchase my two steroid based inhalers and real deal prescription drugs for allergies. I feel like a bit of a sell out , but i tell myself that as soon as I get back to the US , I will look into the alternative medicine way of dealing with this Morocco-induced asthma. An older woman at the pharmacy sees the medication I am buying and says to the pharmacist that I must be having trouble breathing, she recognizes one of the medicines because she takes it too. The pharmacist says yes and calls me "poor thing," then hands me the medicine and says a sort of a prayer for me that I will be okay.

You might be wondering what Imean by Morocco-induced asthma. Well, like i said , i realize in hindsight that I have been prone for developing asthma for a while, but living in Morocco means having to deal on a daily basis with certain things that I have noticed making my breathing more difficult such as:

unregulated exhaust from cars and buses ( really black, choke inducing stuff), second-hand cigarette smoke EVERYWHERE. You can smoke just about everywhere in Morocco that you can't in the States. Burning piles of trash - , yes, I have become accustomed to and can even name the smell of burning trash. This is how Moroccans dispose of their trash and the burning can take place anywhere, in a trash can, in a field, inside of a defunct water fountain. I actually walked past an active pile of burning trash on my way to the doctor. And now that Fes has really heated up, it seems as if the air with all it pollutants just doesn't move.

I looked up some info on line and apparently Morocco is classified as a country with an intermediate asthma burden ranging from 10 to 15%, with the symptoms having increased within the last 5 years.

As Moroccans say when they begin discussing their health issues, " I complain to God [only]." I have truly found this to be a beneficial learning experience, and a method by which I am forced to value every breath, not taking it for granted.

So , i found out on Monday I most likely have asthma, got my prescriptions filled, had my first inhaler puff in a taxi, then got on a train heading North to Asilah. It was a short ( I am already back in Fes), but aesthetically beautiful trip that i hope to tell you all about later GOd-willing - if I'm still breathing !

Peace