I am more tan now than I have been in I don't even know how long. Even last year, when biking outdoors for insane hours, I got patches of very tan - fingertips, calf & shin area, whatever was uncovered - but overall stayed my natural shade of pale. This is far more uniform, considering I am bron(er) most everyplace. Except for the racerback tank line on my back and the flip flop lines on my feet. Sigh. I expect it all to get worse, too. Not only am I entering Southeast Asia, and also (hopefully) some beach time, but all of my current tanning has been through a scrupulous application of SPF 50 spectra 3 uber-sunblock. I am about out. In Australia, all they have to replace with with is factor 30+. At least I have a base not to burn, though, right?
My back hurts. Most of the time. Thin hostel beds + no pillows are not good for a stomach sleeper like me, and I think not having anything to prop my leg on is slowly throwing my back out of alignment. Add carrying my pack, standing and walking for hours a day, and no yoga or stretching for a couple of months now, and my lower back complains a lot more than normal, and my neck cracks astoundingly loudly. As if I need another reason to feel ancient around all of the 19 year old British backpackers...
Evidently, I get hives in foreign countries. It happened twice in Argentina, and then again just last week. It's really awesome, to suddenly be covered in welts. And they itch, and they look like I have the plague on my arms. But I have Benadryl, and after a couple of nights (in which I sleep VERY soundly) dosing with that, they go away. But I guess I am allergic to...traveling? I don't even know.
My hair is so long. And I am not willing to shell out $90 for a haircut, or trust my hair to a Chinatown barber (considering the warnings I've gotten), it's just going to get a lot longer.
In general, any part of my body that requires a mirror to see does not get seen. This is weird, I know, but think about it. Hostel bathrooms are generally shower stalls, toilet stalls, and sinks, where the mirrors are. I get changed in the rooms or after my shower - no mirrors. Today, to check for bites on my back, involved strategy and planning to be in front of a mirror without a shirt on, as it does not happen organically. It's not unusual for me to get random bruises on my body, but now they can come and go without me ever noticing. I have a spectacular scratch on my back that I got three days ago, but only saw for the first time today. I don't even see my face as often as I am used to - a lot of the bathroom mirrors are small or oddly placed, so if you don't look on purpose, you don't see your reflection. I just see myself more at home - driving, at the bank teller, whenever I go to any restroom, around the house. I don't here. Which makes it way easier to not care that I have shaggy hair, hives, and have been rotating the same half dozen shirts for two months.
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