It's Alive...

Wow. with all the excitement of being sick last week i forgot a wonderful little adventure that must be shared.

It all began innocently enough one fine day shortly after I fell ill. I happened to notice a blister on my foot. because it didn't hurt and I had more pressing things to worry about like whether or not I was going to throw up soon I ignored it. All continued pleasantly and on Thursday after work i began to wonder if my "blister" might be something a little more sinister. it had changed hardly at all in the last few days. it was small and hard with a little black spot in the middle.

Hoping to confirm or deny my suspicious once and for all I went and found some Karamojan workers. I then sought their counsel and experience as to whether my blister were in fact only a blister or, in fact a jigger. My worst inklings were confirmed when the Karamojans promptly left and return with a thorn. then they briskly and skillfully dug out of my foot a small worm like little creatter and its eggs. It looked remarkably like a booger covered in tiny pieces of rice.

I think this story shows along with the one of many uses for thorn trees beside falling into them is how i have come to embrace Africa and it, in its own special way, has come to embrace me.

Why African Eggs Stink

August 20^th-21^st: Thursday-Friday

Thursday morning Bob, James, Bobby, and I went over to the Okkens because they jad two trees blown over in the storm last night. One was almost completely fallen except for the trunk and one branch. The other was a eucalyptus tree and about haif of that one had fallen. Bob had two saws, one battery powered and the other electric so we used those to cut everything up and decided to finish cutting down the little tree because is was termite eaten anyway. That was really fun although a lot of work and kinda sad that we had to cut down the trees. We also fixed the fence that the little tree crushed when it fell. That afternoon we cleaned out another shipping container that we’ll move over by the workshop so there’ll be four. Friday then we moved the container. Bob and Craig jacked it up and slid an axel underneath and then pulled it over with the Kubota. Then Moses and I moved all the metal tubing, corner iron, and miselaneous metal from the top of the old shipping container into the inside of the newly moved container. A lot of work but worth it now that everything is organized and looks good. Friday I watched Bob take apart a generator which was cool because he let me ask questions and learn from him.

Thursday James, the Tricaricos and I went over to the Okkens’ for dinner. Sunshine made stroganoff which was amazing. Served on mashed potatoes. I ate quite a bit although still not up to my usual amount. After dinner I sat on the couch and played with the kids. Very fun. These little guys are hilarious. Megan who is three or four I think has a speech problem. She tends to leave out her consonants so she’ll only say the vowels in words. “how are you” becomes something like “ow a oo?”. It reminds of that scene in Finding Nemo when the little baby turtle is explaing to Nemo’s Dad how to exit from the WAC and Marlin says to the blue fish “It’s like he’s trying to talk to me” then to the turtle “Your so cute but I can’t understand you!”. That’s the way I feel around Megan.

Friday after work Jim and I dinner. Jim had made coffee cake the day before and we fried up some carrots and onions along with eggs. Jim managed to make me an egg over easy with a runny yoke which has proven to be pretty much impossible here. I don’t know what the deal is with the eggs here but they all have weak yokes. Its nearly impossible though to cook an egg with a runny yokes because the eggs yokes either commit a kind of egg suicide and break themselves or they just cook through for no apparent reason. I miss American eggs.

I'm Still Sick With No Malaria

August 17^th-19^th: Monday-Wednesday

Work these last few days has been a little rough. I’m still not feeling 100%. I’m rather weak and haven’t gotten my appetite back fully. However I’m not sick enough to sit around so I go to work everyday which has been good and I enjoy it. I had a slight fever after work on Monday but mainly I have been feeling much better. Slight headaches and sore throats in the morning but they generally dissipate before noon.

Kris was very sick so Craig and she didn’t take Mark, Kim, and Johan down to Entebbe. Pastor Dave took them down on Monday but Craig and Kris left Tuesday because Kris needed to do some things in Kampala and was greatly improved. So I mainly worked with Bob the last three days. Switched out the starter in his truck. Unloaded his container from America and then moved it up on the slab by the workshop, painted it white, and reloaded it. Also I have been doing math with Bobby and Anna this week. Wednesday Jim was worried that I wasn’t improving fast enough and had me come down to the clinic and get my blood drawn and checked for malaria again. No malaria. Yeah.

Wednesday hosted the second or third fiercest storm since I’ve been here. It rained incredibly hard for about an hour. Amazing flash lightening. It was just like someone was flipping on and off a light switch in the sky. That night Jim, James, and I watched Enemy at the Gates which is about a Russian sniper during the Second World War It’s a really cool movie.

I'm Still Sick With No Malaria

August 17^th-19^th: Monday-Wednesday

Work these last few days has been a little rough. I’m still not feeling 100%. I’m rather weak and haven’t gotten my appetite back fully. However I’m not sick enough to sit around so I go to work everyday which has been good and I enjoy it. I had a slight fever after work on Monday but mainly I have been feeling much better. Slight headaches and sore throats in the morning but they generally dissipate before noon.

Kris was very sick so Craig and she didn’t take Mark, Kim, and Johan down to Entebbe. Pastor Dave took them down on Monday but Craig and Kris left Tuesday because Kris needed to do some things in Kampala and was greatly improved. So I mainly worked with Bob the last three days. Switched out the starter in his truck. Unloaded his container from America and then moved it up on the slab by the workshop, painted it white, and reloaded it. Also I have been doing math with Bobby and Anna this week. Wednesday Jim was worried that I wasn’t improving fast enough and had me come down to the clinic and get my blood drawn and checked for malaria again. No malaria. Yeah.

Wednesday hosted the second or third fiercest storm since I’ve been here. It rained incredibly hard for about an hour. Amazing flash lightening. It was just like someone was flipping on and off a light switch in the sky. That night Jim, James, and I watched Enemy at the Gates which is about a Russian sniper during the Second World War It’s a really cool movie.

In Which I Am Still Sick And More People Get To Enjoy Being Sick

August 15^th-16^th: Saturday and Sunday

Saturday we went to Namurapus to do vaccinations and preventative medicine again. Mark, Maria, and Johan came as well as JB, Mark, and Moses the new lab tech. Although we didn’t see as many people as before we saw quite a few. 80 total; 60 kids and 20 women. There was a group of elders there from villages farther up in the mountains who wanted Jim to come to their villages again on Monday. They said I think, “come shoot our villages”. Jim had to say he couldn’t but they could come down here next time and bring their people.

Maria also came and she and I were in charge of weighing the babies and performed the MUAC test. We almost dropped a little kid out of the weighing harness. It’s just like a little bag with leg holes and you have to be sure to put one of their arms behind one of the straps so their balanced. We forgot and this poor kid almost fell out. Luckily Maria and his Dad caught him hanging upside down, naked. All the kids have to be naked so we get an accurate reading. They tend to pee on people. Whether this is out of fear or spite I don’t know.

After we finished we hiked down to Namalu and ate lunch there. About a half hour from Namalu it started to rain a little bit. Then a little bit more. This pattern continued until it was indiscernible and I was soaked through and miserable. For lunch we ate beans, rice, goat meat, and pocho. Pocho is strange but imagine a lump of cuscus and that is pocho. It all was very good helped by the long hike. We caught a ride home with Pastor Dave and Caleb who were in town doing business and stuff. Caleb kept everybody entertained on the way back.

After we got back I showered quickly and then helped Maria make Nan for community dinner that night. James was just bouncing off the walls. Completely loony. I had to go to bed at 8:00 I was so tired. Still don’t have my full appetite back yet. Felt a little nasty as I went to bed and just completely wiped.

Sunday morning Pastor Al and Kris were very sick. Pastor Al more so. He has a really high fever. All afternoon I hung out with the Tricarico and the Wright kids. At prayers that afternoon Caleb sat with me which was fun. He’s a hilarious kid. I’ll really miss him and his family. When I get back from Tanzania they will be on furlough.

That evening I made shortbread cookies with frosting. The frosted was teal colored according to the instructions on the back of the Betty Crocker’s food coloring. That evening all the kids and Johan and I watched the Wright’s home videos and then I Robot. The Wright’s videos are absolutely hilarious and very funny. They were all really funny kids. Bobby is my favorite. He had the best lines. During one part he had a folding chair wrapped around him and he was talking to his mom telling her it was his armor and then later you can see him running against the wall in the background.

In Which I Am Sick

August 10^th-14^th Monday-Friday

I’m sick. It sucks being sick without my mom. Its interesting that sickness, at least for me, follows a pattern. The first day I wake up and am feeling sick is generally bummer but also I’m kinda happy because then I can just go back to bed and I don’t have to face the world until tomorrow at the soonest. After that there’s the time where you are still tired but you can sleep for only so many hours during a day you watch movies and pass the time reading. Then comes the part were being sick is a prison sentence and you just want to get out and go back to your life. Finally there is the part were you are back at your life and you still feel kinda lousy and your always tired and grumpy. Bletch

Monday was the first stage. I woke up feeling pretty bad and went down with Jim to get tested for Malaria. Negative test. So I went back and slept for three hours. Then I decided to skip to step four and get back to my life and work that afternoon which left me completely exhausted. Dead on my feet. Tuesday a return to step one and then a progression to step two when I went to Jim’s room and watched We Were Soldiers. Slept that afternoon which is kinda a half step backward. But that afternoon I had trace feelings of step three; the desire to return to normal life. Wednesday mainly step two but also with overplaying feelings of step three combined with exhaustion generally associated with step one. Thursday and Friday marked return to life and work and the completion of the steps by finally and firmly arriving at step four; sub par is the overwhelming feeling here.

Some brief highlights of my wonder week of being sick

-Monday morning: Jim is trying to examine me and neither of us can stop laughing long enough for him to check my heart beat.

-Monday night: Guys night! Beer, chips, and chocolate. Had a new beer, Tusker, really good.

-Tuesday afternoonish: watched We Were Soldiers which I had never seen and thought it was pretty good.

-Tuesday night: Ate at the Tricarico’s and ate some delicious pasta, with sausage, and garlic bread.

-Wednesday morning: I went and got tested for malaria again. Yippee for me, negative again. I wish it was just malaria then I could get on the pills and be over it in two days.

-Wednesday morning:(later) Kris gives me an unidentified packet of Arab Cup o’Soup. Consists mainly of curry flavored broth and little crunchy things and weird noodles.

-Wednesday day: I sweat and stink, unpleasant being me. Losing hope.

-Wednesday afternoon: got on face book and made contact with the outside world. Faith restored. Life worth continuing.

-Thursday Day:(sunlit hours)worked. Felt sup par. Tired. Stupor. Exhausted. Joyless. Meandering. Long. Bletch.

-Thursday Night:(part without sun)Kris made an amazing dinner and dessert. Pineapple and blueberry thing. I think I need to become nocturnal because the nights are much better than the days.

-Friday morning: theory of sunlit hours are bad continues.

-Friday afternoon: have to rethink theory. Took a lovely nap. Then I made really yummy crackers, frosting, and shortbread dough.

-Friday evening: Johan provided dinner for all the clinic workers because he leaves on Monday. Lots of fun and good food.

Friday night: night is still better. Baked shortbread cookies. Frosted them. Super yummy.

Well I hoped you enjoyed this post and now feel sufficiently sorry for me. To make it up you can mail me care packages. Thanks

Another Sunday

August 9^th Sunday

Uncovered sorghum this morning when I woke up. Then I ate some toast for breakfast and that didn’t settle very well but I just shrugged it off as nothing. Little did I know. Church was really good I sat with Jim and I bunch of the clinic workers who have been coming regularly which is really cool to see.

At lunch we invited over a couple of guys. David, who is at university and is from Namalu. This was his last week because he’s going back to school this week. Also had a guy named Hilary over. He said his name and I had to work very hard at keeping a strait face. There are a lot of Karamojan here with guys/girls names innappropriatley given. This Hilary guy is an absolute riot. He described Bob Wright as “The man with his great stone house. He comes with his chest and his legs.” He really loves to ride his pickeys (motorcycles) and he was talking though about how in America the cowboys ride the motorcycles like this, and at this point he leans way back in his chair and puts his hands over his head on invisible handlebars. He thought that was pretty silly. He likes to be crouched down looking where he is going. He described the cowboys clothing as “leather jackets with the things hanging down on the sleeves and the boots with pointy shoes and the cloth on the head. Oh man.

I didn’t eat much at lunch and I was really tired so I went and napped a little that afternoon. After prayers Jim and I went on a walk and had a really good talk but I was really feeling lousy at that point. Ugh. Hung out at the Wrights and and then finished the Dark Night and then got on the computer tell late.