I have come
to realize that so much of what we do in America is to prevent ourselves from
getting sick.
The way we
cook, wash, clean…isn’t the point to not get sick?
Yet, out
here, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the same standards of cleanliness
as I do back home. Germs and bugs are everywhere! To make it worse, my super
clean lifestyle in America has probably weakened my immune system for this
environment; making me susceptible to just about anything.
If I swallow
even a gulp of un-boiled, un-treated water I guarantee I will feel the
consequences within 12 hours. I feel like I’m constantly at war with mold and
bacteria here. I have a fridge that was very generously donated to me. If power
does not go away for longer than 24 hours, the fridge is a great resource.
Unfortunately, if we go beyond that 24 hour mark, the ice begins to precipitate
and somehow, bacteria creeps its way on to my food…now instead of being a cold
box to extend the life of my food, it becomes a warm, moist box that bacteria
thrives in. I try to wipe down the moisture before it gets to that point, but
it is hard to time it right. I have to wonder if the best thing to do is keep
the door shut to hold in whatever cool air is left and hope that the power
kicks on before Mr. Mold comes to party inside with all that moisture. Like I
said, it is a constant battle!
If I don’t
rinse out and dry my water bottles each night, they will accumulate mold by
morning. I have to sweep my apartment several times a day, because even the
smallest particle of sugar attracts ants, and when one comes they bring the
whole extended family and start scouring my whole place like the DEA on a drug
raid! The other night I was sipping on some red wine while watching a movie and
when I went to take a swig, I did my routine “glance in the cup for bugs” gig,
and sure enough, a fly was trying to enjoy my wine too…from the looks of it,
the fly had encountered an overdose. Wine is hard to come by, so naturally I
reached in, grabbed the drowned bug and flicked him towards the trash.
Obviously, I kept drinking. My goodness, I wish I was kidding.
A similar
thing happened when I ate my dinner that same night. I had re-heated some
mashed potatoes from the night before…I noticed a black/brown thing in my
forkful of potato I was about to eat…at first I thought, “Mmm I love the bites
with potato skin…” then, “wait a minute…I peeled these potatoes…they shouldn’t
have skin…” Gross. I was hungry, and two of the expressions my dad always says
came to mind, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…” and, specifically
regarding bugs in my food, “Mmm Protein!” Despite the intrigue of adding protein to my
meal, simply out of principle, I dug the bug out of my bite and tossed him too.
I didn’t feel sick the next day, so that’s something. Maybe I’m getting
stronger!
Yesterday I
had a day full of moments that I can only describe as “reminders of where I am.”
When I woke up I found a spider that was relatively flat, but at least as big
as my fist hanging out in my wash basin in my bathroom. My rule on spiders is that if they aren’t
hurting me, I won’t hurt them…UNLESS they are the size of my fist. I calmly
went potty, washed my hands in the other basin, got dressed for the day, and
then sprayed the heck out of it until it died… I calmly shut the door to the
bathroom and my bedroom and started making breakfast like nothing ever
happened. Then a couple hours later, I scraped my shoulder on the metal door as
I re-entered my apartment…back home, a scratch like this wouldn’t make me think
anything other than, “ouch!” But I am currently in the middle of a lesson plan
on vaccinations and immune systems…we covered Tetanus the day before. There was
a flicker of “Oh, $#@&!” in my mind, but then I calmly remembered that I
have recently had my Tetanus vaccination, and I have no need to worry about the
huge gash on my shoulder…other than to clean and treat it regularly to prevent
any of the other diseases/infections I could get from it. Then as a grand finale
to my day of remembering where I am, I was stung by a wasp! It attacked me in
the middle of my explanation to the peer-health students about the differences
between viruses and bacteria (I took my rapidly swelling forearm as a learning
opportunity to teach them hands-on what the body’s immune response looks like.)
The nurses were both present and by the end of the class, the head nurse came
over to examine the arm…when we saw that the swelling had completely
disappeared, she said, “Oh! Looks like somebody took her vitamins today!” Ha.
Yes, this
girl takes her vitamins EVERY day. Bacteria, viruses, infections, and God’s little
monsters put up too big of a front for me to not reinforce my immune system!
With love,
Kristen
I have said over and over to people that I would love to live in Uganda full time. Now I am not so sure. I cannot believe the water and power problems continue to plague the town. How often have you had running water since you have been in the apartment?
ReplyDeleteI think if I were there for any length of time, I would get a small solar panel to try to have a light bulb or to charge my electronics. I've been reading about how some women out in the countryside are creating small businesses charging people's smart phones with a solar kit. Not sure how it would fare in the rainy season, though. Have the rains come? Can't remember when they occur.
Have you met Bill and Ann Peckham? I hope so. They run Eagles Wings.