The Good, the Bad, and the Malaria

Good: We love the ten women with whom we work! Most of the ten women speak broken English allowing for us to halfway communicate with us. However, they mostly speak to us in their native language, forcing us to learn to basics all the more quickly.

Good: I have had a few important conversations with a few women already. One involved one woman telling me, “God loves you very much because your skin in white.” She then went on to explain that God did not love them as much, therefore, he gave them their dark color of skin. This thinking astounded me. From their perspective, every white person who has entered their community is wealthy and therefore happy and blessed. I was able to share with her some of the issues in America resulting from being rich and how wealth doesn’t equal happiness….and certainly not resulting from the blessing of God. Anyway, it was a good conversation to have and I’m sure it will not be the last of that nature.

Bad: We are currently staying in our office that is without tile, electricity, Internet, plumbing, water, etc. We do have a few mattresses and mosquito nets, but we are waiting on our landlord to get all of the previous checklist installed. She told us the electrician would be here Thursday…then he didn’t show…then it was Friday he was suppose to come….he didn’t show…..then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc… We are still adapting to Africa time.

Good: Stew and Brad introduced to their sanity…which I’m quickly becoming our sanity; the Acholi Inn. Travis and I both got month passes to use the facilities at Acholi Inn, which include: pool, sauna, showers (whew), small weight room, and jump ropes. This past week was quite incredible. Our Ugandan friend Morris led us in a rigorous round of step aerobics…Brad, of course, provided the tunes (Michael Jackson) and let’s just say, we were quite the sight.

Malaria: Let’s just say, if there was an Olympic event for quickest conception of malaria, I would get the gold for sure. Let me count……eight days before I started get all the lovely symptoms of malaria. I though I just had a stomach bug, but then the fever, chills, and aches followed and I was out.

Good: We happened to be visiting our friend’s house that has all the utilities our office is lacking and he generously let us stay while I battled. The picture is at that house (before the onslaught) For that I count myself a hero because for four days everyone (myself included) has been basking in the internet, power, water that is included in the malaria stay.

Malaria: I had my blood checked at a local clinic after the first night. The prick of the needle (I have a needle phobia) combined with the lack of anything in my stomach turned out be the winning combination for a fainting escapade. I fell on the Acholi nurses legs, then onto the floor. Poor Travis was a witness to all of this and, I must say, a great nurse. He even brought me mango juice after my needle prick. Betty, the Acholi nurse, was so kind, and although she didn’t speak perfect English, she comforted me with her words, “you have nothing to fear.”

Good/Bad: I am done with malaria. We’re moving back to the office today.