Song of the Day[s]: Owl City-Hello Seattle
Youtube it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flPwGj7O6FU
Wednesday, June. 15th, 2011-Sunday, June.19th, 2011
What is better than jumping waves in the Indian Ocean with Mike? A jellyfish joining in the fun, that is what! After feeling the sting and rushing out of the water, Mike kindly offered to save my life. What a noble gentleman, I'd say. Those four small words seemed to linger in the air. Those four small words held so much meaning in them... I was not sure what to say. We locked eyes as he said those words one last time, "I'll pee on you", and I knew I could not decline. What a glorious expression of selflessness, hope and long suffering.
After the tossing around of mixed emotions I accepted Mike's offer to save my life. I think he was a little shocked when I accepted the offer, because he did not rise to the challenge. His heroic gesture was righteously exposed for what it truly was and left him embarrassed and my arm still in pain. GREAT!
I managed to make it to the bar where I received help from the bartender. After "applying the liquid" to the sting I noticed there was green pulp scattered on my arm and a sweet aroma that brought back the long lost memories of high school Friday night parties. Good times! What was this liquid I used? Why it was juice from a lime of course! Just as acidic as urine and not so repulsive! I will be logging that away into my memory bank for the next time a jellyfish joins in my fun and some guy wants to play hero!
Now, as for malaria... well I have been dealing with a small amount of sickness these past few days, which had me in bed for most of the day and achy all over. Late one night, while a group of us sat downstairs around our dinner table I received a phone call from Jennifer. It was long past 11:00pm, so it seemed a bit odd. She let me know her husband, Joel, was at the hospital with malaria and they wanted me to go to the hospital right now because we had the same symptoms. Well, talk about catching me off guard. Nothing like a good life-threatening disease scare in the middle of the night while in Tanzania... I did not freak out or start to panic... just went upstairs and got my things and a little money. I think the interns around me were more frightened then I.
Joel and Jennifer returned to the guesthouse with our driver and Nicole and I hopped in, excited for the new adventures to come! Not exactly. Nicole was convinced I had malaria. I on the other hand was not too sure what to think of it all. Before we left on the adventures to TMJ hospital I sent a quick email to a few loved ones about the drama... Figured if I died... at least I warned them! *grin*
The hospital was like nothing I had seen in Canada before; It was empty. I requested a malaria test and she asked me for 3500 BUCKS!! Good thing I got travel insurance... because that was a hefty price to pay for them to prick my finger... Doctors out here are so pricey... There goes my debt-free life! Woah is me and all things sad! Alright, alright, alright... so it was 3500, but that is in Tanzanian Schillings.... which is just over 2 dollars... Phew, I'll survive this experience with .50 to spare! And I won't even charge BCAA...
While I sat and waited as the women held my fate in their hands... I thought it appropriate to send the other interns some "heads up" text messages and I knew they were sitting at home anticipating the horrid outcome. After reviewing my options of possible consoling messages I went with this one:
"It's official, I am pregnant!"
Somehow, the twisted, confusing, unrelated, and totally not appropriate message seemed... fitting. I chuckled to myself and thought it was best to tell Nicole, as she seemed a bit on edge. She did not laugh as much as I did, but was happy and shocked when the doctor told me I did not have malaria. Phew! I'll live! And it only took 10 minutes to clear the worries. Good thing, cause I think Nicole could not handle the worry. Too much stress for one night!
I considered sending a real text this time and letting them all know I was okay, but it did not seem as fun. The responses to the first text were amusing to say the least, so I decided I would play a bit more with this before admitting the bland results.
On to other things... as you all know, I do my own laundry by hand wash. Sadly that is not a button I press on my highly efficient washer machine... no, not quite. There are no buttons to push, unless I am wearing a blouse... and this "washer machine" gets tired a lot quicker than any electronic man made machine would. I never realized how strong my washing machine at home was... kudos to the machine! I truly love and miss thee! Anyhow, back to the reality of my life... Laundry piles up here and as exciting as it sounds to wash my clothes and feel all self sufficient, it gets old real fast! Almost two months of hand washing has taught me a few things, all of which make me more grateful for what I have at home. So, if you are avoiding washing your clothes... what is the one thing that finally makes you do your darn laundry? Is it the odor from your articles of clothing that smells like 10 day old sweat? Is it the splash stains from last weeks dinner? Is it the up close and personal car rides with the other interns where there is no missing ANY "scents"? Naw, I have sprays for all of that. The only thing that forces you out here to wash your clothes is the realization that you are on your last pair of underwear. YIKES! This is the only thing that forces you to clean your clothes and even in the process, we all[yes even the girls] pause and consider the once repulsed thought of inside out underwear.... Have no fear, we all end up caving and washing our clothes! So, I better do my laundry tomorrow... commando is not an option.
My time is short here. I have 13 days left before I leave and head back to Canada... Unfortunately, after the 22nd I will not have access to my computer until the 30th, as we are all taking a trip to Arusha for a week. Still a few days to write about, so keep coming back... Thanks for reading and I hope you all have enjoyed thus far! Again, thank you to all the generous and loving people who have helped me to make this possible. This volunteer adventure has been nothing short of a life changing experience! God bless!
-ILML13
