tropical diseases, part 2

After a couple weeks of feeling pretty crappy and two home malaria tests that came out negative, I decided this afternoon that a hospital visit was probably appropriate. Diagnosis: Not malaria, this time, but typhoid.

So what does that mean? I got a shot that looked alarmingly big. (Conversation with this nurse: Me: "This looks like a shot for an elephant!" Her, somewhat disdainfully: "This is a shot for a baby. This is the smallest needle we have.") I also got a couple weeks' worth of pills, and the knowledge that at least what was making me feel so crappy before has a name and a cure.

One sentence I never thought I'd say: "Well, at least it's just typhoid."

kayaking on the Nile

Another three-day weekend, as yesterday was a Kenyan holiday => another fun weekend trip.

On Friday afternoon Andrew, Paul, Jake and I took a One Acre Fund van across the Malaba border to Jinja, Uganda. Ironically the woman who stamped me out of the country was the same one who had asked me for a bribe the previous week (and then sang "Don't break my heart" when I refused). If she recognized me this time she didn't let on.

Among the activities that filled our 60ish hours in Uganda:

• Eating Chinese food at Ling Ling. It wasn't great, but it is Chinese food in Africa, so all things considered it was more than passable.
• Kayaking. Jinja is the headwaters for the Nile, where it sources from Lake Victoria, and while we avoided the rapids it was still a pretty surreal place to be out on a kayak... I also enjoyed our Ugandan guides, who started out calling me "little chicken girl" (I'm sure this is a compliment) but by the end told me I was the best kayaker of the group. All that practice in canoes growing up...?
• Swimming. There was a tidepool (with a relatively strong current) where we swam at least once each day.
• Reading. I finished another book (Beloved by Toni Morrison) and started a new one (Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen).
• Staring at fellow mzungu in disbelief of their existence. Getting increasingly nervous about reverse culture shock...
• Sleeping. Since I've been averaging about 4-5 hours/night (not sure why, but I absolutely cannot sleep in Bungoma) it felt really, really good to catch up.

Finally, Monday afternoon, I came back to Bungoma to sleep in my new bedroom. (!) Mostly as an attempt to deal with my sleep issue, I decided to move into one of the houses up the hill. Since Lukas, my soon-to-be housemate, is currently in the US, I have the whole place to myself. Living in luxury in Bungoma, Kenya... :)

And today, back to work. My fifth-to-the-last week - the remainder of my time all fits on my forward-looking work plan! - and I have a feeling I'll be living these last 35 days in fast-forward.

photos: Naivasha, Nairobi, Bungoma

Last weekend in Naivasha/Nairobi:

Sign warning about the dangerous hippos on Lake Naivasha (which we did not exactly heed, as we became worryingly close to a mother/baby pair)

Lake Naivasha

View on the Nairobi-Bungoma matatu ride. In addition to beautiful scenery like this lake view, Paul & I saw zebras, impalas, warthogs... Like a discount safari with a dual purpose!

Last week, during another field visit to Victorious:

Overlooking her maize fields

Field officer Henry, surveying rows of recently planted passion fruit

A little mtoto (child) in front of the hut, ready to feed the cattle

Henry noticed I liked taking pictures of homes, and asked if ours looked different in the US. Pretty broad question, so I answered simply, "Yes." He replied, "Oh - Are your roofs made of aluminum?" Pretty straightforward question with a vastly complicated response.
-- Reminded me my mission trip to Nicaragua, where one of the boys was incredulous that Americans have "houses for their cars." Sometimes hard to believe that all of this can fit on one planet...