Meetings and Malaria

Internet at the base has been spotty for a few weeks, and then we haven't had it at all for about a week, so, between that, the busyness of school, and my natural aversion to writing (see: every other post), I haven't had a chance to write for a while. But there has definitely been a lot going on.

My program is 5 months long-- 3 months of classroom training and 2 months of practical community interaction (outreach). Our outreach starts around May 15, and so we've started getting ready for it. There are 24 students, and right now it looks like 12 will go to Tanzania and 12 will go to northern Uganda. I'm part of the group going to northern Uganda. We've begun to have team meetings and talk about what we will be doing and how we will be dividing up different responsibilities. I was sick the day the jobs were given out, and I ended up with secretary, which means I'm supposed to keep a record of what we do and who we help, prayer requests, etc. Not my favorite thing (I'm allergic to writing, remember?) but I am determined to do a good job and not complain.

A week or two ago we had a day out at Kingfisher Resort-- we had classes,

ate a yummy lunch,

and spent the afternoon swimming in the pool. Such a fun day.

A few days later I woke up not feeling great, and then developed a fever during classe. I was sore and achy, and certain people were convinced that I had malaria. For someone who wasn't born in Africa, the most important thing if you have malaria is to get quick treatment. There's an easy test you can do-- it's like a pregnancy test: you put a drop of blood on it, wait 5 minutes, and check for one line (clean) or two (malaria!) Then, if you have malaria, you start taking medication and everything is fine-- you're back to normal in like 3 days. But if you wait too long you have to go to the hospital, and it's complicated and serious. So the key is to have a malaria test as soon as you feel yucky or have a fever.

There are only three people on the base who have access to the malaria tests: Msaki, my school leader; Lucy, my friend from the UK who does neo-natal care in one of the villages; and Dr. Tim, the base leader, but also a doctor. Unfortunately, that day, Msaki and Dr. Tim were out of town and Lucy was at work. I spent the afternoon in bed, wondering if I was going to die from malaria or not. People kept coming and asking me if I had it, and did I feel like I usually feel when I get it?

Finally Lucy arrived, and amidst much drama (I live in a dorm full of kind, motherly girl-women, remember) (also, the lights were out, so everything was done by flashlight) took my temp (38.3 C), and administered the test. More drama, as there was one dark line and a light line, so she wasn't really sure about my diagnosis, and she didn't have another test. We decided to wait and see how I felt the next day. Lucy brought me a soda, I drank it, Zoe took me for a walk, because I'd started feeling better, and then I broke my fever. I took it easy the next day, and felt fine the day after that. So I didn't have malaria-- I don't know what I had, but I feel fine now.

Shopping! In Kampala

This morning my friends Ritah, Miriam, and I woke up before dawn to catch the bus to the capitol city of Kampala. Rita is from there, and she wanted to go visit her mom. Miriam and I wanted to shop and hang out. I've been here for 6 weeks now, and have used up all my clothing combos. I heard that they have cheap clothes in the market, so I wanted to check it out.

We were walking down the main road by 7am. I think I mentioned before that the buses drive on the other side of the road, same as England. I always forget and look the wrong way before crossing, and the drivers have to honk at me. Ah yai yai. Anyway, the taxis drive down the main road pretty fast, so when you see them coming, you stretch out your hand with your arm up or down (to indicate destination- Kampala or Jinja, respectively), and use your fingers to show how much you want to pay: 4 fingers to show 4000 shillings (about $1.70) for a trip to Kampala, or a fist to show 500 shillings (20 cents) for a trip to Jinja. We walked for a while, and finally a bus pulled over for us. We climbed in and made ourselvers comfortable for the 2 hour drive to Kampala. We drove a mile or two, and the door suddenly wouldn't stay closed, so they pulled over, and made us all get on a different bus. The new bus had a bunch of live chickens tied to the top, and my seat back way broken, so every time we went over a bump, i went flying and the chickens started squawking. Fortunately the roads are pretty smooth, so we didn't hit too many bumps.

We arrived in Kampala, and stopped at Shop-Rite, which is a big supermarket with some American brands, like Heinz and Oreos, and lots of food variety you can't find elsewhere. When we arrived, there was a sign announcing Cadbury Easter eggs, and I was so excited, but alas- they were nowhere to be found. What I ended up with was shampoo, conditioner, and the most ridiculous purchase of the day: shaving cream, which was something like $5 for one can. Crazy, but after considering my unpleasant alternatives, I decided it might be worth it.

By this time it was 10, and we were hungry. We walked to Ritah's mom's house and Ritah made some delicious Irish (potatoes) and beans. Ritah's dad is a professor at a college there, and we cut through campus to get there. Here is a picture:

Here are a few pictures of downtown Kampala:

The Astoria Hotel! I thought that was so funny.

After a few stops we finally made it to the clothes market. It was a bit overwhelming for me. I got a lot of attention; because of my skin color, some people assumed I have loads of money to give away. It was awkward: I wanted to blend in and just watch what was happening, but couldn't. People walked up and asked me for my number without even asking my name... Maybe they were going to put me in their phone as "Muzongu" (light skinned)? Anyway, despite my discomfort, we ended up getting some deals that made up for the $5 shaving cream. For example, this outfit cost me <$4:

And I found skinny jeans. I was really regretting not bringing any (Ugandans are mad fashionable), but I was able to buy some in the market. It took me a while to find the right pair, and then when I wasn't looking, the guy switched out my pants for a different pair that was much smaller. The good news in, since everything is washed by hand and line dried, I was able to stretch them out enough to finally get into them:

Verdict: such a fun day.