Next week marks 5 months in country. This is the longest I’ve been away from friends and family since round I, where I left Taiwan for 13 months before returning. I don’t feel as though 5 months have been a long time, and really, it’s just the beginning.
I caught a nasty cold a few days ago but am getting over it now. (so mom, don’t freak out.) I do have to say, getting sick in Africa, no matter the level of sickness, is terrible. I’ve never wanted so much my down comforter, a can of chicken noodle soup and a carton of fresh orange juice.
The upside about being sick when you are a volunteer is that you can more or less drop everything and hang out. After all, I am a volunteer. I parked myself in my bed for the entire day of Sunday, and the entire morning of Monday. When I did finally get myself out of bed to go teach on Monday afternoon, the kids were being used to do manual labor around the school because the delegates of the province were visiting the next day. Lucky for me, I got two hours off. But was annoyed that I got out of bed for that. Though it wasn’t a complete waste since I did teach the first class to the women’s group later. They are hilarious.
In other news, I’ve gotten surprisingly quick support on funding for projects. Many thanks! Updates to come soon. Also, wanted to thank all the readers out there who are following my adventure. I just found that someone had made a tribune to my “Real Deal” post on his blog and asking people to give me support. It’s those little things that brighten my day. So readers, keep the comments coming!
Feel better soooon and Happy Halloween! 🙂
I feel your pain – having spent the last four days in bed.
I’m lucky in that I am living in the grounds of a hospital so the medical care was good.
But it still wasn’t very nice when I had to leave my sick bed to get food or water – and I was so bored.
No, there’s nothing like being sick to make you want to be 10 years old again and living with your parents. I wanted someone to run me a hot bath and change the sheets on my bed while I soaked.
Hope you’re feeling better.