Everyday is like a roller coaster as far as my physical and mental status. Everyday…hell…my moods change from hour to hour. I’m sure part of it has to do with the heat. It is 90 in my room and hotter outside. My guess is 100 to 105ish. I have a thermometer but I haven’t put it outside yet. They don’t keep track of temperature here. It’s just hot, hotter and hottest. And the hottest hasn’t come yet.
I am going to leave any bad feelings I have today out and tell you about the good part of the day. Part of what we will do in our permanent site as a community project are murals. Paintings somewhere in village on a main wall that everyone can see depicting something to do with health or sanitation. So today we split into 2 groups and made murals on the CSCOM (clinic) wall facing out towards the main/only road. One team made a mural of a woman standing and washing her hands with a table of food next to her. It read to “Always wash your hands before you eat”. My team made a mural of a skinny malnourished child then a plus sign. Then a big circle split into a pie of three pieces with pictures of different foods in each of the food groups. Then an equal sign and a chubby, healthy child on the other side. If I must say so myself they came out awesomely. Of course the kids already follow us like we’re the pied piper. Today was no different, in fact it was worse. All the kids stopped and watched us on their way to school. About 30 kids stood there the whole time we were working. 4 hours. I thought about it after…they didn’t go to school today. They showed up at 8am with their backpacks on and never left until we were done at 12. Can you imagine. We call that cutting class and would our ass handed to us when we got home. The teachers probably heard what was going on and no one even questioned where the kids were.
We broke for lunch, I did some laundry (which is no easy task) and then went back to school at 2:30. It is really hard to concentrate when it is so hot out. We were really slow and actually spent the last half an hour just sitting around talking. Mostly in Bambara, but some English too. It makes us feel like home. When we finally got let our from school we walked over to the bugutigi (market). Some of the girls buy sodas (somewhat cool) and cookies every day. I have never bought anything before but I was in a bit of a pissy mood and thought I would buy myself a coke. They don’t have diet coke but I did it anyway. We walked over to a grove of trees with our cokes and our mats and sat and did some school work. OK…we really sat there bitching and moaning and questioning what we are doing here. Some of us are really struggling about what we are doing here and how after we were so excited about coming we feel so lousy. We are setting little goals for ourselves. 9 more days to Tubaniso, electricity, running water, internet, talking to family. 10 more days until we find out where our permanent sites will be. 14 more days until we go there for our first visit and meet our homologues (sidekicks for the next 2 years). I think this is the goal that a lot of the volunteers are aiming for. Where is my homesite? and who is my homologue? If that’s a bust I have a feeling that we will lose a few more volunteers at that time. As of right now it’s still just the 2 that have left.
*For the past year and a half whenever I’ve been to the doctor (which was a lot when I was busy filling out all the paperwork for Peace Corps) I have been having trouble with high blood pressure. I contributed it to my weight and promised the doctor that I would lose some weight. I didn’t want to go on blood pressure medicine. Well I didn’t lose weight and finally went on blood pressure medicine. Although losing weight might have helped high blood pressure does run in the family and why take the chance. If I have a heart attack and die out in the middle of Africa where no one knows CPR and there are no defibulators (SP?) I’m gonna be pissed. Well I guess I was supposed to tell Peace Corps if anything about my health status changed. In the back of my head I knew I should have, but at the same time I was afraid that would change my status and I wouldn’t have been able to come, or leave at my designated time…and I was ready. So when I got to Tubaniso and I had my medical interview I told them at that time that I was put on BP medicine. At some point my prescription will need to be refilled so I had to tell. I was scolded a little and told that they are required to contact DC and let them know I had a change in medical status. One of the 2 people that left was sent home because there was medical information that she did not disclose on her paperwork. I was freaking out a little.
This past weekend when we were in Tubaniso the doctor found me in the repertoire and let me know that she contacted DC and they are considering this a case of non-disclosure. They are not planning on taking any kind of action (sending me home) but they do want to do blood work next week when we go back and every 3 months after that to monitor that there is no change in my condition. I don’t know what kind of blood work or condition they're talking about. The doctor that put me on the medicine didn’t do any blood work. But whatever. It can’t hurt to have tests to monitor my health, right? I take my BP everyday…or so…and it has been really low. So far so good. Which is surprising considering what me and my body have been through these past few months since I’ve been preparing to come here.
*I bought some beautiful lavender material to make a traditional Malian outfit for our swearing in April 11ish (nothing is definite in Africa). I need to find a tailor and pick out the outfit I want to have it made…for about $10. I haven’t been able to think that far ahead. One day at a time.
*Sunday the other volunteers (young girls) are planning on biking over to the next volunteer village from here (about a 45 minute bike ride) and then hiking through some caves in the area. They want me to go. I think I’m too old to make it. I want to go and be included and I love that they want me to go and be included but what if I get there and think “SHIT I can’t make it back!!” It’s too freakin hot to be riding and walking like that. What to do…I can’t sit all day with my host family. I will shoot myself in the eye!!
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| Painting our murals on the walls of the CSCOM (community clinic) |
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| We were the hit of the town. All these kids missed school to watch us paint. Apparently they don't get their asses kicked for skipping school. |
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| All our hard work. |
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