Health Check-Up

I’m heading into Week 8 (out of 10) of Peace Corps Training.  My past blog entries have covered all of the big news (site announcements & visits) – and now I’m just finishing up my classes and studying for the proficiency tests.

But I figured I could give you an update on my health, since that is also a big part of the experience.

I have not had any stomach problems or diarrheal disease . . . yet.  I’m one of the lucky ones.  But one of the PCVs in the West Nile region told me that I will definitely get Giardia at least once during my service.  (*Giardia, also referred to as Traveler's Diarrhea, is a parasite that lives inside the intestines of infected humans or other animals. Individuals become infected through ingesting or coming into contact with contaminated food, soil, or water.)  My host family provides plenty of boiled water for me and we are given bottled water at the training center.  And because I don’t eat meat, I think I’ve avoided some bacterial issues there too.

I have, however, been suffering from a few head colds.  (A cold?!?!  In Africa?!?! What?!?!)  Yes, as soon as the kids went back to school, the germs started to spread.  And due to lack of hand washing in Africa, everyone gets sick.  My head cold has now turned into some kind of bronchitis, and I don’t expect to get rid of it until I leave Wakiso.  I walk 6 miles a day on dusty roads, inhaling the diesel exhaust fumes/smoke from every vehicle that passes.  I come home to the toxicity of the bug spray that my host family uses to kill the flies & cockroaches (but the vermin are somehow always still around).

I take my weekly dose of Mefloquine to prevent malaria.  This is the medication which side effects include hair loss, moodiness, hallucinogenic dreams, and in extreme cases, psychosis.  I’m happy to report that I have not had any night terrors.  :)  Some trainees have experienced the vivid bad dreams and were allowed to switch to a different malaria prophylaxis (which has other wonderful side effects).  But the medical office starts us out on Mefloquine because it is the one that works the best against malaria.

My overall health is good.  I’ve blogged about the food before and that still hasn’t changed.  I eat a lot of starches and limited vegetables each day.  I did ask my host family for apples (which are expensive and usually just a special treat) and they have been giving me an apple as part of my breakfast almost every day.  Protein is no problem for a vegetarian in Uganda.  I eat eggs a lot, beans, groundnuts (Ugandan peanuts), peanut butter, and soya (soy protein powder).

I try to sleep at least 8 hours a night (I go to bed between 8:30pm-9:30pm and get up at 5:30 am).  But there are always strange sounds in the night: a pack of stray dogs fighting, rain pounding on the iron roof sheet, motorcycles passing, very loud birds outside my window at 3:30am, etc.  Earplugs are essential for a good night’s sleep.

If you couldn’t tell from my other blog entries, my mental health is great!  I’m still so excited to be doing this.  But I’ll admit that there have been ups & downs during training – it’s an exhausting 10-week schedule, with little time for relaxation.  And some days my brain just does not comprehend Lugbara.  For those rough days, I have my iPod (Simon & Garfunkel are currently playing), my internet modem (Brad Pitt said what?!?!), and the local convenient store that sells Snickers.  YES!!!