“Welcome to the Club“ & its a BIG one!

Its hard to imagine that there is a club where all those whom have malaria are initiated into.. But, well there is.

The 14th of November, I wake up feeling like ‘you have been run over by a truck/bus/train’. I hadn’t had any alcohol in a few days, so I had 3 savannas the night before, welcoming Jo and Lucho home could not have caused it. I thought maybe I was getting sick, and was imagining a sore throat, and body aches, wondering how could I have flu. So, I ordered some fruits for breakfast to give myself a vitamin boost. I sat down with baby Estella and Jo for morning, but all of a sudden felt horrible, and went to the bathroom, and ended up laying down from 10 am till 3 pm. The only thing that could come to mind was that I had malaria. After a few texts to a friend to find out the symptoms, and talking to folks that have had it, I got enough energy/courage to go to the clinic to get tested. It was a nightmare. Imagine feeling like a train ran over you, and having to walk through chaos with the sun blaring on you to sit in a clinic in which you would never see yourself in, in the states. My initial thoughts were, is it going to be clean, will it all be sterile. 500 Shillings ( less than 50 cents), later I got a metal poker that was wrapped in its own sterile wrapping to poke me for some blood. Now the odd thing was, the slide then touched the blood on my finger, vs. just dripping it onto it.. ( Boy I hope I don’t get AIDS or something..) Anyhow, I won’t even go to explain the unsterile process of what the slide was dipped into, to get the results. But lets just say, I wanted to go to the bathroom while there, but after opening the door, and smelling the odor, nearly throwing up, I decided to just sit down and hope I didn’t pass out. A few minutes later the doctor calls me, and lets me know I have malaria. 2 parasites found. But, don’t ask me what strain, because I have no idea, and didn’t know I was supposed to ask. Apparently, you ask what strain you have because there is one strain that stays in you, while the others don’t. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that the strain I have will leave my body once my treatment has finished.

Anyhow, I get back to Mikadi and eat some plain pasta shells, and take my first dose of malaria pills. One thing that I would have never expected is how exhausted you get doing anything. You just have to lay down after doing anything. So, after eating and taking pills, I took another nap, woke up, went to toilet, then another nap. Nap then Nap then Nap.

I took my second dose at 3:00 am when I woke up, with some rice I took from the kitchen.

Day 2 –

Feeling better, or so I thought. I decide to take a shower. But just taking a shower, I was exhausted. I came back and laid down. Slept till 10 am, and although no appetite, decided to eat some food along with some milky mango juice to take down my 3rd dose of pills.

Some of the symptoms in which you can have: Extreme tiredness, hot or cold flashes, body aches, dizziness, loss of appetite. Just imagine what it would feel like if a train ran over you.. That’s malaria! Now, its best to get tested or start taking meds at the first sign of malaria, vs waiting the entire day like I did. The less you wait, the less pain you deal with.

So, I’ve been initiated to Africa, and welcomed to the Malaria Club. I have been the most careful by taking garlic pills, taking pro-biotics, wearing long sleeves, and using mosquito repellent. So even if you are careful, you can still get malaria. After this experience, I am going to get back on my Malarone, and hope not to get malaria again. If anyone wants to send a prescription of Malarone, feel free! So far my dad has been able to get me a month’s worth.

I never thought I would say this, but sometimes you do get homesick. Getting Malaria, isn’t the best feeling, and makes you appreciate the western world for the lack of diseases.

Bajaj

Tuk Tuk, as most people call them after visiting Thailand, Bajaj is what they the motorcycle taxis are called here in Dar. The Bajaj comes from India, like many other things here. They are a cheaper mode of transport, which is dangerous yet fun at the same time. Coming from the Kigamboni side of the ferry, if you want run errands in town for the day without the hassels of the Dalla Dalla ( Public buses), or the taxi que, then the Bajaj is the way to go.

Just imagine, buying gifts and a weeks worth of shopping for a backpackers lodge in a Bajaj. I wasn’t planning to buy so much, but as the day went the list of what I needed didn’t change, but started to fill up the Bajaj. By the end, I had pool chemicals, a HUGE plant in a pot, small plant, 20 grocery bags, and all glass bottles sitting on my lap. There are speed bumps, traffic signals, honking, and ramps to go up and down. Well, I got back safely, no broken pots, no broken glasses, and well next time I will take a taxi instead!

GO OBABMA!

After a thunder, lightening, and rain filled evening.. I wake up to clouds of victory! Obama has won the elections, and 10 Kenyans were at the campsite celebrating with me..

All they could say was, " Now we can come to America without a Visa problem".. All I hope is that Obama will actually help out Africans and provide hope for them, instead of disappointing them like everyone else.

I do have faith in him, but it will take time.. I hope to see some actual changes in 2 years time.. It will take atleast that much to clean up the mess from Bush.

Its amazing to say that all the Tanzanian papers are filled with Obama on the front cover..

I can say I was in Africa with Kenyas the day Obama won! Can't beat that!

Working with Tanzanians..

After being in Dar for 5 weeks, you can say its been a little nutty.

I am not sure that I would have ever assumed how tough it would be to work with folks whom are uneducated or have a motivation of zero. Upon return to Africa I have decided to head up and manage a project to build up and refurbish a current community centre in Kigamboni. I arrived back, and the kids were so ecstatic to see me. They created an entire 1 hour show of acrobatics, drama, singing, and dancing. It was incredible. It truly moved me, and gave me the reassurance of the reason in which I returned. Shortly thereafter, I planned for a meeting with all the head staff of the centre to get the basics covered. The meeting included the head staff of the centre, as well as 3 Mzungu (White people) volunteers whom offered to help with my project. We discussed getting water at the centre for sewage and gardening, as well as the possibility of electricity, and my vision of what I would like to see done. The meeting was a success and everyone was excited and motivated. Or so I thought. The meeting conclusion was that we our Number 1 priority was to finish the Constitution to get NGO status for the centre. After we receive this status we then could open up a bank account to have transparent funds, to start fundraising. Research began for the Constitution to soon realize that you can’t find any type of template online.. (well you can but who knows which one to use), so I asked to get some meetings arranged with centres like theirs, so I could chat with the Head person to get a copy of their constitution to mirror for our centre. Two weeks later, we met with the former first lady’s NGO and I got a soft copy of their constitution on my zip drive. Btw, the more people you know in Africa the better off you will be!

Then Fast Forward 2 weeks, and we are STILL at the exact same spot we were. Although, I knew that it was going to be a large project I undertook, and I knew that I was going to be working with Tanzanians, my motivation is slowly decreasing, and my want to help is slowly fading. I wonder if I am really cut out to help out Africans… I think I still want to work on development, but I may need to focus somewhere were the people are more motivated, because try working on a HUGE project without anyone around you wanting to do it.. It definitely makes the work tougher.