Friday, January 11, 2013

Awesome days in the midst of madness!


Day 48

On my way to Mzuzu, I stop in Chintheche and swing by the post office on a whim to find another package!  I feel so spoiled!  Thanks, Aunt Roxie! 

Day 49

SICK!  So I have had giardia for a while.  This day was actually quite awful (as I was suffering from abdominal pain, the Peace Corps doctors were not returning my calls, I sat on a bus for four hours only to have the doctors call me back to tell me to get off the bus and worst of all, I felt like I didn’t recognize myself – I felt weak, disoriented and angry), not awesome at all, but I will tell you that I get by with a little help from my friends.  Christian helped me through the streets of Mzuzu as I cried from pain all the way to the clinic and sat with me as I took test after test (all negative) only to be put on Cipro because they will probably clear up whatever is going on in my body with that magical antibiotic.  Christian took me back to the lodge and we watched the cooking channel until I felt sleepy.  I am lucky to have such wonderful people to take care of me when I’m so far from home.

Day 50

While in Mzuzu, I checked my bank account with my fingers crossed and lo and behold I had received my grant money for the pit latrines!  You can read the story here, but in summary, I worked for 14 months on these pit latrines and this day felt so good.  It was a hassle to get the money out of my account, but when it was eventually deposited into my counterpart’s account, I felt the biggest relief.  It’s done.  Well, the administrative part is done.  Now we need to build 66 pit latrines!

Day 51

I received a phone call from my dad this morning and it felt so good to talk to someone from home while I was sick.  The best part?  My dad told me how proud he was of what I’m doing and the talk I gave at PEPFAR.  He said, and I quote “When you speak, people listen.  It’s a gift.”  Thanks, dad!  I needed that boost for sure.

Day 52

Another phone call from home and this one was from Dee!  Again, it felt good to talk to home – it was like they knew I needed some TLC and I feel so grateful to have a family who loves me so much.  I am the luckiest.

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