Letter to Mom&Dad - May 5, 06

Today started out wonderfully with some serious overcast and aggressive cloud movement that brought fresh, cool air and a nice shower. I watched the clouds streak by as the moist cool air heralded a future onslaught. To me, a perfect day to stay in bed and nap as the rain pelted my tin roof home. The front came and left by 10:30am, but soon afterward I was rewarded with a bought of diarrhea which I'm currently battling.

It has noticeably colored my mood and a really nice day has turned into a sort of malaise as I feel a fever coming on despite the Ibuprofen I just took. This bout, the first in about 2 months, doesn't really come at a convenient time, but of course when does it ever? I'm going to take some Ciproflaxine and hopefully that will take care of it. If not, I'll have a few days of misery until I can get the Peace Corps doctors to prescribe me something better. Perfect time to lose weight, right before Wisconsin, huh?

Some of the PCV's see it as the African crash diet. Stop washing your food and hands and presto! You've lost 5-10 lbs before you know it. This time was, of course, not on purpose, but hopefully will pass without too much hassle.

It has begun to rain earnestly and somewhat regularly here. Maybe once or twice a week. Still they tell me "rainy season" hasn't officially started, nor have we had any "good rains." That should be interesting whenever everything becomes officially wet.

My job has slacked off with the regular work of sensibilizations, but I've taken up a new task of surveying regionally close villages for potential volunteer sites. That should take up a couple of weeks and fill the void between now and Wisconsin. I'm also planning on visiting some other volunteers just for kicks when I can.

Next weekend I'm going to start making reservations in Chicago and coordinating with Peace Corps about my leave. Supposedly they want paperwork 3 weeks before you leave. No surprises for them, I guess.

Take care
Love, Laura

NOTE: See more detailed travel plans in previous posts!!