Have you ever had one of those blisters on your foot that just wouldn't go away??? Have you had one that got red? How about purple? Did your whole foot start to swell to where you couldn't walk, and then the sore started, well, oozing??? If this happened to you, than you know what's wrong with me - that's right, STAPH INFECTION!!!! Wooo hooo! You just don't get this kind of excitement with normal infections. no, normal infections go away. Now staph, that's a real infection. That's one step from gangrene!!! It's got attitude, its got flare, and it's got a lot of puss!
I guess the initial blister came from my new running shoes that I brought back... well, that and running through 30 foot long cess pools. 3 days ago I went running, and I took a new trail. That trail had a huge pool in the middle of it, and I stupidly trudged right on through it. The next day I got on the bus in Natitingou to go down south to work this years training (stage, in French), and at first the skin on my foot just felt tight. By the time I got off the bus it was obviously swollen. Then, after the 3 hour taxi ride I was having trouble walking. I got to the training house to find myself accompanied by a slight limp. At this point, I did just the thing everyone does: I ignored it. After a full evening on my feet, I sat down to watch a movie, only to find my foot 'oozing' with all kinds of fun liquids, and even more swollen. At this point I did decide it needed bandaging, and maybe a doctors attention, so I went to bed ready to get up the next day and make the journey to Cotonou. By the next morning I was obviously limping, and by the time I got to Cotonou I was crying from the pain of walking.
You know, you would think one wound per foot would be enough, but to top it all off, I tore the skin on the front of my big toe (on the same foot) wide open going to answer the door the night before going to Cotonou. The funniest thing is that no one had knocked at the door - I might have even dreamt it - I thought it was 7am when it was actually 5:30am, and I didn't notice the wound till I laid back down and felt the wet pool of blood that was forming on the bed. I'm a walking disaster!!!
Well, now I'm in Cotonou and, after only 2 nights in the Med Unit, I've been given permission to leave tomorrow, since I'm supposed to be working the training of the new volonteers. Luckily it's not too far away, so if I have problems again I could easily get back to Cotonou. I also promised to come back next Sunday, so I'll have internet again this weekend!
Things are better now though. I spent all yesterday and today keeping my leg propped up and my bandages so fresh and so clean, so the swelling is going down, the puss has definitely stopped oozing, and I can almost walk normally again. I'm definitely not crying with every step like I was yesterday!!!
Well, that's all that's really new with my life! I'm really enjoy all the good stuff I brought back, and, oddly enough, I've also recieved 2 packages since coming back! Packages are rare and special creatures. You have to wait for them, and they invoke all the hopes and dreams of Santa Clause or the tooth fairy.
You know, packages are nice for the things that are inside them, but knowing that people are thinking of you back at home is the real exciting thing about them. It's just the thought of knowing that someone was sitting back at home, in their lap of luxury and entertainment, and they not only thought of you, but they even found something and bought it, or maybe they even went shopping just for you, and then they paid the money to send it... and not even really knowing if it will arrive or not!!!! I'm sorry, but that is a special feeling. Then, if the stuff is good, every time you see it, or (if it's food) every time you just even think of eating and savoring it, you also think of the person who took the time and effort to send it. That's special. That is was makes bacon, or shampoo and conditioner, or new shirts, or a drawing book and colored pencils, so priceless.
Thank you Mom, Dad, Aunt Lois and Uncle Mike, and Tracy and Pam for all your thoughtful letters or packages!
Well, I'm going to go back to my bed and prop my leg up some more. I hope all of you are living wonderful, staphless lives over there. I look forward to seeing you guys at Christmas!!!
Sarah
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
Home Again
So, now I’m back at home… the secondary home. I have to say, I’m very glad to be back. Not only can I approach my life here with a new, fresher face, but I also managed to bring a lot of things to make life a little easier over here: instant food like mashed potatoes or Lipton Sides, junk food, and drink mixes and chai tea, not to mention the other 95 lbs. of stuff like that.
In coming back here, I’ve come to realize a lot of things: I love the Otamaari people of Boukombe. Not only do I love the people, but I love the children. There are children everywhere, and they are always smiling and welcoming. I’ve always found children watching me and following me everywhere here, but it wasn’t till my trip home until I found that to be funnyj or strange.
The people themselves share that welcomeness that the children will overwhelm you with. Now that I understand French and a little bit of the local language, Ditamaari, I see that people are constantly open and inviting to any and all strangers, and everyone is welcomed with the kindest of smiles. I don’t know if I really realized that till I went home and saw the blank looks of strangers who were busy looking through me as though I was non-existent. What if you had to say hello to every single person you passed at the mall, or else be considered rude??
While home, I also realized many things that I’ve changed in leaving… the biggest and most difficult has been my diet. It’s weird, but with the way my service here has evolved, before I left for Oklahoma I couldn’t even tell you what I ate back at home. As soon as I landed in the States it all came back to me, and I now realize how much chicken and turkey I ate at home. You could almost say that’s all I ate… except for that Arby’s Corned Beef Reuben, of course. Over here I eat very, very little chicken and absolutely no turkey. A turkey costs about $70-80USD I think, and that would be a lot of meat for me alone. Chickens are about $3USD each, but most don’t even make it to the market, because they are usually used for sacrifices. The prettiest and fattest especially, because the bigger the sacrifice the more it pleases the gods. To see this as wasteful might be fair, but very culturally insensitive. Besides, how many times have you bought something special while counting your pennies, or eaten at a nice restaurant even though it means maxing out your credit card?? That’s the ‘American way’, right? Well, this is ‘Another way’ towards the same thing. Anyway, I finally realized that I’ve been eating nothing but (local style) cheese and pasta or bread, and of course those delicious cakes and cookies born from and eaten by Mother Boredom personified. Boredom is hard to avoid when you live alone, without a television, and without anything else to do in the evenings… other than cook. Readings a good diversion as well, but much less delicious.
Another thing realized in my trip home: So many of the things that I dreamed and drooled for before going home seem less necessary now. It’s almost as though the instant I walked into my parents’ house and had everything at my fingertips, those things no longer seemed necessary, or even wanted in some cases. Some things even seemed ridiculous and embarrassing, so I did a little ‘cleaning of the closet’ while I was at home… let me just say that now would be a good time to go shopping at the Benefit the Blind goodwill store.
It was really nice to be clean for a whole two weeks though. It’s almost ironic, but the day before I got back to Boukombe a water line broke, and so there hasn’t been water for 3 days, and before that I only had the chance to take 1 shower in the 4 days before that because I was still on the road… yes, I’m on dirty day number 5 now. So much for being clean!!! Hopefully it will rain tonight so that I can collect enough water to take a shower tomorrow!
Well, that’s about all I have for now. It was great to see or talk to most of you guys!!! I’ll see or talk to you guys again in December!!! Also, I’d like to send a ‘Bon Arrive!’ to the soon to arrive Grace Marie!!! To the rest of you, a tout a l’heure!!!
Sarah
In coming back here, I’ve come to realize a lot of things: I love the Otamaari people of Boukombe. Not only do I love the people, but I love the children. There are children everywhere, and they are always smiling and welcoming. I’ve always found children watching me and following me everywhere here, but it wasn’t till my trip home until I found that to be funnyj or strange.
The people themselves share that welcomeness that the children will overwhelm you with. Now that I understand French and a little bit of the local language, Ditamaari, I see that people are constantly open and inviting to any and all strangers, and everyone is welcomed with the kindest of smiles. I don’t know if I really realized that till I went home and saw the blank looks of strangers who were busy looking through me as though I was non-existent. What if you had to say hello to every single person you passed at the mall, or else be considered rude??
While home, I also realized many things that I’ve changed in leaving… the biggest and most difficult has been my diet. It’s weird, but with the way my service here has evolved, before I left for Oklahoma I couldn’t even tell you what I ate back at home. As soon as I landed in the States it all came back to me, and I now realize how much chicken and turkey I ate at home. You could almost say that’s all I ate… except for that Arby’s Corned Beef Reuben, of course. Over here I eat very, very little chicken and absolutely no turkey. A turkey costs about $70-80USD I think, and that would be a lot of meat for me alone. Chickens are about $3USD each, but most don’t even make it to the market, because they are usually used for sacrifices. The prettiest and fattest especially, because the bigger the sacrifice the more it pleases the gods. To see this as wasteful might be fair, but very culturally insensitive. Besides, how many times have you bought something special while counting your pennies, or eaten at a nice restaurant even though it means maxing out your credit card?? That’s the ‘American way’, right? Well, this is ‘Another way’ towards the same thing. Anyway, I finally realized that I’ve been eating nothing but (local style) cheese and pasta or bread, and of course those delicious cakes and cookies born from and eaten by Mother Boredom personified. Boredom is hard to avoid when you live alone, without a television, and without anything else to do in the evenings… other than cook. Readings a good diversion as well, but much less delicious.
Another thing realized in my trip home: So many of the things that I dreamed and drooled for before going home seem less necessary now. It’s almost as though the instant I walked into my parents’ house and had everything at my fingertips, those things no longer seemed necessary, or even wanted in some cases. Some things even seemed ridiculous and embarrassing, so I did a little ‘cleaning of the closet’ while I was at home… let me just say that now would be a good time to go shopping at the Benefit the Blind goodwill store.
It was really nice to be clean for a whole two weeks though. It’s almost ironic, but the day before I got back to Boukombe a water line broke, and so there hasn’t been water for 3 days, and before that I only had the chance to take 1 shower in the 4 days before that because I was still on the road… yes, I’m on dirty day number 5 now. So much for being clean!!! Hopefully it will rain tonight so that I can collect enough water to take a shower tomorrow!
Well, that’s about all I have for now. It was great to see or talk to most of you guys!!! I’ll see or talk to you guys again in December!!! Also, I’d like to send a ‘Bon Arrive!’ to the soon to arrive Grace Marie!!! To the rest of you, a tout a l’heure!!!
Sarah
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