Everyday Battles

I think this picture is the best representation I can give you of the place I live in. In every imagineable way, physically, emotionally, mentally and the unmentioned 'other', people here are dry. Anything I throw out there lands in places like this and we all know what happens to seeds after that. Even me and my friends while we are here, we all just feel so dried up.

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling great. Things were going good and I decided that I would go visit my friend Mary. I have this special gift that I still haven't been able to give her and I resolved that I was going to go see her and give her the gift. The very minute that I made the decision I threw up.

Sorry that's kind of gross, but I did. I immediately recognized it for the battle that it was and not just another stomach thing and decided that I was going to press through. So I got dressed, threw up again, and headed out for Mary's.

We had been there only about 5 minutes when some little kids came in and started saying something about our car and the 'neFFis'. I don't know what 'neFFis' means but I know that 'nefs' means 'the same' and we were driving a different car than usual so I thought they were just pointing out that we weren't in the same car. Then a grown man came in, pulled my friend outside and showed him the nail in the tire where the 'neFFis' (air) was coming out.

Since we were in a different car and unsure of the spare tire situation we kind of needed to get back to town quick to avoid being stuck out in the village forever. Mary tried to make us stay and eat the bananas and drink the coke that we'd brought for her family but we really didn't know what we would do if we got stuck out there so we went home. When we got home I barely made it in the gate before I threw up in the front yard. Again, sorry it's gross, but that's life here and at least I didn't do it in the street in front of all the neighbors!!!

But the tire just helped to affirm that the throwing up really was more than just a bug and it's just a small example from this huge battle that we fight in this dry place on a daily basis. I know the present I have for Mary is really special and important but I did not see this battle coming, which makes me think that it will be even more special to her than I imagined.

We are planning to go back one day next week and deliver some more coke and bananas and other things...I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of dreading what will happen that day to keep us from getting there.

Yesterday in My Life

Here's what I did yesterday:

I visited this family and played with this little baby boy...now don't be deceived by the pink blanket (despite the fact that it was 100 degrees) or the pink clothes that you can't see underneath the blanket. The baby is about 3 weeks old and for the first week or so I kept referring to it as 'she'. I think that the mom thought I was just confused on my Arabic and that I knew it was a boy but just didn't know how to talk about it as a boy b/c yesterday she referred to it as a 'he' and I was like 'oh, it's a boy?!?' Good thing she wasn't offended!
Then I played with this little girl...I know, work can just be so hard sometimes!!

I did some other things but no more pictures will load so you'll just have to guess what it was. Now today I'm having some sort of 24 hour bug type thing...at least I hope it only last 24 hours b/c whatever it is it really stinks. Anyways, I sure hope none of the above kids got it.

Although I shake about 100 snotty little hands every day I go out (see friend in above pic) so more than likely I probably got it from one of them. Maybe the Purell hand sanitizer really isn't as good as it's supposed to be...

Glasses

Notice that one of the lenses is missing? This kid spent a good 15 minutes looking around trying to figure out what was different...it was pretty much the cutest thing!

Class Pets

I never realized how much having a class pet in elementary school could affect your life. Looking back, do y'all remember all your class pets or is it just me? I especially remember the 2 praying mantises (sp.?) we had in 2nd grade. They were pretty gross and at recess the boys would take them out and play with them. Over long holidays someone had to take them home but there was this one kid who liked bugs and snakes and so he always volunteered.

Anyways, so life goes on over here and I was recently reminded of how great or just how incredibly horrible class pets can be. It's a good thing my second grade teacher didn't allow us to name our insects. We never voted and decided on one specific name, although what a great way to teach young kids about democracy...maybe that's the underlying issue here...hmmm.

If you've been reading the international news lately you might have heard a story about a class pet around these parts. It's funny. I've been living in the Sandbox for a while now and I've gotten so used to the tension that a lot of times I forget about it. Over time strange things become normal and then they fade into the background of life, until something happens and I'm suddenly reminded of how things are not OK here, this isn't a peaceful country and there are people here who do not like foreigners and are just waiting for a reason.

One of my friend's moms is here this week. We were talking with a local friend and it came up that she teaches at a school in the states that is very close to an airport. The guy we were talking to was totally confused about how they could maintain order in that school, how the kids weren't totally afraid and hiding under their desks every time an airplane passed by. He didn't realize that our country is actually a peaceful place where airplanes don't necessarily mean that the bombs and the bad guys are coming.

He told us his story. He was 12 and going to school in another village when the planes came. They dropped some bombs nearby and all the children ran into the woods to hide. Next the bad guys came, killed everyone they found and burned the village down. He said he and his friends didn't know where they were going, they just ran as fast as they could. Last year, after 24 years, he returned home for the first time and found his family.

Stories like this one not uncommon and my heart breaks every time I hear someone talk about their horrible childhood. The people here have seen and lived through some of the most atrocious things, and yet they are resilient. Somehow they have managed to survive, I don't know how, but they have.

A Few More Pictures

Some more pictures from out in the camp.

This guy has tuberculosis...Every time I leave their house I just pray that the purell hand sanitizer really is that good!

I have no idea who these kids are but I recognize them because they always follow us around. No matter what day it is or what time I go I can count on these kids to be there. You'd think I'd get old to them after a while, I mean, I'm out there all the time. I was hoping that they'd eventually get used to the white girl, but for some strange reason they are still fascinated.

This little girl in the white is my favorite. I don't know her name but she lives near to the place where we leave the car out there. She is always the first to say hello to me and shake my hand. This day she heard the car coming and raced out of her house so that she could wave to us, then she rushed up to greet us when we got out of the car. On another day she wasn't around or for some reason she somehow missed us when we arrived. When we were finished and got back to the car to go home she was sitting on the bumper just waiting for us. She shook my hand and greeted me, let go of my hand and then immediately shook my hand again and told me goodbye...I think it was one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time!

It's Winter Now

Yesterday I was out in the camp and everyone was decked out for winter...sweaters, toboggans, the whole get up. We were having a meeting and I asked if they wanted to meet inside or outside...they said definitely inside because of the 'cold wind'. I did notice that it was a little windy but definitely would not have called it 'cold'.

As I looked around I noticed that everyone was dressed in winter clothes and so I asked them if they were cold and they were like 'yes, the weather changed today. It turned cold.' I didn't really think it was cold, but then again sweat wasn't dripping down my leg like usual so I realized that it actually was cooler than normal...not cold but definitely not as hot.

After that every single local person I met, it didn't matter if I knew them or not, commented on how cold it was and how the weather had changed. Then last night my guard was bundled up and just couldn't believe that I was wearing a tank top in this cold weather.

So I guess it's cold now....definitely not as cold as I remember from last winter, but somehow colder. Woohoo!!!

The Gym

We have a gym here, surprise!! Actually the 'health' fad is slowly catching on...I can count about 8 different gyms in this city of 8 million people. When you think gym, don't think 24 hour fitness or anything...think 3 broken machines in a small, unairconditioned room.

Anyways, I joined one the other day (the best one, it has about 10 machines and maybe 3 are working). It's getting to be winter which means 100 degrees instead of 120 so I won't have to worry about heat exhaustion or anything like that...figured I might as well. Plus they have a track, the only track in this country. It's just rocks, not the special spongey black rocks like y'all have, just plain rocks but it works.

The gym works like this. 3 days a week the gym is open for men and the other 3 days for women and it's open from 3pm-7pm. Since men aren't allowed in on the women's days it means that we can actually be outside and not be the center of unwanted attention...and I actually roll up my t-shirt sleeves and show my shoulders...shocking!!!

Anyways, the point of all of this is to describe my doctor experience. To join the gym you have to have a 'physical'. When I went to her 'office' she recorded my height...apparently I grew a few inches in the last year. Not real sure how that happened since I'm fairly certain most people don't have a growth spurt in their early 20's.

Then she took my weight. I believe her exact words were 'oh, you're still small. You do not need to make exercise.' First off, I'm not that small. Second, if you work at the gym don't you think you should be encouraging people to go there and not trying to talk them out of it?!?!

After that she took my blood pressure. She gets out the thing, puts it around my arm, gets situated with everything, goes to pump it up and, surprise, there's not bubble thing. It's just not there. She looks at me and says 'you're blood pressure is probably fine since you're still small'. Another lady comes in and tells her where another cuff is and she gets that one out. This one has a bubble pump, however it does not have any velcro to hold it to my arm. Still she gets everything all situated and then holds it on my arm while she pumps it up. I just laughed when she wrote 110/70 on my paper and said 'perfect'. The cuff never even got tight on my arm but I have perfect blood pressure. Who knew???

The last thing she did was take my pulse. In the middle of counting her phone rang and she answered it. When she was finished with the call she wrote down a number and then said that I was perfectly healthy and approved to join the gym.

She was a doctor, an actual medical professional. Some people may wonder why we have to leave the country to have even very basic medical care...now y'all know.

Games

I visited some of my friends in the camp yesterday and there were some other women at her house. One of the new ladies (pictured above with 6 week old baby) husbands works as a night guard at a western embassy. She was telling us how excited she was about the Christmas party they would have.

Then she started telling us about this game that they play every year. All in Arabic, of course, so it was pretty entertaining when she tried to explain how they put a spoon in their mouth and then put a lime in it and run to see who can be first without dropping the lime.

I let her fnish the explanation and then told her that we have that same game in America but we use an egg instead of a lime. That just blew her mind. She couldn't fathom why anyone would be foolish enough to put something as valuable as an egg on their spoon and take the chance that they would drop it and not be able to eat it later.

You just never know when you'll be reminded of how much you take for granted and just how wasteful us Americans can be.

This kid is a University of Texas fan, although I doubt he even knows it!!!

Thanksgiving is Coming!!!

The holiday season is upon us and, in the Sandbox, we have to really make an effort to get into the holiday spirit. Since there are no decorations, no Christmas music playing in the stores and no cold weather it's a little bit more difficult than you'd imagine.

About three weeks ago some of my friends got together and discussed what we were going to have for Thanksgiving dinner. They settled on the idea that we would have pig. Apparently there are some people here (who will forever remain nameless) who have access to pigs. You have to buy the entire thing and I'm sure that some of their methods of import are 'questionable' at best, but do we really care? (for those of you who might not know, pork is banned from the sandbox)

After 2 weeks of planning dinner around the pig it has come to our attention that it will cost roughly $500 ($40 per person) to buy this thing. Needless to say we very quickly reassessed our gameplan and are now having chicken(s). Maybe we'll put some bacon with the chicken and pretend.

I haven't heard anything about our football plan. Since we technically have Thanksgiving 9 hours before you do we miss out on the Cowboys game. I realize that not everyone is a cowboys fan but most of us around here are southerners and, let's face it, have you ever heard of anyone who plans thanksgiving dinner around the lion's game??? The idea was that maybe we could somehow tape a game from the last few weeks and then we'll watch it on Thursday...or at least have it playing in the background. We'll see how that worked out.

Despite the crushed pig expectations I still have plenty to be thankful for...and it always puts things into perspective when your friends are refugees, live on less than $2 a day and are still thankful for what little they have. So Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cutie

Check out this little guy. Ran into him at an HIV/AIDS awareness training. Not real sure that he understood anything that was being discussed or that he should have been around for it but I guess his mom thought that no one is too young to learn about AIDS. Plus he was dressed to the nines!

Coke Bottles

Out here we have glass bottle cokes. We have plastic bottles that we call 'mobiles' (with a long I) but they cost 50 cents. The glass bottles are 25 cents and definitely the more common choice among the locals.

Since there's a little store just outside my door I have converted to drinking the glass bottles. Even though you have to return the bottles, they're still cheaper and the place is just right there so it's really not a hassle. And we buy 5 at a time because it's just easier that way

But today, well today there was a foreign body in my glass bottle coke. Good thing I poured it into a separate glass or else I wouldn't have found it until the end. At first I thought maybe it was a piece of ice, then I thought maybe it was a piece of glass. Then I realized that it was a piece of plastic wrapper, probably just trash that the last person shoved into the bottle before they returned it.

No big deal, right? It was definitely a relief to realize that I didn't have to drink it. I could just pour it out and take my chances on the next bottle and that's exactly what I did.

But then I got to thinking...I wonder what kind of 'cleansing' process they use on these reused glass bottles. I mean up to this point I was perfectly content to ignorantly believe that whatever high pressure process they use to seal the metal lid on top was sufficient enough to wipe out the germs of the person before me. Now I've moved on to thinking about backwash and leftover trash shoved down in there...I'm just not sure I want to go there.

So all that to say kudos to the countries who have moved past the glass bottles and on to plastic only. It might be a little more expensive but I bet it saves on passing along communicable diseases.

Coffee

One of my friends was making me coffee the other day and her little 2 year old girl was climbing all over her back. It made it impossible for her to use the mortar stick thing to grind the coffee beans, but in typical Arab way she wouldn't let me grind the beans for her and she wouldn't ask the Fatina to stop climbing, even though the little girl is blind and there was fire right next to her so it was actually kind of dangerous.

She also makes these oven things. It's always fun trying to figure out what things are in Arabic. I was sitting there and out of the blue she brings this thing over and sets it in front of me with a huge grin so I know it's something she's proud of, I just don't know what it is. So I start asking questions like 'Did you make that yourself?', 'What is it?', 'What do you use it for?' etc...I always feel stupid, like when a little kid brings you a picture they drew and they expect you to know exactly what it is when you have no clue.

So I know the word for oven in Arabic, but since this isn't the kind of regular oven you'd find in a kitchen it has a different word and I don't know that word, so it took a while for the idea to come across that this was what she uses to cook food on. Then she explained that she makes it by hand out of mud and donkey doodoo, then sells it in the market for $1. Yep, when we're talking poor people we're talking people who spend hours crafting an oven out of mud and then are really excited to sell it for $1.

Rickshaw

I generally use public transportation to make my way around town. If I'm not going too far from home I hop on one of these, a rickshaw. They have them in Asia and, random fact, the Sandbox is the only country in Africa to use rickshaws.

Anyways they're pretty much a deathtrap and if there's ever an accident involving speeds over 5 mph someone is going to get hurt. Couple that with the fact that it's mainly young guys (like ages 12-18) who drive these and they just drive like maniacs and often go the wrong way on busy roads and you have yourself a majorly unsafe and surprisingly popular mode of transportation.

What is fun is that they all come decorated in a different way. For instance this guy has very unique taste. I especially like the teletubbies and the big hummer sticker but my favorite part is the furry leapord attached to the top. I can only imagine that inside he has a big fuzzy teddy bear that is so big it barely leaves any room for the passenger. He probably has tacky gold curtain tassles hanging from the ceiling and, if we're lucky, some flashing lights. More than likely when he honks his horn it plays some annoying tune like 'It's a Small World After All' and there is a sound system like no other blaring out TuPac or some other grossly inappropriate rap song...come to think of it they're all pretty much decorated alike.

Random Places

Here are a few pics of the random restaurants and places that we have. The Wall Mart pic is accidentally at the bottom of the last post. Then here's the 'Dairy Queen'

Here's our 'lucky meal' with the wannabe McDonalds arches.
Our 'KFC'

Keep in mind that the places pictured above are just knock offs of the real places and come no where close to sufficiently substituting in their absence.

Rift Valley Fever

Who knew that in moving to the Sahara desert there would be so many diseases coming and going. Recently there's an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever. I've never heard of that before, but after a little research I decided that I don't really want to experience it either.

In a recent update from WHO they said:
There are no vaccines for humans who contract Rift Valley Fever. Health experts generally advise the public to only eat inspected meat (like we have that!!), avoid human-animal contact (even if I wasn't working on a goat project, that's almost impossible), bury or burn dead animals (notice they didn't mention eating them) and observe basic hygiene.

Alright, I can handle the basic hygiene. Other than that I'll just have to believe that I'll be divinely protected.

Here's another little worm that I probably don't have but I know people who do and I would rather not get. Guinea Worm. Apparently Jimmy Carter has a whole little organization dedicated to eradicating guinea worm. Here's a few facts on that.

Adult guinea worms emerge from the skin of infected persons annually. Persons with worms protruding through the skin may enter sources of drinking water. Persons become infected by drinking water containing the larvae. Once inside the body, the worm passes into the body cavity. During the next 10-14 months, the female Guinea worm grows to 2-3 feet long and as wide as a cooked spaghetti noodle, and migrates to the site where she will emerge, usually the lower limbs.

A blister develops on the skin at the site where the worm will emerge. This blister causes a very painful burning sensation and it will eventually (within 24-72 hours) rupture. For relief, persons will immerse the affected limb into water, or may just walk in to fetch water. When someone with a Guinea worm ulcer enters the water, the adult female releases a milky white liquid containing millions of immature larvae into the water, thus contaminating the water supply.

Once the worm emerges from the wound, it can only be pulled out a few centimeters each day and wrapped around a small stick. Sometimes the worm can be pulled out completely within a few days, but this process usually takes weeks or months. No medication is available to end or prevent infection.

I know, it's gross, but sometimes you just have to face the fact that life in Africa can be pretty gross. Now can you just imagine if I end up having this one (rest assured, I probably don't have it, but then again I won't know for a year). I would like to see the look on an American doctor's face when I showed up at their office with a worm hanging out of my leg wrapped around a small stick?!?!?

In other news...

Being on TV

So I'm not sure how many times I've been on TV since I arrived in the Sandbox...I know I've turned down at least a couple of opportunities, but last week I went to a volleyball game with my friend and there was no avoiding it.

What's fun is that I went with a new white girl friend who has been here for a month. She had a totally different experience than me and it's so funny to remember back to when things were new.

When we walked in we were ushered to the fancy chairs in the front row with some other people who looked important and like they actually belonged in the front row. I guess I just got used to the VIP seats b/c it didn't even phase me when we were seated in the front.

Then people started taking 'discreet' pictures of us except they weren't discreet. Guys breaking out their camera phones and doing a horrible job of pretending they were taking pictures of other things while they were actually taking pictures of us...again, it's just gotten to be normal and I try not to notice it, otherwise it would probably really bother me that I can't go anywhere without people taking my picture.

Then they gave us a little plate of candy and cookies and some water. At this point we had moved to sit in like the 3rd row but they still passed it up to us. They only gave it to the important people and us, no one else...I'm not really sure how they got the idea that we were somehow important but I'm not gonna complain. But here again, I've just gotten used to someone bringing me a bottle of water while I'm there and I always get snacks when there are important people around and they're serving snacks. I mean, someone doesn't just go out and buy it for me, but if it's being passed out I am always included in the distribution.

Then there were the TV cameras. I've been at games being taped before and here's how it works. You know how on NBA games if there is a celebrity there the camera shots seem to include them more often than seems necessary? That would be my life. So there were 3 different cameras around the gym and I'm pretty sure that there was always at least one on us.

The game came on TV yesterday but it was on a channel that we don't get...all my friends have satellite but the channel is just on the regular TV so I didn't get to watch it. Plus why would I need to watch? I mean, I know what I looked like (pretty bad, it had been a long, hot day) and I know who won the game so why waste my time?

Cones

Yesterday I saw orange cones...there is a ditch down the side of the road that stretches for about 5 miles and for 50 yards of that there were some cones. It was so strange. They weren't even in a practical place or serving a practical purpose, but there were cones. Then, when I had just come to terms with the cones in front of the ditch we came up on even more in the middle of the road. Not only were there cones but there was a sign. One of those with one lane straight and one lane zig zagged like they needed to go around something. The sign was upside down but it was a sign and it was in front of a hole...a really small hole compared to the one that we had just almost gotten stuck in about 100 yards before, but there was a cone and some signage. What is this crazy world coming to?!?!?!

Clothes Market

I just got back from Nairobi and I've decided that my favorite market in the world is in Nairobi. (my favorite city for shopping in general is Cairo, but for the market category I've got to go with Nairboi) It's this used clothes market and I love it. You can find anything you want for cheap!

I guess I've been talking up this market a little much b/c my friends here in the Sandbox are trying to figure out how they can manage to stretch a 2 hour layover to get to the market and back when the market is about an hour from the airport if there's no traffic. What I guess I didn't tell them is that it's pretty much a huge garage sale. Lots of tables and people in the this big field, no order to anything, just a big giant mess where you dig through searching for good finds.

However this garage sale is a little different than the American ones. This one consists of all the brand new clothes that companies like GAP, Old Navy and H&M, donate to all the 'poor people in Africa' for a tax writeoff...Well, either the all poor people decided that they didn't need new clothes or somehow this process has been grossly mismanaged because it all ends up for sale at the Toy Market...sort of like the mosquito nets and food supplies that the UN gives out in war zones...hmm.

Sidenote, I love going up to sellers in the market in the sandbox and joking that they give me, for free, the food supplies that WFP donates to the refugees here for free. I tell them that my country gave the money to buy that food in the first place, I point out where it says 'not for resale' and really make 'em feel bad. Then when they are actually going to give it to me, I tell them I don't want it and they should give it to someone poor, then walk away...I do all of this jokingly but they believe it. I mean, I gotta practice my Arabic somehow!!!

But I was pleasantly surprised by the market last week. They have really stepped it up a little. Each of the little tables has somehow constructed a tarp above it to keep the clothes dry when it rains AND they have managed to put rocks in between the tables so you don't have to trek through the mud, now you just have to twist your ankles a million times b/c the rocks are incredibly uneven.

I actually bought pretty much an entire new wardrobe there last week. Brand new Gap pants for $4, some Old Navy jeans for $7, a lot of cute shirts for no more than $3 each, it was great. I love shopping when things are so cheap that I can just buy everything that I see that I want and not have to worry about how much it will be, etc.

Then it's Africa, so every price is negotiable. The sellers would start out at $10 for the pants and I would say 'you give me this for free'. They would go down a little and I'd go up a little, they'd go down and I'd go back to 'you give me for free' until we met somewhere around $4. At one point I sat on top of this guys jeans table on top of his huges tack of jeans for about 30 minutes just chatting and negotiating off and on until we agreed. At one point I actually told him 'look, you are a rich man. You have too many pants, maybe 500. Every morning you come here and you take your pick. Me, I am poor. I have only 2 jeans. You give me for a good price and I will tell my friends about you.'

So I'm living up to my word...not only did I bring back some of my friends later in the week but now all of y'all know about the guy with all the jeans.