the impact of illness

Monday-Sunday, May 3-9, 2010

The highlights from this week sadly included the fact that so many of us were struggling with some physical ailments. School with the children was a challenge because Riah and Tessa had been diagnosed with scabies. Of course, that diagnosis left the rest of us hyper-sensitive to our own itchy skin and made life practically unbearable for them until the medicine started to work.

Wednesday, Nicole came down with something so I "led" Bibliotec in the afternoon. It was a much more relaxed event than normal, but I took Bingo to play and some paper, pencils, and crayons to allow for coloring. The time went well for the majority, but by the end I had come down with a headache unbeknownst to me which didn't help with the children decided they didn't want to listen or respect me. Despite the designated time having passed, this combination led to an abrupt ending to our time together. I ate dinner, briefly decompressed, and went to bed.

The rest of the week was touch and go for me as far as an illness was concerned. The Carlins and I left on Friday for a weekend in Jacmel, but I was not interested in much of anything. I did walk down to the beach on Saturday afternoon for a spectacular view, particularly as I gazed back up at the hotel (unfortunately I forgot my camera in the room). The traveling did not help my stomach at all.

The drive back on Sunday was quite memorable in some ways. Mike and I sat in the truck bed with Clement. It rained, so we covered our laps and the bags in the back with a tarp. The guys were cold by the time we reached the top of the mountain and took towels to wrap over their heads. Mike commented that he felt like old women. I joked about the fact that I didn't need my long-sleeve shirt as protection from the sun afterall. Haitians on the road seemed to really enjoy the sight of a couple of blans getting wet. In the last 10 minutes of the drive, I saw a moto (motorcyle) with 5 people on it, Mimi (our driver) forgot about the last bump in the road and bounced us practically right out of the truck, and a SUV full of drunk guys yelled for our attention as they passed us just to immediately turn off on a side road. The roads in Haiti are known for their danger. This day proved the vast number of ways that danger can present itself.