Illness

I have been mildly ill a number of times since my arrival in South Africa but this last weekend was the first time that my body completely fell apart. Unfortunately my bout with illness began when I was in town doing my shopping, so I was forced to endure the hour ride home on a crowded taxi, head out the window, as the bouts of nausea wavered in and out. I finally got home, and barely made it the short walk from the road to my home before collapsing from exhaustion into bed. I did not stay that way long, I spent the rest of the day trudging between my room and the pit toilet. The pleasant experience was completed even more fully as I threw up with flies pelting me from every direction. For all of Sunday this continued: a long with a high fever and other less pleasant scenarios, and I spent all of Monday confined to a bed. Now, Tuesday, I have made it back to school, but the mile walk here has left me completely exhausted, and I can only hope that I am in fact getting better and not in for another horrendous case of complete loss of digestive functions for any longer.

As a side note I have come to the realization that I am, in fact, not going to have any visitors while I spend time here in South Africa. As far as I know I am the only volunteer who has no family and/or friends willing/able to make the trek across the Atlantic Ocean to this beautiful and glorious country (yes, this is my form of a guilt trip). I feel after being miserably alone and ill for the past few days I can send this low blow and eventually receive forgiveness.

And yet another side note: The woman I share a post box with asked me today if I had changed my address. "No, Why?" "You used to get tons of mail and now you rarely get any I don't think the people in America remember you anymore." How depressing, to have rejection pointed out due to mail.