The content of this blog is the creator's own thoughts and does not represent the views or opinions of the Peace Corps or the United States Government. I would also like to apologize for all my spelling and grammatical errors... there will be a lot.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Staying at a Zambian Hospital (part 4)

Alright as some of you know, after first site visit I managed to catch a case of dysentery (what am I playing Oregon trail?). I btw didn't just managed to catch regular dysentery oh no... I got amebeotic dysentery which means mine came with parasites woo apparently I was the first case in Peace Corps Zambia. Anyway so many would thing getting a horrible illness would scare me off... if anything it made me more excited. Not because I was sick, cause trust me it was horrible... but because of the nurses at the hospital.

The women working there were some of the most intellegent and kindest people I have ever met. Because I was in bad condition when I first arrived the women looked out for me, coming in and out just to talk and keep me company. There was even a little bit of cross cultural exchange. Apparently ginger ale is not a common drink of upset stomach, because I couldn't eat for a few days all I could keep down was liquids, which in Africa means coke. I kept asking for ginger ale and I got many looks as though I had 10 heads, but the nurses went out on day and surprised me with ginger ale, mango juice and apples. They were wonderful and trust me being sent to a hospital with a bad illness in a strange country and scary but they made me comfortable and truly motivated me to want to work with the people of the this country. I can't thank them enough.

1 comment:

megan said...

Awww, yay for not being dead, Lili.

My mom used to give me coke for upset stomachs when I was a little kid. It's another remedy, don't worry. They weren't playing the game of "hydrate anyway possible."

Just wait until you tell them about lemonade. We already discovered that Europeans have no idea what it is, after all. Trust America with its secretly weird drinks.

Is there anything with mint over there? I'm working on an on-going thesis that mint is largely an American obsession these days. :)