One of the first pieces of advice I received when asking previous volunteers what to expect from this program, started with, "So, you're going to get sick..."
There was an inevitable expectation of getting sick that I knew from the get-go. Any and all gringos eating the food and drinking water here-unless extremely careful, and lucky- will expose themselves to unfamiliar bacteria and get sick at least once. And for me, this sickness started just a few days into my stay in my community. It started with tummy grumbles, then multiple trips to the bathroom, then waking up one morning with full body aches and shivers. My poor body was trying to hard to fight this stuff off, and I started kicking myself for being so lenient with what I was eating. I had drank Chonta juice twice already, which could easily have thrown my body for a loop. I also had been accepting candies from the spit covered hands of Yosalin- not her fault for being a gracious toddler. Not to mention, I've been eating uvas before they've been washed, and I drank a glass of water in a Tena office without thinking that it probably isn't filtered. So, I screwed up. I can't blame anyone but myself for the fever and discomfort I experienced for most all of yesterday. I tried to be discreet about it, so as not to disturb my family. But when the bathroom can be seen from both my parent's room and the kitchen, it only takes two runs to the bathroom for them to notice. As soon as I confessed my pain, they were offering me solutions. My mom boiled me a small glass of a dark concoction to drink that morning, as I was about to take an hour long bus ride to Tena and needed something fast. It was numbing on my throat, and made my whole body feel a bit loopy. It definitely helped, along with the electrolytes and basic meds I picked up at the pharmacy in town. Once I got home, my family was feeling my head to check for my temperature, which apparently was still high. My host dad told me to sit down in this small chair in the door of the kitchen. Susie, my host mom, cut up some pure tobacco, and Bolivar started performing a traditional cleansing. He wouldd blow tobacco smoke on different parts of my head and body, and brush me with a bushel of leaves down my limbs to rid myself of the sickness. My host sister told me that the leaves, which were very alive before the ritual, would be wilted and dead when we were finished. The process was very calming, and made my spine tingle. It was casual, the family was watching and carrying on as it happened. As soon as he finished, I was sent to bed. I was exhausted, and had the best night's sleep I've experienced since getting here. Today, I'm feeling much better. And good thing, since I'm taking a last minute trip to the touristy town of Baños this weekend. From now on, I'll be drinking more (gringo) water, avoiding jugo de chonta, and thinking twice before accepting Yosalin's dulces (again, not her fault, pobrecita).
2 Comments
Mariam
2/20/2019 01:19:37 pm
Now you can cross being sick off the list, and not have to anticipate that happening anymore!
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Mom
2/21/2019 10:33:18 am
My pobrecita! You have always had such a high tolerance for pain and illness. I know anyone else would have been felled for days, but you rallied. So glad Bolivar was able to help.
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AuthorI'm a 21 year old university student, studying geography and food security, and spending a semester in Ecuador interning with Amazon Learning. ArchivesCategories |