My first week in MoroGoro was definitely something to write home about – actually, more like something to not write home about. Our first full day here, my wallet was stolen out of my purse. It wasn’t my personal wallet; it was the “wallet” that I used for the team’s finances. Luckily, there was very little money in it, less than the equivalent of $7 USD. It hurt my pride more than anything because I know better and tend to be cautious. Then, two mornings later, I woke up with what I thought were bug bites all over my face, arms, and hands. Granted, I did sleep outside the night before, but I had a mosquito net covering me the entire time. My forehead was so covered that it was swollen. Once my teammates got a look at my face, they informed me that it wasn’t bug bites on my face but hives. After taking a better look at my body, I realized that while I did have numerous mosquito bites on my legs and on my arms, the countless marks on my face and hands were definitely hives. Our contact got one look at my face and said I needed to go to the hospital.
For those of you who know me well, you know that I avoid going to the doctor at all costs, much less the hospital. I, however, did not put up much a fight, due to the fact that if possible, I would have scratched my face off. Rest assured, the waiting time to see a doctor in Africa is similar to that in America. However, one consultation and two prescriptions only cost me close to $10 USD, definitely not what it would have cost me at home. The diagnosis was that I was having an allergic reaction to something, but to what, we had no idea. After thinking about it all day, I think I figured out what it was. The only thing different from the day before from all the rest was that I helped wash the dishes after lunch. The soap they use is powder laundry detergent, and as a child and once as a teenager, I know that I had issues with particular detergents causing me to break out in hives. How does that explain the hives all over my face? Funny thing. It was so hot that day, like most days, and since the water we were using for dishes was rather cold, I kept rubbing the rinsing water all over my arms and face. I didn’t just splash my face with this water; I totally wetted my face several times. After several days of medication and ointment, the bumps slowly went away.
As if being robbed and looking like a walking disease wasn’t enough, the day after my trip to the doctor, I realized that I had been hosting a worm in my body. Not very big, just a couple inches. Just a harmless, skinny white worm. I, of course, have no idea how long it had been residing in my stomach, or wherever, but rest assured, it vacated my body without any noticeable harm to me. Now I won’t share in detail (at least not in my blog) how I came to the realization that a worm had been living inside me, but I’m sure if you thought hard enough, you’d figure it out. Aside from the hives, my health has been totally fine, so I am not worried about this. If something strange is going to happen to us, it appears that it’s going to be me. There are stories of past racers having to have worms pulled out of their feet from beneath their toenails. Now that is something I’m definitely hoping to avoid. My worm experience was nothing of the sorts, and I’d rather not see worms exiting my body through my flesh.
So there you have it, my first full week in Tanzania. It may not have been the most warm welcome, but the heat is warm enough … hot, to be more exact. Fun, huh?! 🙂 We’re now in our second week, and things are going great. God is definitely making the first week up to me. This week is already turning out to be something to truly be something to write home about – all good things and nothing “bad” like my first week. God is really doing some amazing things in me, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you. BUT that will have to wait until my next blog. I have a feeling He’s going to show up big this weekend, and I want to tell you about it all at once. Also because these experiences definitely deserve a blog all of their own.
