Points for Accuracy

April 30^th

This one’s short. And unpleasant.

But unfortunately one of the realities Peace Corps volunteers have to cope with.

At some point in (what I’m assuming) every volunteer’s service, they’ve been really sick. It’s kind of inevitable with the conditions we subject out bodies to.

I’ve had parasites for about 6 months now. After a recent 10 days of medication, I hope to now be rid of them. Fingers crossed for that stool sample to come back negative. It’d be the first time since arrival…

Those little guys are nothing compared to having food poisoning in Togo though.

I was lucky enough to have a bout of that my first week back in country from America.

I bought an egg sandwich my last night in Atakpame – the city in the center of the country with a volunteer house. I had a meeting there immediately following my return that postponed my reintroduction to village. It also provided a nice buffer for the readjustment back to Togo.

The next morning, the day I headed back to village, I ate it. Without having refrigerated it. I KNOW. I deserve this.

It tasted all right. But within 30 minutes I started feeling queasy. I thought once I got settled on the nice air-conditioned bus and drank some water, my stomach would settle.

There was no air-conditioning.

And my stomach did not settle.

An hour in I knew it was only a matter of time. Fortunately, I had both seats to myself and a couple of sachets (plastic bags) with me.

I won’t go into more detail than that.

I used the bags and then Ryan, another volunteer sitting across from me, handed me a few more. No questions asked.

It’s interesting how desensitized we become to bodily malfunctions as volunteers. Just part of the job description.

I neatly tied up my product and through it off the bus upon arrival in Kara, my final destination, 4 hours later.

I made it to my house just in time for round two.

For two days I couldn’t keep down anything. Even water. I was so dehydrated I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. I lost about 5 pounds and my lack of energy consumption kept me in bed for almost a week.

I’m not telling you this so make you realize how hard my life is here or discourage you from ever trying egg sandwiches. They’re delicious.

I just don’t wont everything in my blog to be focused on work or shocking cultural differences. I want to give you a first hand account of what it’s like being in the Peace Corps.

I also want to share with you how I change and grow throughout this process.

What I learned from this experience is that,

Well first, never eat unrefrigerated leftovers in a third world country.

But also, I survived! Despite my two days being confident I was dying. Yes, I’m away from home, with hardly any amenities, so being here feels waaayyy worse than being in air-conditioning with DVR and your mom.

In the Peace Corps, you learn your limits. You figure out what you really need to make it through hard times and you gain an overwhelming feeling of independence.

Those lessons come through hardship.

I’m also happy enough here in Togo that I can take these unpleasantries and know that they don’t impact my outlook on my life here.

I hope that I don’t have that experience again, but if do, I’m confident I’ll get through it. Just add it to the list of silver linings. In addition to discovering my projectile accuracy is quite impressive.

Hope I didn’t gross you out too much.

Stay healthy,

Kumealo