Tanzania--The Inevitable Sickness and a Quiet Weekend

After a great first day in Iringa, the second day wasn't quite so positive. I woke up with stomach cramps and a general feeling of malaise--never a good sign! After breakfast I felt a little bit better, but still somewhat under the weather. We had more orientation and Swahili that morning, during which I felt ok. In the afternoon, however, I slid downhill. We were tasked with completing a bargaining activity (as well as our shopping for the semester). The bargaining activity was quite interesting, because we had to negotiate with street sellers for various products on a pre-assigned list. Our goal was to acquire as many things on the list as possible for only 5000 Tsh. (roughly 3 dollars) We did quite well, thanks to some help from our Tanzanian host students, Bosco and Sifal, who accompanied us through the market and helped us to bargain!

One of the (few) pictures I managed to catch of the market!

The market in Iringa is really remarkable. It is unlike anything I've ever encountered in the US or Europe. A sprawling mass of spirited commerce and energy, in the market, there are no set prices. Everything seems to be a negotiation. Although it is exciting, it is also exhausting. I could not imagine having to do my shopping here every day. Each time I need to buy one thing, I have to spend several minutes negotiating the price down. If the price is still not where I want it, I have to be prepared to walk away and try somewhere else. In our challenge, we worked really hard to find the cheapest things, which often meant visiting two or three different stores to see if we could find a better price. After three hours of doing this, I was utterly knackered!

Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten any better. That morning, I'd taken a fair number of medications to ward off the worst of my symptoms. That decision came back to bite me. Around three or four in the afternoon, as the medications wore off, I started to feel terrible. In particular, I could feel a fever coming on. After texting with the director, Justin, we decided that it was probably a good idea to go to the clinic to get checked by a doctor.

To get to the clinic, I hopped in a bijaj, a small three-wheeled vehicle that is known as a "tuk-tuk" in many parts of Asia. My bijaj driver whisked me downtown--and only charged 3,000 Tsh for the trip (that's a little under 2 dollars for a 20 minute drive). My destination was the Aga Khan Medicial Center, which is where all the foreigners go for treatment. After a quick visit with the doctor and a battery of tests, they determined that I had somehow picked up some passengers since arriving in Tanzania.

My New Friend, Giardia! (Credit: CDC)

My new pals, just along for the ride, were parasites known as Giardia. Commonly found in the back-country of the US (along with everywhere else in the world), Giardia is a funny little creature. It seems to really enjoy inhabiting the small intestines of the unknowing host and causing them misery as a result. (I really shouldn't personify a microscopic organism, but it helped with the pain to think of beating a personified creature) I was given a packet of antibiotics at the in-house pharmacy at the clinic and told to return in two weeks to be re-screened for the parasite. The cost? The total for the doctor, the tests, and the antibiotics ran to about 22000 Tsh, or about 13 dollars. And that's without insurance. Ironically, the cost of these services is still too much for most Tanzanians and the clinic is viewed as a resource only for the wealthy and for foreigners (like me!). I think the most incredible piece of the whole cost were my antibiotics--which cost 800 Tsh (or 50 cents). I cannot imagine ANY antibiotics, no matter how common or cheap, costing that little in the USA. Heck, the plastic containers they use in the States probably costs more than the antibiotics here (In Tanzania, they came in a small brown envelope).

My Coke cost more than my Antibiotics (1000Tsh vs 800 Tsh)

Following my visit to the clinic, I had a quick meal and returned to campus. At the point, the antibiotics hadn't kicked in and I was feeling the full brunt of my new status as parasite host. I had a strong fever, was shivering uncontrollably, and had nasty stomach cramps. Needless to say, it was not my favorite moment here so far. Although most of my group decided to go out and sample the local nightlife, I decided to call it a night. I think it might have been the best 13 hours of sleep I've gotten in recent memory. Although I was not back to 100% the following day, things were definitely on the up-swing.

Sunday was a very quiet day. We officially had the day off, but another member of our group wasn't feeling well, so I volunteered to go back to the clinic with her. After a relatively quick visit to the clinic, we did some shopping in town and then headed back to campus. In all, the day was one of rest and relaxation. I did end up doing laundry in the afternoon--which was quite an event. I must confess, I have never actually hand-washed my laundry in its entirety before. The odd item, yes, but never each and every item in my laundry basket. Unfortunately, there are no washing machines here, so a bucket and my hands must suffice. I had some idea of what to do (after all, how hard can hand-washing be?), but most of the process was trial and error. After realizing that I had used far too much laundry powder in my first bucket of water, I realized that I had to add another bucket just to rinse my clothes. Although I nearly melted the waistband of my shorts with an iron (we have to iron all of our clothes here to kill off the fly larvae that have been laid in them while they were drying), my first attempt at hand-washing was rather sucessful. My clothes even smelled clean at the end!

By the end of Sunday, I still didn't feel great, but I was confident that things would get better. Being sick in a foreign place is no fun, but I also know that I am only here for a few short months. Before I know it, I will be headed back to the States, so I was determined to not let my illness slow me down too much! Instead, I looked forward to the first week of classes ahead.