Little Parasites Trying to Kill Me

So, apparently, there is a good chance that I have malaria. I have all the tell-tale signs:

fever (103.8)
chills followed by sweating
worst headaches of my life
body aches
fatigue
and it all gets worse in the afternoon

When I spoke with my PCMO, Dr. Traian, he told me there was a good possibility it was malaria. He told me I had to make the malaria slides - which involves pricking your own finger and dripping your blood on glass slides. It's not as fun as I make it sound, believe me. Eww.

I am on an anti-malarial (meflaquin) that I have taken weekly very religiously since leaving the US. So, this bout of malaria shouldn't be too bad. It does frustrate me that I take such a controversial drug weekly and I still get malaria. Whatever. At least I am going to survive. I guess I should be thankful that I take the meflaquin weekly, and that I don't have to worry too much about this getting really bad. In addition, I just started a treatment cycle of Coartem - 4 pills every 12 hours for 3 days. All should be good by the day after tomorrow.

Anyway, I do feel better today than I did yesterday, although it is not the afternoon yet, so it may go downhill later - I have no idea. What a strange disease - to get worse only in the afternoons. Weird parasite.

Eww. There are parasites running around in my blood trying to kill me. Gross.

Gendarme Encounter

Today is the day of the BAC – the big exams for all the students. It’s a strange year for the BAC because all government workers are on strike, and teachers did not show up for work today. How are students going to take their final exams without teachers? I don’t know, but they have to. The students of Conakry and Kindia don’t like this idea too much, and they are striking as well, apparently. They are in the streets, demanding the same things that everyone else striking is demanding – lower gas prices and major changes in the government. But the students in Siguiri are taking their tests today – tests in chemistry, math, french, english….

The reason I am writing this entry is not because there is a strike going on – that’s old news. I have no idea what changes are going to come of the strike, if any changes come at all. I am writing this blog entry to share a very very strange experience I had today while biking up to ADRA.

I was biking, as normal, up the obnoxious hill upon which ADRA decided to build its offices. I am almost at the top, almost there, but I am stopped by a man in uniform who greets me with all the wonderfully long formalities of Guinean culture. I am worried – I have never enjoyed encounters with uniformed men too much. Men in uniform around the world are there to either give you a ticket, to tell you to stop doing something, or to hit on young women like myself. So, as he greets me, I am worried. Is he going to tell me that I can’t go to ADRA? Is he going to tell me I am doing something wrong? Is he going to ask me for a bribe to simply bike past him? He pulls out a paper and asks me “comprenez vous anglais?” I say yes, I speak english, and I am American. I look at the paper, expecting to see some official document telling me something important, but it is not that – it is the BAC english exam. The instructions say, “put these words in order or please match the two categories or answer the following questions in complete sentences.” It finally hits me – this uniformed man is asking me to give him the answers to the English BAC exam! He is going to get the answers and probably sell them to the students who were inside taking the test or something. I told him that I could answer the questions but I wasn’t going to because cheating is not fair. He explained that the students have so much to study for, and they just need some help in English, everyone’s hardest subject. He told me that only a few need the answers, and that I should help them out. I said that if I gave the answers to a few of them, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest who had spent their time studying. He looked perplexed, but after a moment, he thanked me for my time and let me continue on my way up to ADRA.

Uniformed men asking me to give them high school test answers? Talk about a flawed system…..

La Greve

I am sure many of you have heard about the recent violence related to the general strikes in Guinea (ok, maybe only the two of you who read page 86 of the newspaper), but I just wanted to update everyone so I don't get any more worried emails. Just to let you know, we are all perfectly fine, and life is continuing for me exactly as usual. I got my bean breakfast this morning from my normal bean lady, Fatoumata - proving that everything is as normal as can be imagined.

So, don't worry about me - everything is perfectly fine here!


But here's an article about yesterday's conflicts from Reuters:

Calm returns to Guinea, general strike bites

Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:38 PM GMT
By Saliou Samb

CONAKRY (Reuters) - An uneasy calm returned to Guinea on Tuesday a day after at least nine people died when soldiers opened fire on rampaging students during a tense general strike in the poor West African state.

Traffic slowly returned to the pot-holed streets of the capital Conakry but banks, businesses and government offices remained shuttered as the strike against President Lansana Conte's disastrous economic record entered a sixth day.

Through the night shots echoed across the tropical port city as police patrolled, questioning anyone found on the streets.

Authorities blame the opposition for inciting violence during Monday's student protests over the postponement of exams.

"I toured the city last night and everything was calm, apart from certain neighbourhoods such as Cosa, Lambanyi and Enco 5 where our vehicle was stoned," a senior policeman told Reuters.

"We have opened an investigation to determine the causes of yesterday's violence. The students due to sit exams emerged with banners and signs already painted, so we want to know how they got them."

Long considered one of West Africa's most stable nations, the mineral-rich former French colony is increasingly seen as teetering under rampant corruption, economic decline and a fractious military.

Analysts fear a dangerous power vacuum if the reclusive Conte -- a diabetic in his 70s -- were to die. A cabinet reshuffle last month snubbed opposition calls for reform.

VILLA SACKED

Police and medical sources said at least nine deaths had been confirmed after rioting in Conakry, the eastern town of Nzerekore and the northern city of Labe.

In the capital, Monday's rioting caused extensive material damage and the local press reported that protesters had sacked the suburban villa of President Conte's brother.

In Nzerekore, some 970 km (600 miles) southeast of Conakry, residents reported hearing shooting throughout the night.

"The central police commissariat of the first district of Nzerekore was attacked and all the prisoners were freed by the students in broad daylight," one source said.

Protesters also attacked the Chamber of Agriculture, an organisation very close to President Conte, the source said.

In Labe, an opposition stronghold some 430 km (270 miles) from Conakry, roads were deserted after the authorities sent young army recruits to reinforce police.

The unions have demanded the government reverse a 30 percent increase in fuel prices announced in mid-May, which they said obliterated wage increases set a month earlier. A litre of petrol costs 5,500 Guinean francs ($1.20) in a country where more than half the population lives on less than $1 a day.

Conte held an emergency meeting with unions on Monday, a government source said, but it was not clear if progress was made.

Union leaders at the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) -- the world's largest producer of the ore used to make aluminium -- decided last week not to follow the strike call due to the strategic importance of their sector. CBG is controlled by Alcan and Alcoa.

"Make DU Proud, Son"

Good luck, Jim, as you embark on this great adventure we call Peace Corps. Paraguay is going to wonder what hit them.

Keep us all posted as often as you can. I can't wait to see you in Denver in two years and three months!

Ramblings

I'm back in Siguiri, whether I want to be here or not. One minute I am excited to be home and pulling my water again, and the next I am wishing for running water. It’s good to be home though, especially because now I have a stove! And guess who’s getting cooked tonight – Miss Sweet Potato-head. I can’t wait to have some sweet potatoes with fried eggplant and a tomato salad . Life is good with a stove. No rice and sauce today!
I am coming back strong with work. My first morning back, I met with a new groupement who makes big rice cooking pots (marmites) out of old aluminum cans. It was basically an introductory meeting, and I am going back tomorrow to see how their business actually works and if there is anything I can do to help them.
I also came to ADRA today to check up on my grant proposal, only to be told it has been cancelled. Thanks to the gods of development bureaucracy, I am free from Food For Progress. And Mandy told me about a new project I can work on that sounds a lot less daunting and a bit more fun. We are going to have a trash clean-up in nearby villages! Yay for cleaning up the dirtiest prefecture in Guinea!
Overall, I am very happy to be back, although the countdown to IST (aka, next time I see Reid) is constantly in the back of my mind. I am sure I will settle in again and enjoy my time at site this month.
I wish everyone a happy June, and I will be in touch again soon.
Ps – there is a general strike about to commence in Guinea, so I may be away from email for a couple weeks. I am not too worried about anything here, as everyone seems pretty calm in Siguiri. I hope ADRA stays open so I can work (and have free internet time!).

Enemy #1 - Dust.

“If it is not a worm, Amy, you must be allergic to dust.”

--Dr. Traian, my Medical Officer

This is by far the most amusing thing he has ever said to me, and as a PCMO in Guinea, he says some pretty amusing things. The best part was that Reid was sitting in the office with me and he couldn’t help but laugh. I was being told that I am allergic to dust, and I live in the Sahel, one of the dustiest, dirtiest, driest places in Guinea. We have storms made of DUST! My home is covered in a new layer of dirt and dust everday, forcing me to use my patron broom every morning.

It is kind of funny, if you think about it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. With proper care, however, it should be alright. Incha Allah (With the help of God).