Malaria Update

So this week has been fairly uneventful/not so greatsince I last wrote. On Monday afternoon I got retested for Malaria because I had taken drugs from the US that I found out later may not be the best option (considering we don't actually have malaria in the US and doctors there aren't experts). The doctor said that I still had the two parasites (what I originally had) but that if I didn't have the syptoms of malaria I should be fine because apparently everyone who has had it before would show up having the parasites if you looked closely. I didn't exactly believe that analysis and was starting to doubt the clinic's reputation, so I was planning to get tested yet again at a different hospital the next day. Unfortunately, before I even had the chance to do that, I got really sick again Monday night... so obviously the parasites weren't gone. Anyways, I ended up going back to a different clinic and getting medicine specific for the malaria parasites that exist here, so now I am feeling a lot better. Nothing to worry about!

The past few days I havem't been doing much because I have been tired and worn out from the malaria, but I did go to the woodcarvers market again last night to teach English. The men there (and one or two women) are soo wonderful and eager to learn, its great. We mostly do discussions instead of formal lessons because that is better practice and is more conducive to the relaxed teaching style there (since all the different levels are usually put together and not everyone comes every day that there is class).

Today we had our second Kswahili test, which marks us finishing 4 of the 6 weeks of intensive Swahili training. Although 4 hours a day can get pretty rough and painful at times, I'm actually sad it's going by this quickly because it is so unbelievably helpful.

We leave tomorrow morning to go to Arusha on one of our group trips. We actually pass by Moshi (where I was this summer) on the 8 or 9 hopur bus there, so hopefully I can convince Prof Senkoro to let me stop off there by myself and stay for at least one of the two days. I'm sure going to Arusha with the group would be fun, but I think I've done most of the stuff there already and I would really love to go visit people in Moshi. We'll see...

Miss you all,
-Lisa