Amy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

What a terrible, horrible, no good very bad week was the thought that was running through my head as this week went on.


My weekend started off great... I got into San Sal Friday and went out for dinner with Noel and friends at a pretty good restaurant Friday night. Saturday I gave a stab at the Foreign Service Officer test. I took it at the embassy- or excuse me, the Palace- with its big clean buildings and beautifully manicured, green lawns. The test was 3 hours long. There were several other PCVs there taking it; one came all the way from Guatemala because they don't offer the test at his post. He also came really dressed up... I think he was wearing a tie... while the rest of us were in flip flops or sweatshirts. Saturday morning tests aren't that fun- and this one was intense. Afterwards I was exhausted and had a growing headache. I won't find out if I passed it for 3-5 weeks. I have no idea how I did... many people dont pass it their first time. But it was free to take and worth giving it a try- also because afterwards Noel took me into the commisary (or however you spell it)- the store at the embassy that sells many of the American things you can't find here- and I got to see all of the wonderful things inside! Jaw-dropping... Chex mix! Bud Light! Noooooo!? VELVEETA SHELLS and CHEESE!? JACKPOT!!! But I had plenty of that from my lovely family who has been keeping me stocked with their shipments. So I left very happy with my 3 cans of Progresso Soup. I don't know where my new obsession with soup came from, but over the last several months I have eaten soup everyday... and now I have Progresso, thanks to my honey :)

So after we left the embassy Noel and I went shopping at Pricesmart for the going away party we were having that night for some friends. Pricesmart is like Costco or Sams Club... and they have really good hot dogs! You may recall that months ago I blogged about how much I miss those things, and then -lucky me- I discovered the Pricesmart hot dog. It ain't nothin compared to a hebrew national or ball park beef frank- but it does the job. And they have relish and freshly cut onions for toppings. While sitting there at the Pricesmart picnic tables eating our weiners- Noel told me more about the process of becoming a foreign service officer... My brain was so fried just from taking the test, but its sounds like the test is not even the worst of it. It's only the first of many challenges. It will be exciting to see where life takes me after Peace Corps... who knows, maybe I could be working in embassies all over the world, or maybe i'll stick with teaching.

So you're probably wondering- where is the "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" in all of this? Well, that started creeping it's way in before the party on Saturday. I just wasn't feelin right- like maybe I was getting sick. But that didn't stop me from having a good time! I felt it on Sunday when I woke up all achey. Then by Sunday night I had a pretty high fever. Then Monday came the stomach pain and the diahrrea... and so finally on Tuesday after being sick and uncomfortable for several days, I called my doctor, went in for tests in San Sal... which, if your interested- involved blood being drawn and pooing in the tiniest cup ever... EW.

"You have amoebas..." my doctor, Charo, told me.

Wonderful, I thought. I'm not crazy or just being a dramatic baby. I actually had something. Sometimes I try to tough it out when I think I might have something, because a lot of the times it passes on it own. In this case, I was trying to tough it out and waited a bit longer than I should have to call the doctor. But I finally did because those were the most intense stomach pains I ever had from diahrrea... it had to be something. Next time I'll just go in when it's that bad. I won't make myself sit around being uncomfortable for days.

And as a volunteer, I don't know what it is, but a lot of times I feel really guilty when I can't do my job or if I miss things in my site, even if it's because I'm sick. And this was not a good time for me to get sick... I had meetings planned about my charlas, an Escuela de Padres to go to, a meeting with the NGO about my water projects... and all of that was put on hold by these amoebas. Thanks guys. No really. I guess I needed to be reminded to always remember to take care of myself first. My health is more important than anything. And it's not like I could have sat through any of these meetings if i was hunched over cramping or crapping my pants. So anyway- I'm still recovering- taking these strong, bitter pills that make me feel funny, but just after two days of them I am so much better, in my site, and trying to take it easy.

But the icing on the cake of my "no good, horrible, very badness" was having my campesinas come meet me in San Salvador after my medical stuff to go to talk with the water project people. They came all the way from San Vicente, and hour walk to the bus and 2 hours on two buses for us to go and find out the guy wasn't even there. When I spoke with him previously he said he would be. I felt really bad about that... I should have called the day before to confirm... but being sick, I just was not at my best... and maybe shouldn't have been pushing myself to get this work done in the state I was in. Lesson Learned. But we did drop off our letter of solicitude for the project... so they can feel like they did something- they went to the office and dropped of the letter.... But I will still have to go back and talk with the guy. I don't think I will try bringing them with me next time. It's too much for them to do, and too expensive, with the possibility of the guy not even being there. I asked them when the last time they went to the capital was and it had been over a year for both of them. They never leave San Vicente. And it was clear they weren't comfortable with being in the city. One of my ladies didnt even know how to open the car door of the taxi from the inside. So we dropped off the letter and went back to San Vi asap, where I bought them a good lunch at their favorite Comedor for $2 each and they were happy.

So none of this is really all that bad is it? I guess not. It's too easy to be pessimistic when you're not feeling well. When I am feeling good, I am happy, and I have thoughts like "My life is awesome, Peace Corps is the best decision I ever made." When I'm sick and not well I'm feeling like, "Man... this frikin sucks. How much longer 'til I don't have to live like this anymore?" So yes, lesson has been learned... I have to take care of myself above all else, so that I can be here and be able to do my job. Yes my community has needs... but so do I, and I should not neglect my own needs to take care of their's.

And the people in my community understand... they can see that I have been sick just by looking at me. They are all commenting on how I lost weight- The upside of amoebic dysentary. You lose a good number of pounds from pooping your brains out and losing your appetite. I wonder what it is that I got it from. Dropping my clif bar on the floor of the dirty bus and eating it anyway? Buying and eating street food? Drinking dirty water? Not being able to wash my hands or food properly while my community was out of water for weeks? There are many possibilities. I admit, I was getting too relaxed with what I had been eating- thinking, I've been here for a year and nothing too terrible has happened to me yet. I am not as invincible and tough as I thought I was.

But there's one thing my neighbors keep telling me they think it was that I know they are wrong about. They all say that I got it from using the latrine at my host family's house. They think you can pass amoebas onto other through dirty bathrooms and that too many people use the bathroom at my house. I don't think so. Most of the time I don't even sit down. But they swear that their doctors tell them that's how they've gotten it in the past. Despues de Dios es el Doctor, they tell me. After God comes Doctors. Puh-lease.

After being gone for medical, I came back to my site and my host mom had cleaned my house up for because it was all dusty and gross. How sweet it is to be loved and cared for.

I am very lucky.

Paz y amor.