Staying Healthy & Getting Cozy

Well, I said that C.J. and I were alternating days being sick... it turns out that we had parasites. In fact, all the international volunteers (who were tested) had them, even if they weren´t feeling sick. Fortunately it´s easy, although quite discusting, to get tested and very easy to get medication. We are on the mend, and we are planning to follow up with another test to make sure we got it all.

We´re not sure where they came from, because we only drink purified water, but we suspect that food preparation and dish washing may have been the culprit. We have started adding a cap of bleach to our shower/dishwashing water as an added precaution, but we are still eat 2 meals a day at a local home that doesn´t use bleach (we have reduced our meal plan to lunch and dinner only, so that we can have american style breakfasts). The other volunteers have suggested that we get tested every 1-2 months, and we are planning to stick to that, because being sick is pretty miserable.

The worst part about being sick in Nicaragua is that there is no couch to lie on. All we have are plastic chairs, and then our bed. Our bed is like the only cozy place there is - and it´s no that cozy with like 25 thread count sheets (mom is sending some better ones - yay!). We are in desparate need of a hammock so that we can have a cozy place to hang out and read or just lounge. Unfortuantely, we have been unable to find a hammock in Ocotal, but Charlotte, one of the other volunteers, has two really nice ones that she got near Managua. Hopefully it won´t be too long before we get one!

Along with making our house more cozy... we have ordered a bookshelf / storage cabinet from Marcio. We just ordered it yesterday, so it may be a little while before he has time to make it. Once he starts though, he is really fast. He made a table for Julio in 2 days, and that wasn´t the only thing he was working on!

So, little by little we are getting used to everything. Although, I don´t think I´ll ever get used to the latrine. I really hate that thing!