Day 19 - Food and other stuff

So how is the food you ask. Two answers for that: first it is not bad at all and second, I have an arrangement with the university caterer that they feed me. So, since someone is cooking for me on a regular basis that keeps me calm. I don’t eat meat, so not much choice, but I eat on a regular basis Ogally – a maize dish prepared like sticky rice, this is eaten with some kind of sauce, other starches are rice, or chapatti and from time to time I am surprised with spaghetti. For protein it is either eggs, fish, lentils or beans. And veggies are a salad, not bad at all, I supplement it with the avocado I bought in the market. Or saquma wiki – a kind of Kale that is grown here that is very nutritious, and many farmers grow it because it has a high return. Last night I bought a pineapple, 5 shekels, was very good. I usually eat my dinner with my roommate Gertrude Yogback.

 Now to less Fun things: Malaria – Siaya county and the whole western area is considered a Malaria zone. Every night, at 22:00, you have to take it at the same time, I take my Melarone pill, then I fix my net, which I am very grateful for it. Jackson my research assistant just got Malaria, last Thursday he seemed not his usual, perky, and energetic self, he started feeling not so good, he thought he might have a fever and had achy joints. On Friday he came to work, but I could see that something is wrong, he even left in the middle of a meeting and went to the car to rest and then when we came back he went to the doctor and was informed that he got malaria, this is his second time in seven years. He is one of the lucky ones because he has health insurance from his job and supplement insurance from the university since he is a student. So, he got an injection and then the pills. The side effects of the medication are weakness, dizziness and sweating. Two days have passed since the medication and he is still weak. But being very brave and does not want in any way to disturb the research. On Monday, he was in perfect condition, treatment works very well, if you take it immediately, if he had waited even a day, it could have been much worse. We will see how he is tomorrow. So hence the pills and the net and I supplement it with a terrible mosquito replant spray, that I think is affecting my lungs, but at least I feel safe. I am even luckier than Jackson, because I have all these supplements to ensure I don’t get it. Melorone is very expensive, but even if the cost is bearable, you have to take it every day and that is not so logical for the average Kenyan. This is of course not the first time I have seen malaria, but when it is so close it makes you think.