Travel, always an adventure!

You never know what adventures travel will bring. During my second week in Mozambique I have contracted Malaria which has been quite an adventure itself. Thursday morning at the baby clinic, I had a headache and stomach pains. After lying down, I soon had a high fever and was diagnosed with Malaria. Malaria is a tropical sickness spread through mosquito bites.  It is a frustrating illness as I am bedridden for several days with joint aches, headaches, light sensitivity and loss of appetite.  I even took precautions by taking anti-Malaria medication and consistently applying insect repellent. Thankfully, Brenda is a registered nurse and has taken excellent care of Danielle and I, as she was also stricken. I have been on medication the past three days and have two more days of bed rest. Danielle and I keep each other entertained by playing card games. (There is limited entertainment in third world countries!) I look forward to Monday when I can begin to process beans again.

The past week has been devoted to bean processing. My job is quality control as I ensure beans run through the shoot have been sprayed with preservative. This is important as it protects the beans from insects during storage. The beans and corn processed during the next few weeks will be the yearly food supply for the orphans. I also clean my shoot in between bags as they get contaminated from different bean bags. Workers load 150 lb bags of beans into the metal shoot and it is an impressive process to watch as a Mozambiquean can carry one bag on his head! The job begins at 6 am and ends at lunch time. It gets dusty and dirty but is an essential time of year for the orphanage.

Once a week, the orphanage staff hosts a baby clinic. Each Thursday mothers with newborns bring babies for a health check. The babies are weighed, measured and growth progress is recorded. A set of twin boys came in this week weighing under 8 lbs each, they were very tiny! The mothers are given milk formula and medicines which are not readily available outside of the cities. Several babies had been in the local hospital. In Mozambique, basic medical procedures such as tonsil removal or a C-section can be extremely risky due to limited medical knowledge. I am located in Balama, which has a hospital but no post office. (So please do not expect any letters from me!)

I have made my first trip to the local market, which is made up of many stalls in the streets. Wares range from bicycle parts to vegetables. Bicycles are the most common means of transportation but you will find several motorcycles in the streets. Markets here are not as intense as in Vietnam, where bartering for the good almost wore you out and shopkeepers would try to drag you into their stalls! The hand dyed African clothe is beautiful, with exotic patterns and brilliant designs. They are sold in pieces and one can make an entire traditional African outfit. Everyone is very friendly in the market, and I thought I was making friends with local children. However, apparently they were laying their hands out to me for money, not high fives! I think I confused both of us, again culture differences. I have also had to turn down several marriage proposals here. Apparently, blonde haired American girls are a rarity here!

This week is just filled with new experiences. Contracting Malaria was not fun but I am sure it will be an excellent conversation starter back in the U.S. We had several wildlife spottings of a mongoose and cobra. Luckily, the guards had killed the cobra as snakes are ‘not my thing.’  But, the mongoose was an interesting tropical creature that resembled a weasel combined with a ferret. I hope to see more wildlife in the coming days. This weekend I will be resting up and taking plenty of fluids. Until next week!