The American Government is thinking, "Oh crap. We have another reckless hippie who doesn't think malaria is a thing. If that idiot gets himself killed its going to be bad press on our hands."
Okay, so maybe they aren't thinking that, but the numbers don't lie (unless I make them up), and 88% (made up number) of Peace Corps volunteers forget to take their malaria medicine on the regular. The Peace Corps doesn't like this because if one of us were to die because of complications due to malaria the American people would be in an uproar because it's actually pretty easy to prevent through various methods. We actually have two options here if we don't react well to Aralan we can take doxy. It is part of our job to put pills in our body to prevent dying from malaria. Still, if we choose to ignore that and we still die, the American people don't see a volunteer who forgot to take their pills, they see a peace corps volunteer that died during service, then it leaks that we didn't take the pills and some Americans start to say, "oh, that sucks, but that idiot was a dummy. I would have taken the pills." Let me tell you, that's statistically not true. I made up that data and the numbers don't lie. People forget to take these pills all the time and for various reasons. (Forget isn't likely the word I mean. I probably mean "choose not to take" but I'm going to use forget here.)
Some forget to take Aralan because they don't believe malaria is a thing in the country they are in. Some others forget because they don't agree with taking an antibiotic (volunteers with no actual medical background told me it was an antibiotic, but I don't REALLY know what type of drug it is) for 27 months and six weeks straight with no interruptions. Still others forget because they actually forget, and then there is me.
Aralan tastes like crap. When Mawairwia Wednesday rolls around all I remember is that nasty pill that coats my mouth with the most disgusting taste I've ever had in my mouth, ever. That's after living with a doña that made me pig guts soup as some kind of delicacy.
So I was sitting in my kitchen doing what I've quickly learned is a Peace Corps habit, eating peanut butter out of a jar with a spoon. (Really, if you join the Peace Corps, you suddenly crave peanut butter. If you run out, it means a week has past and you are desperate to find another jar). So I'm looking at the jar, and listening to a song about Jesus which leads me to thinking about Aralan (*for full list of thoughts scroll to bottom of post).
I decided to roll the Aralan around in peanut butter and swallow it while it was still coated. Ba-blam, no disgusting taste in my mouth, only wonderful peanut butter taste. That's the new trick. Now I won't forget to take my Aralan ever again... Unless I actually forget.
Here's a cool photo I instagramed because I'm still hip even though I'm in the Peace Corps.
*song: Addison Road "What Do I Know of Holy -> "Oh, this was my favorite song when I was saved" -> I was reading the book of Matthew when I was saved -> I want to read my Spanish bible, it's been a while -> maybe I should read a book of the bible a month and study the Spanish in that book each month -> I should break out that KJV Josie gave me before I left -> that was a really nice gift she gave me, the journal is filled with my Aralan dreams -> I haven't had an Aralan dream in so long -> I should take Aralan today -> Aralan taste like crap -> this peanut butter I'm eating does NOT taste like crap -> why doesn't Aralan taste like peanut butter? Peace corps volunteers would PAY for that -> I bet I can make this Aralan taste like peanut butter -> isn't that what people do to dogs? -> okay... All I have to do is think of myself as a possibly smarter dog and it's cool. -> Let me find that Aralan
"All I have to do is think of myself as a possible smarter dog" made my morning, ha!!!
ReplyDeleteCompletely unrelated note, wanna do nanowrimo with me this November?