Crazy Pills

At one of the hot springs at Lake Bogoria. The smile is fake, as you may notice. I was willing Lorein to take the picture as fast as possible, as the hot springs were well, HOT. And boiling water and steam splashing on you on a 90+ degree day is not the most pleasant feeling in the world.

Ever since hitting my head on the matatu roof last weekend, I've had a headache. No big surprise. A few days ago I started being very dizzy at all times of the day, and it got to the point in Friday that my vision was getting blurry and I had to sit down or pass out. That being just as scary as it sounds, I talked to Robert about it, and he did a neuro exam. Which was normal, by the way.

So we were talking about what it could be (dehydration, viral prodrome, etc) and I asked if it could be related to the malaria prophylaxis I'm taking (Mefloquine/Larium). So, we went to his house and read the package insert for side effects, and pretty much anything you can ever have was there. The main side effects are neuropsychiatric -- insane dreams, anxiety, depression, feelings of impending doom, irritability, emotional lability, insomnia, and a sense of dissociation from your body. Oh, and also dizziness/vertigo is on there, as well as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches... the list was literally a page long. So... I'm not taking Mefloquine anymore. And looking back on it now, I think a lot of things I've been experiencing in the last week or so are due to the Mefloquine. Definitely the insomnia and crazy dreams (though that could also be due to the loud music played in the hostel 24/7). And all day yesterday I felt like I was walking around in a fog. I was walking and talking normally, but it felt like I was /watching/ myself do it instead of actually being the person that did it, if that makes any sense at all. Sort of an out of body experience. Robert's whole family was on Mefloquine when they first got here, but now all but the baby aren't taking it anymore, because he said it made them all crazy. So now I'm off the crazy pills too, and hopefully this dizziness thing will resolve, though it's not much better today If it's not getting better in a week or so, Robert wants me to have a head CT, though I'm not really jumping at the prospect of exposing my brain to all that radiation. I sometimes wonder if it would just be better to get malaria than to go through all the weird and uncomfortable side effects that all malaria prophylaxis seems to have.

Priti and I got up early this morning and walked 45 minutes to the Imani workshop with 5 of the 6 Purdue pharmacy students that arrived on Wednesday (the 6th one being a boy, and not so keen on the idea of bag/skirt/jewelry shopping with 7 girls). It was a very nice morning. We were ASSURED that the dressmaker would be there today, so we could get measured for our skirts. Well, we get there, and the workshop is not even open. I was more than a little peeved. On our way back, a guy on a bike told us that he worked there and would open if we wanted to go shopping. Well of course we said yes. He even called in the dressmaker to measure us, since we had come all the way out there. So, I finally got measured for my skirt (and I ordered quite a few other gifts), and it will be ready on Thursday. I'm very excited.

Afterwards Priti and I stopped at Ukwala (local grocery store) to buy some gifts for a kids' birthday party we were invited to. Then back to the hostel, then to IU house, then to the party, then back to IU house. I've walked a lot today. The party was fun -- it was for 2 of Robert & Hao's 3 kids, who turn 4 and 2 on Sunday and Monday, respecitively. It was actually at Shawn's house, which is very nice and has a pool. Robert and Hao's kids are adorable, and there were all sorts of children there -- white, African, Indian... it was fun to see them all playing together. For some reason the party made me really miss Mike, more than I have yet, I think. I'm not sure if it's because there were gobs of adorable families there, or maybe being here has made me realize even more how important your family is. Life here is so tenuous, and people here hold onto each other even tighter, because you must never know... I really think it's also because football season is starting in the US. As weird as that sounds, I really enjoy the fall and football season, not only is it just a really fun time, but also it inevitably reminds me of when Mike and I first met, as well as the early and exciting days of our friendship and relationship. Though now we're just a boring married couple, right hon?

The rest of the weekend is filled with strenuous plans to relax and bum around town. There's a restaurant/amusment park (yes, actually an amusement park -- we've seen some of the "rides" and you couldn't pay me enough to get on those things. It makes Fun Spot look like Disney World) close by that apparently has a hut and informative display on all of the different tribes in Kenya, so we'll probably go see that tomorrow. I think it should be interesting. There's not nearly as much tribal unrest or tribalism here as there used to be, especially in the big cities and especially in my peer generation. However, everyone here knows exactly what tribe they belong to, and Africans can generally tell tribes by appearance and last name, so I think that's interesting. Otherwise...probably not much. As nice as travelling is, it's also nice to have weekends off.

Kwa Herini!