Not Homesick, Just Sick

September 24, 2007

Sorry for the long delay in writing, but I was sick pretty much all of last week. I thought that I might escape my chronic seasonal allergies here in Kazakhstan, but that definitely did not happen. In fact, they were actually exacerbated by the dust, smoke from burning garbage, and the sudden cold snap. To illustrate how quickly the weather changed around here, let me just say that on Sunday afternoon I washed my clothes in 70 degree weather, but the next morning when I went to get my clothes off the line, they were frozen solid. That was not the end of my health woes however, on Friday, just as I was getting over my sinus problems, I ate some bad dumplings in the school cafeteria, and came down with food poisoning. I was sick all day Saturday, and if I was not in the outhouse, I was asleep. This meant that I missed the Almaty trip, which was a bummer, but at least I got to catch up on some sleep, which I definitely needed. Now that I am finally back to rights, let me just say that as much as it sucks to get sick in the United States, it sucks even worse in a foreign country. You are almost entirely responsible for your diagnosis and treatment. Though Peace Corps does have a doctor, your main way of contacting him his your cellular telephone. I finally did see Dr. Victor a couple of days ago, but fortunately by that time I had already managed to explain my symptoms and get his permission to go on antibiotics. Another thing that sucks about getting sick while in the Peace Corps is the kind of conditions that you are sick in. Kazakhstan is definitely on the high end of the spectrum when it comes to Peace Corps countries, but when I got food poisoning I still had to puke into the outhouse, not into a nice marble bowl. Finally, getting sick in a foreign country simply makes you feel very lonely. Your mom is not there to help you, you cannot just get your doctor on the phone, and it is almost impossible to tell people what is wrong with you without playing charades. Fortunately, I now feel better, and having learned some important vocabulary regarding illness, but the experience has certainly made remember my stateside sinus infections fondly.