Never a Dull Moment

This posting is just going to be a random assortment of stories.

This Friday Bryan and I went to a bar a few blocks away called, "the Thistle," with a huge group of teachers from AIS. Because there were so many people there, it was pretty fun... and quite loud. We stayed for about three hours, then thought it best to leave before things started getting crazy. Since it wasn't dark yet, we thought that we would venture out on our own by walking back to the compound. Although the walk from the Thistle back to the compound was only about 5 blocks, I think it was somewhat of a turning point for Bryan and me. What I mean is that it was extremely encouraging and freeing for us to feel comfortable enough to be able to walk around in our own back yard OUTSIDE of the compound and feel safe. We did have to dodge the puddles in the street, but that was about the most challenging part of the mini-adventure.

Alright, now about the Mefloquine. It is astonishing to me that a drug like this is legally prescribed. I understand that it prevents malaria THANKFULLY; however, when you find information on Wikipedia that "like many other drugs, mefloquine has adverse side-effects. It is known to cause severe depression, anxiety, paranoia, nightmares, insomnia, vestibular (balance) damage..." I think you get the point... reading the side effects alone are enough to make a person paranoid!! So, let me tell you briefly how they have effected Bryan. I, myself, am not taking Mefloquine (not to worry, I am taking another type, which is supposed to make me sensitive to the sun, which I've done fine with thus far), yet I think I am getting the short end of the stick when it comes to these stinkin' side effects. (As a side note, this medicine is taken once a week.) For example, a couple of weeks ago Bryan "woke up" late at night, panicking about who knows what, when he looked around asking "Where am I?" several times. He was standing up, looking around our room and seemed to not recognize me, which really freaked me out. So I asked him who I was and he just kept asking where he was. Aaaarrrgh!! Look at me and let me know that you remember that I'm your wife! All of a sudden, he looked at me and started giggling as he said, "what are you doing, silly?" Wow. We then talked for quite a while and finally went to bed. The next day, Bryan had no recollection of his dream OR our conversation. If that doesn't convince you how crazy this medicine is, here's another story for you. Last night Bryan took his medicine again. I woke up in the middle of the night to him standing on the bed, freaking out about something. It seemed like he didn't want his feet to stay in one place, which instantly made me fear for the wellbeing of my limbs. As he was running around on top of the bed, I grabbed his arm to pacify him and get him to lay back down. He told me this morning, after remembering the situation, that he thought that something (maybe snakes?) were trying to get him and when I grabbed him, he thought that the "thing" had gotten a hold of him. Oops on my part, but at least he didn't jump on my legs and break them... and he ended up laying back down and eventually falling asleep. I'm realizing that it sounds a bit silly when I retell the stories, but it is very bizzare and somewhat scary when it's occurring. Needless to say, we plan on getting a different prescription for Bryan when we get back at Christmas.

Today was a great day. Why? It was the first day without rain in about three weeks!! We actually saw some blue sky! I thought that coming over to Nigera, being only a few degrees off of the equator, we would be melting from the heat. I guess that we just managed to bring that Washington weather over with us. So, the sun is nice... for now. Another nice thing about no rain is that, beyond brightening our moods, it also helps dramatically with the traffic. When it rains, it rains hard + there is no drainage system + the roads are made out of dirt = you do the math on what this does to traffic.

Enough for now