Adventures in Africa
I got another great opportunity to check out the health care facilities of Kenya this week - this time as a patient!!! I had been suffering from food poisoning of some sort for a couple of days and went to a local hospital to get some antibiotics. I was delighted to find a clean, and extremely efficiently-run hospital. I was able to see a doctor within 20 minutes (I had been prepared to be sitting for hours so I brought a book, not realizing I could watch CNN in the waiting room). And it was actually quite cheap. The doctor visit was about $10CAD, the antibiotics about $6CAD, and the big expense was the lab work (stool sample - DONT ASK!) For about $20CAD. Meanwhile I had stashed the equivalent to $500CAD in Kenyan Shillings having heard horror stories about them not taking credit cards and if you didnt have cash on hand, you would be refused service. Maybe I just went to the right hospital (they took VISA).
Really, the food poisoning is not much of a surprise. Hopefully it toughens up my stomach a bit because I think this kind of thing is pretty much unavoidable in this area of the world. Do you know what I blame it on though? STEAK! On Saturday night I was out for dinner with a couple of people at a steak house and with not much else to order from the menu and after a few un-episodic encounters with beef since Ive been here I thought it would be safe. Low and behold the next morning.... THE HORROR! At least now I can say that I gave beef a fair try but it is something that upsets it - badly - and I will have a solid reason to avoid it from now on. For those who dont know, I havent eaten beef in over 10 years but have been trying to eat it a little once here because it is so widely eaten and I didnt want to exclude myself from any parts of their culture (including the food eaten). But I dont really like beef anyway. And now I have just cause.
The only other thing I can think of that could have caused this is the ice-cream sundae that I had for dessert. But we all know that there is no way that Im giving up ice-cream! Im feeling better already and am enjoying an afternoon off work.
Really, the food poisoning is not much of a surprise. Hopefully it toughens up my stomach a bit because I think this kind of thing is pretty much unavoidable in this area of the world. Do you know what I blame it on though? STEAK! On Saturday night I was out for dinner with a couple of people at a steak house and with not much else to order from the menu and after a few un-episodic encounters with beef since Ive been here I thought it would be safe. Low and behold the next morning.... THE HORROR! At least now I can say that I gave beef a fair try but it is something that upsets it - badly - and I will have a solid reason to avoid it from now on. For those who dont know, I havent eaten beef in over 10 years but have been trying to eat it a little once here because it is so widely eaten and I didnt want to exclude myself from any parts of their culture (including the food eaten). But I dont really like beef anyway. And now I have just cause.
The only other thing I can think of that could have caused this is the ice-cream sundae that I had for dessert. But we all know that there is no way that Im giving up ice-cream! Im feeling better already and am enjoying an afternoon off work.
yikes - don't eat the giraffe either. get well kathryn and post more pics!
~pat (from the chateau)
ps all the apostrophes in your posts are showing up as weird 'accented-a's-euro-symbol-trademark' thingys; I think it's a problem with blogger. or maybe it's kenya's fault. or it could just be my computer... next time don't (er, do not) use any apostrophes! ;-)
It was most likely the ice cream.
When we used to go to Greece as kids, my mom wouldn't let us have any dairy until we'd been acclimatized for quite a while. Otherwise, we risked being relegated to the water closet for long stretches of time. UNcomfortable.
I agree about the ice cream part. Dairy products are much more likely to contain bacteria you're not used to, yet.
I don't know much about antibiotics but I wanted to comment on the post you made on Saturday about your experience with the AIDS education (or lack thereof).
Two years ago Annick Press came out with an incredible book called Chanda's Secrets which is a fiction title about a girl who lives in a town called Bonang in Africa. The story is basically all about this girl's experience with the incredibly tragic AIDS epidemic, as she watches people around her being affected by it in some way or another.
It's a very insightful book—the author spent time in Africa to create a realistic portrait of what it is actually like there—and after reading your experience, thoughts and comments I was very much reminded of the book.
You may see something in the mail in a few weeks from me. I think it would be a great idea for you to read the book, because you'll gain even more insight into the situation and why it is the way it is. Though I'm sure experiencing it firsthand is second-to-none.
Wow! I'm just so impressed at the experiences you've been logging regarding your travels and I sincerely wish you many more. There's no doubt you'll come home a more enlightened person.
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