Psyche!!!

Why Kenya will drive me to insanity:

• The convergence of OCD tendencies and dirt. It’s an entryway, people. Get over it.
• Urination in public as the second-most-common form of socialization among male members of the species.
• People assuming I don’t speak English because we have different accents. (Ok, given, after they decided I didn’t speak my first language I switched to Spanish to get them to go away. But still.)
• People harassing me for money.
• Blatant pickpockets.
• Creepy men who drop all their shit and chase after me for hugs on sketchy paths.
• People who watch and laugh while above mentioned chase after me for hugs on sketchy paths.
• People who don’t listen. And then misinterpret. And then look at me like I’m stupid.
• Arrogant assholes who think I’m easy enough to pick up with a lewd line on the side of the road.
• People who point at a wall, say “over there” and expect me to infer “the yellow building out around the corner and a ten minute walk up the street to your right.”
• ADHD weather.
• Pollution.
• Househelp who washes (aka soaks in a tub) my shoes without asking. Including my silk tennies. Freaking hell.
• People who freak out when you accidentally leave on a light, but let the TV run for hours in an unoccupied room.
• Unbelievably crappy imitation reality shows and sitcoms. Think Days of our Lives and go ten times worse. Then add in abominable English.
• Staff who are more worried about my academics than my healthcare. WTF.
• Unclear expectations.
• Hospitals that won’t let me see my own damn file.
• Ugali. Look it up.

(Yes, I’m in a bad mood. How could you tell?)

Things aiding the retention of my sanity:

• Nutella.
• Pineapple.
• The synagogue.
• Cheap Ethiopian restaurants.
• 3G internet.

Oh. By the way. Harry Potter is coming out this week. Even in Kenya. (I think.) Check it.

Right. Anyway. Now that’s all outta the way, let’s get to the good stuff. I switched internships. I was supposed to go to a town near Lake Victoria and work with a group called CREPP (Community Rehabilitation and Environmental Protection Program) for the rest of the semester. And then I went into Nairobi Hospital last Sunday to find out what was up with this weird pain I’d been having in my stomach. Six hours, an ultrasound, and a bunch of lab results later (side note: damn needles to Hell), the casualty department declared I may or may not have appendicitis and referred me to a (Kenyan) surgeon. Who I saw on Monday, and who told me it was prolly appendicitis and he wanted to go in with a camera and take my appendix out. And sent me off with some painkillers. So then I saw this other (Indian) surgeon on Tuesday, who told me that Dr. Kenya was stupid, because it was really only a 5% chance of appendicitis. Oh, and yes, there was a mass in the area, which would keep them from seeing anything with a camera anyways. Dr. India sent me off with antibiotics, and told me to come back in on Saturday and we’ll see how it’s going. Actually, he inspired a lot more faith than Dr. Kenya. So I went back today and he told me that maybe the antibiotics were taking care of a subclinical infection, it was almost definitely not my appendix and most probably nothing more than a change of culture: aka, lack of exercise, fiber, liquids (guilty), and calcium. And sent me off with supplements and told me to come back to check in after a week, and to quit working toward giving myself a kidney stone.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Kenyan healthcare at it’s finest. Gotta love it.

Thanks a ton for all the well-wishes (This is me being sincere). Y’all can stop worrying now.

So now that I’ve missed a week of internship and am sticking around Nairobi (joy to the world), I’ve got this interview with the East African Wildlife Society on Monday. We’ll see what happens.