How cute is this kid. He is wearing my glasses and acting like a mini-Katie.

This past week has been particularly challenging. That weird rash and cold quickly transformed into a weird “unknown” rash and a high fever. Thursday night I was brought back into the downtown area by the request of WT. I spent the night at my field director’s house and returned in the morning to the doctor’s office. The doctor still believes, as do I, that the rash and temperature are unrelated. He did a blood test that showed that I had a viral infection that was causing the fever. Like all viruses I just had to wait it out. I stayed in town Friday night as well and returned to Ajeltake Saturday afternoon to rest. Sunday morning I woke up to find that my temperature had switched places with horrible stomach pains that come and go. I called the doctor Monday to see if these pains could be a common side effect of the anti-allergen medicine I am taking for the rash. He said no, but I am unwilling to become the hypochondriac that this blog makes me sound like I am. I am going to give my stomach time to heal. I have been buying my water and not filtering to try and cure my stomach woes. I am afraid that after 6 months my filter may not be effective?? (I hate doing this because the one-gallon jugs that the water is sold in is not recyclable. I do however donate them to the “gas station” across the street so they can be reused.)
Other than my illnesses, I have not completely come out of my funk that has trapped me for the last two months. It is not really a homesickness as it is a… well funk. I have been doing a lot of reading (my current reading has me convinced that I need to study meditation and yoga), journaling (Maggie are you proud?), and general reflecting. It is my sincere hope that I quickly remove myself from the funk and start living, learning from, and just generally enjoying my last four months here.

I am currently blaming Lost. I have for almost two years recognized my addiction to television and purged my life of its hypnotic powers. However about two months ago (coincidence?) I was given Lost Seasons 1 and 2. Since that time I have been spending at least an hour a day (ya, right. Closer to two hours) inside watching T.V. I love TV because it allows me to zone out, forget my worries, and sit in the one air-conditioned room of my house. However, when I journal about this (again making Maggie proud) TV does nothing but make me sad, lazy, and remove me for the community which is all based outdoors. So, the TV is off. I am reading, enjoying my hammock, playing with the kids outside, and participating in life. Not ‘zoning out’ of it.

K