Eso es alcanzar lo más alto,

lo que tal vez nos dará el Cielo:

no admiraciones ni victorias

sino sencillamente ser admitidos

como parte de una Realidad innegable,

como las piedras y los árboles.

Jorge Luis Borges

Fervor de Buenos Aires (1923)

This is the best that can happen,

What heaven perhaps will grant us:

Not to be wondered at or required

To succeed

But simply to be let in

As part of an undeniable Reality,

Like stones of the road, like trees.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Happy Birthday to me

Thanks everyone for all the email and facebook happy birthday messages today!
So this year for my birthday I seem to have gotten a special present... malaria.  Remember when I was sick as a dog for about two weeks and went to a doctor who told me it was an intestinal infection gone bad and gave me antibiotics but the antibiotics weren't fighting it?  Well I went to a specialist (internal medicine) at the best hospital in Guatemala at the end of last week when I had finished the antibiotics and wasn't any better and he is convinced that I have malaria.  It can show up quite a bit later after the mosquito bite so I'm pretty sure I got it in El Salvador over Christmas.  The problem is that I don't have a positive blood test because apparently the malaria bugs are only detectable in the blood when there is a fever, and even though I had 2 blood tests done, I didn't have a fever either time because the fever is unpredictable and comes and goes at strange times.  So now I am just sweating a lot at night and pretty tired during the day.  The family I live with is really nice and they repeatedly tell me that if I ever wake up in the middle of the night from a fever I am supposed to wake them up so we can drive down to the emergency room and get my blood test.  So now I am just waiting for the fever to come back so that I can get the blood test because apparently you can't get the malaria meds without one.  What a fiasco.
I am partly frustrated because I missed some classes over the last two weeks and even when I was at school I didn't have the energy to do much so I feel like I've been at a standstill in my Spanish learning.  On the bright side I like where I am living, the family owns a restaurant out of their home so there are lots of different people in and out which is giving me opportunities to practice speaking in Spanish with lots of different people.  And my host mom is a great cook and she was asking me what my favourite foods are yesterday (I said lasagna or mexican food and chocolate cake) so we'll see what's in store for me this evening!
And I've had some other friends here in Guatemala talk about getting together this week so I think that will be fun.

3 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness.... seriously? Thats crazy!! Well, more to pray for again! That is so awesome about your new host family, I was really really curious about that. K, well, the skyping thing isn't working out today so i will call you later, after classes. Probably in the evening because Kobes gonna want to talk too :) Happy Birthday sick brother, wishing you a healthy year along with an amazing year!!! xoxoxo

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  2. Oh, I'm sorry Lynden! That really bites! We'll be praying for you. I'm excited for you about your new host family! That's awesome! They seem to be treating you (and feeding you) really well! Hope you've had a good day, inspite of being sick. Take care!

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  3. Hey Lynden, first thing - Belated Happy Birthday! Glad you are in a good home and hope and pray you can get some good meds and heal up quick. I can understanding the standstill on Spanish. Some days I feel pretty good others I'm frustrated because of my inability to say what I want or understand what is said in response. Keep persevering! Take Care, Jacquie Block

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