" You seem to get sick a lot"

That quote came from one of my peace corps medical officers, or pcmos for short. As of today, I can award myself with the dubious honor of being the sickest person in my training class. I have been down for the count with 3 different illnesses, as far as I know, the most times someone has been sick besides me is once. Or twice with the same illness both times.

1.5 weeks in, I woke up with angelina jolie sized lips. My lips kept on swelling up so it looked like I had gotten into a fight with a plastic surgeon. Then my eyes started swelling up as well, so I could barely open them. When a rash started to accompany this, I called the pcmo. The culprit was mangos. Turns out although even though I had eaten and enjoyed mangos in the states, nicaragua and vietnam, these south african mangos made my immune system go haywire

4 weeks in, one night I could sleep, my whole body was itchy. I woke uop to an angry red rash on my neck, chest and face. Aafter a four hour wait at the clinic, I was diagnosed with a photodermatitic reaction. Sun exposure had given me a rash. So I am now allergic to mangos and the sun. And I'm in africa. Great.

Then last night, after a day with a dull headache I wake up in the middle of the night shivering. I have a fever... And the only prescription is more cowbell! That or asprin. I sleep walk through most of today, with my temperature bouncing between 102 and 96 (I didn't even know it could go that low) until I finally call my pcmo who tells me its probably a virus and I just have to wait it out.

With all that, and the immense number of scrapes/ bugbites (so much that I have been asked what happened by a couple trainees), the common joke is that I'm allergic to south africa. And I have two more years here

My response is bring it on south africa.

But truthfully I can only say that because our pcmos/peace corps health care is fantastic. Rides/chaperones to the clinic, two fabulous medical professionals on call 24/7, meds delivered to my door!

So may the force and fabulous health care be with me!