1-7 Sick is a Fact of Life

Unfortunately, being sick is just a fact of life for Jason and I. Our immune systems are not up to the task of fighting off every new flu, cold, fever, diarrhea, and infection available here. One or the other of us has been sick two days a week since we got here. The illnesses range from a runny nose and sore throat to four day bouts of explosive diarrhea, strep throat or a fever of 102.7.

One of the other volunteers asked how I could laugh about the situation. Well, what else am I supposed to do? We can’t force our bodies to not get sick, we can only keep taking care of ourselves and each other. We are taking better care of our bodies than ever here, the lifestyle is conducive to that.

We are eating well, if simply. My diet here is even healthier than it was at home. There is almost no processed food on the island and dinner regularly consists of cooked veggies. Water taro and island cabbage is a complete protein and we eat plenty of those two things. Pentecost is the land of water taro.

We sleep more than we ever did at home. A short night is eight hours of sleep. I nap probably five days a week. Some days I nap twice, because I can.

We are still training, though not as intensely as we were at home. I’ve got back into running, though this island is made up of giant hills which makes running a bit of a challenge. I’m going to have a really nice butt when I leave here. Because of those giant hills, just walking around is a work out and we walk a minimum of an hour a day. To get from Melsisi to Vansemakul, the walk is 45 minutes to an hour on a main road which is easier than the “short cuts” through the bush. To go to Vanwooki, the walk is about the same and we are making that walk once a week at minimum. Basically, we walk a lot.

Yet, despite all these things, we keep getting sick. Go figure.

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