"Rocket Man"

Well, I knew it would have to come eventually, so here it is: the depressing entry.

We've had a bit of sad news in my village. A fellow PCT's baby host sister died the morning of the day we returned to Tubaniso. We're not sure why (no one speaks enough Bambara), but it was clear to anyone who saw her before she died that she was very sick with something. When we got back to Tubaniso we learned that the exact same thing had happened to a PCT in the south. I'm not sure how old that host sibling was. It's all very sad and all very common. Mars ain't the kinda place to raise your kids, indeed...

Here, just about everyone has malaria in some stage. That sounds worse than it is. The malaria parasite incubates in the liver until it can make its way into your blood stream. People show the classic symptoms (flu-like stuff, fever, chills, cold sweats, delirium) only when the parasite causes red blood cells to burst. Apparently, you can get along just fine as long as the thing doesn't make it out of your liver. Be that as it may, I can tell you this much: I will not look at a mosquito the same way again. I was recently a little ill, which my host mother naturally attributed to le palu. I guess she figured if everyone here had it, I must too! I assured her that it was not, in fact, malaria that I had but just a little too much dibi sogo - smoked goat meat. Maybe I won't have to eat dibi sogo again for a while. Here's hoping!

Don't worry, I'll post something more pleasant tomorrow.