Warning: PCVs talk about poop a lot.
A lot of people have asked me about the quality of health care we receive in the Peace Corps. We're taken care of by two nice ladies, Karen and Sylvie. Karen used to work at the cancer center in Houston, and we've had a few conversations about that SUV-ridden swamp, which I'm surprised to find I miss a little (it's probably just the Tex-Mex). Sylvie is an adorable French-Candian who told us during a session on STDs and AIDS, "After a while, the Burkinabé start looking pretty good, eh?" She's married to a Burkinabé, so she knows what she's talking about.
Burkina is often #1 in the Peace Corps for cases of diarrhea, so Karen and Sylvie spend the majority of their time handing antibiotics to PCVs who are running to the nearest latrine. During stage, one of the guys who practically lived in the latrine took so many antibiotics, his body's naturally occurring bacteria got all out of whack. After getting a call from Sylvie, he proudly proclaimed to anyone who'd listen, "I got a yeast infection in my ass."
Lucky for them, Karen and Sylvie don't spend all their time looking at PCVs' poop with a microscope. The other day, I was helping half a dozen students in my hangar when a big, white Peace Corps SUV pulled up and Thierry, the stage coordinator, hopped out. He and Markus talked, and I heard Markus offer him some water in a very agitated sort of way. "Markus is so weird," I thought. Then Markus asked me where the water pump is. I told him, over a sea of kids' heads, that I have no idea. We get our water from a student with a donkey cart.
Eventually, Thierry left with a plastic bottle half full of water. While waiting for a kid to figure out what 14 plus 8 is ("26! 24! Umm . . . "), I wondered why Thierry came all the way to Titao to get a drink of water.
Turns out, Karen and Sylvie are analyzing everyone's water. I can't wait to hear about all the nasty things we've been drinking. Markus is convinced we've been drinking tapeworms. Whenever he gets a cup of water, he points out all the threatening-looking specks. We've got a bet going: two Cipros says he's wrong.
Look for "Cipro-resistant bacteria found in Burkina Faso" coming to a newspaper headline near you!
Burkina is often #1 in the Peace Corps for cases of diarrhea, so Karen and Sylvie spend the majority of their time handing antibiotics to PCVs who are running to the nearest latrine. During stage, one of the guys who practically lived in the latrine took so many antibiotics, his body's naturally occurring bacteria got all out of whack. After getting a call from Sylvie, he proudly proclaimed to anyone who'd listen, "I got a yeast infection in my ass."
Lucky for them, Karen and Sylvie don't spend all their time looking at PCVs' poop with a microscope. The other day, I was helping half a dozen students in my hangar when a big, white Peace Corps SUV pulled up and Thierry, the stage coordinator, hopped out. He and Markus talked, and I heard Markus offer him some water in a very agitated sort of way. "Markus is so weird," I thought. Then Markus asked me where the water pump is. I told him, over a sea of kids' heads, that I have no idea. We get our water from a student with a donkey cart.
Eventually, Thierry left with a plastic bottle half full of water. While waiting for a kid to figure out what 14 plus 8 is ("26! 24! Umm . . . "), I wondered why Thierry came all the way to Titao to get a drink of water.
Turns out, Karen and Sylvie are analyzing everyone's water. I can't wait to hear about all the nasty things we've been drinking. Markus is convinced we've been drinking tapeworms. Whenever he gets a cup of water, he points out all the threatening-looking specks. We've got a bet going: two Cipros says he's wrong.
Look for "Cipro-resistant bacteria found in Burkina Faso" coming to a newspaper headline near you!