(I promised I'd blog for them too so that is my first post...I had it all typed out and then I lost it, of course. So that is the abridged version.)
I seriously got to steer this boat. The captain went to the front and made hand signals at me. I was terrified.
Mike and I thought Mom would like this picture. Too bad my camera was foggy and everything came out hazy.
This is my bed, with my brand new"Fight TB" vuvuzela laying on it. I got it at an event at work where they were doing road testing for HIV and TB. Since I'm vaccinated for the TB and since I'm HIV-free as of the last time I got tested for it, I let them test my blood sugar and blood pressure and then accepted the free stuff.
My side of the room, complete with peace flags. Svenja's bed is just behind mine. I stood on her bed to take the picture.
This is the view from the front of our house. To the right is the living room, you see the kitchen there on the right and then the stairs and then straight back is our room.
The HIV and TB testing that resulted in me getting a free cup and vuvuzela was interesting. I was leaving at noon or I would have gotten tested, but it was interesting how the excuses flew. I, too, didn't have enough time to do it. I should have found the time, made the time, carved it out and penciled it in. But I didn't. I feel that part of the problem here is the getting tested part. No one wants to do it, and no one who thinks they might have been exposed wants to do it because they're afraid of the answer. Earlier that day, one of the women I work with was late because she had to go to the clinic. No one said anything about it, other than to rag on her because she was late, but I was glad that she went.
Later on, Svenja and I were talking about the kids that she works with. What do you do when one of them gets cut? Since no one tells you which of the kids are HIV positive, you have to treat every kid like they are and be extra careful around cuts and open wounds. And of course you don't want to know because you don't want to take the chance that you might treat one of them differently. But at the same time, it's a slight risk to you and to the other kids.
It's scary here. It's easy to forget that one out of every four or five people are infected. There are condoms everywhere, for the taking. There's no excuse not to have safe sex, but it's obviously not happening. The townships where we work are filled with kids. The streets are absolutely filled with children. Yesterday, a woman left her baby in the courtyard while she went off. Just left her baby in the courtyard. Another woman had to grab it and pick it up because he was crying, but otherwise, he would have been left there until she came back to retrieve him.
Today, I saw a little boy and his baby sister playing in the road. The little boy was trying to pick up the sister, who was nearly half his size. I watched him try to settle her on his hip, and then, once he realized he wasn't going to be able to, he helped her walk (barefoot, of course) across the road. As they were walking across, another little girl came out of a house nearby to meet them. It was so sad to realize that this township is so filled with such a young population.
Every time I get tested for anything else, I get tested for HIV. It's not hard. They take your blood and call you in a week. Everyone should do this at least once a year. Maybe more. Save your own life or someone else's.
However, I do have normal blood sugar and blood pressure, so that was a nice reassurance.
I LOVE the titanic picture. Get that sucker framed. I miss you. I miss you. I miss you.
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