Western medicine-0, Traditional
medicine-1
After Caedmon’s first three days
of school he stayed home for the next three days with pink eye. It all started with a neighbor boy. By the end of the weekend all of the kids on
our street had contracted it, along with most of the parents too. Even John and I got the pleasure of
experiencing pink eye. I quickly bought
antibiotic eye salve, though most cases are viral. The boys healed up pretty quick; where as I took
more than a week to heal. All of our neighbors
healed up before I did, even those that contracted it after me. Those of our neighbors currently
breastfeeding used breast milk to treat their families. Apparently this is a world wide traditional
technique as our optometrist in the States has many Hispanic patients that use
the same method and have had success with it.
I was definitely humbled as I hold our western medical ways in high
esteem. Some other advice we received,
and I am still skeptical about, was to pull on your ear lobes or use
shallots. I am still not sure where the
shallots were to go as they can have a strong enough effect just being chopped
on a cutting board.
A Visit from the States
After our pink eye fiasco a
friend from the States came for a short visit.
Though this was expected, it snuck up on us. We had a great time catching up and being
encouraged as he too has worked overseas.
A Trip to the Big City
After our visitor left, a close
local friend had minor surgery in the big city.
It was an infection that needed to be surgically cleaned out. Thankfully all went well, but now she has a
nasty wound that needs dressing changes twice daily. As she too lives in Barat, I have had the
pleasure of putting my nursing experience to work! I have been changing her dressings twice
daily for her since she has come home.
For some it may seem like a nuisance, but for me this is a great
pleasure as I can help her AND be involved in an area I thoroughly enjoy!
A Visitor from the Big City
When we returned home from the
big city a local friend also came with us for a visit to Barat. It was fun showing him around and introducing
him to our friends here. We took one
afternoon to cook a local dish from his home area, an island off the southern shore we visited a year
ago. We ate grilled fish with rice cooked in coconut milk.  |
| Our friend attempting to start the fire to grill fish. Coconut husks are used as the fuel. |
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| Finally our neighbor behind our house helped us get our little grill set up. She knew what she was doing! |
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| Our neighbor's daughter with Caedmon. |
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| Our friend watching the fish. |
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| Our neighbor's kids with Caedmon. |
Now we hope to get back into, or
develop, a routine with the boys’ schooling, our own studying, and life in
general!
