I’ve now been bitten by mosquitoes on six continents

Luckily they gave us all our anti-malarial, Larium, as it is commonly referred, the morning before we got on the plane.  Don’t mind that it is supposed to be taken at least a week – better still two weeks in advance.  In addition to my Larium pill, I was given a cocktail of Yellow Fever, Polio and MMR (Mumps, Measles, and Rubella) and remember this was all the morning before all 75 of us boarded our fateful flight to .  Now, today, a full week into the journey, we qued up once again for more pricks in the arm.  I count myself among the lucky ones – I’ve had quite a few vaccinations through my travels.  Today, I only go the first in a multi-shot series (I think it will add up to ~10) of Rabies.  On Sunday, I only had to get one Meningitis.  The others, in an overwhelming majority, continued on the triple cocktail regime started in Philly on each of our three sessions thus far.  Of course I’ve had my Hep A, Hep B, Tetanus & Diphtheria (TD), and Typhoid shots, but it is an entirely different ball game when you’re doing the triple cocktail method.  I’m also not having any serious adverse reactions.  My original trio of roommates in Tubaniso has turned into a duo.  After the first night here it went from Ben, Jeff and I to just Jeff and I.  Ben has since spent the past three, soon to be four, nights in the infirmary.  His body didn’t like the Larium.  He broke out into sweats, fever, nausea, etc. and has been cooped up in the medical office all day every day since we got here.  Sure he finally made it out to attend some sessions today, but not well enough to move back to our mud ‘shack’ (Hey Matt – Mi shack es su shack!).  Anyhow, that’s his condition and hopefully he’ll be able to rejoin us as a PCT soon… we do leave for our homestay’s the day after tomorrow.

Bring it back to the Larium, when I mentioned my reactions aren’t serious, doesn’t mean I’m not having any.  They’re, well, just not serious.  You see, the side-effect Larium is most famous for isn’t the sort Ben has been so privileged to experience.  The side-effects usually come in the form of intense, sometimes crazy and scary, lucid dreams.  I experienced my first of what may amount to many nights with these lucid dreams.  I don’t usually remember my dreams, and when I do, they’ve been nothing like this.  I originally thought – “How am I even going to know if I get the dream side-affect?  I don’t usually even remember my dreams.  Will I just not be sleeping well and not know why?”  Well, I’ve solved that question.  I do remember and they (the dreams) are intense!   As dreams go, at least from my history I can’t give many details, but it essentially consisted of rapidly morphing subjects in my dreams.  Crazy things like while I was talking with/looking at someone, they would spontaneously morph – while I was looking right at them!  Into a monkey or something… very bizarre.  Of course, remember, this is quite a change form my usual sleeping experience – pre-Mali.  As it is getting late, it is time for me to delve back into my crazy, lucid Larium filled rest.