That Dang Dengue!

Hey Faithful Readers! It’s Angie, and I’m back on blog duty. Also, I’m having to be a drill sergeant of a nurse with a most difficult patient. For about one hour of the day today, Bobby felt better than he has felt in a week, and he tried to do everything that he hadn’t done in that week! I told him I was having to answer to a higher authority (Dr. Shahitha at the hospital), and if he didn’t get back to bed, well, the consequences would be grave. Fortunately, he didn’t test me in this matter, because he was ready to go back to bed anyway! I made a trip to the hospital this afternoon to get test results for Dengue Fever – the results were positive for the virus. This was not a big surprise to us, since his symptoms were the same as mine had been a month before. The doctor’s instructions, in a precise Indian-English accent, were, “No works – only bed rest”! She offered to write a doctor’s note for his employer. I told her it was not necessary, but now I think I might should have taken that note. That way, when Bob jumps up from his sick bed and tries to start working, I could just hand HIM the note. The good news in all of this is that we have now all conquered “The Fever”, and I’m sure our immunities are much stronger for it!! Now to a new topic – we’re all tired of that one!! August will come to a close as quite an eventful month. Amid the moving and assembling the furniture for the apartment, I’m also trying to crank out lesson plans for a 4th grader and a 1st grader! The pressure is intense! I’m very excited about this new school year. So far, the curriculum looks organized, comprehensive, and interesting. And think of the field trips we can plan!! It’s going to be a fun and educational year. School begins for us on September 4th. We’re going to try the year-round method so that we can take trips with Bobby to other islands on our intermittent breaks. You all are probably not seeing signs yet of changing seasons, but when you do, would you comment and describe it to us in detail?! That’s one thing we know we will all miss. Around here, a Fall football game means soccer on a hot street! That brings me to another subject: friendships. The kids are developing them well. Everyday, it seems that two or three different boys gather under our balcony and call for Braden in their accented English. They always include Kyndal in whatever they’re playing, and she enthusiastically joins in. Many of the boys wander through the island until dark, but there are never any girls out. Sometimes we find a little girl out on the beach and we build sand castles or play with the hermit crabs, but mostly, it’s a boys’ world. The same holds true for the adults here. The men meet to socialize, smoke, and drink coffee in the cafes, always without their wives. There is one activity in which only women participate. It’s a game called Baashi and looks like it’s played with a tennis ball and racket, except that only one woman holds the racket. She’s the server. She serves the ball backwards to the other side of the net, where five women wait to catch or hit the ball back with their hands! (If, by chance, you know the specific rules on this game, please leave a message. I probably have it all wrong!) They hold tournaments and everything! The women meet on a dirt court that looks like a tennis court, at around 5:00 p.m. and start to play. If you happen to be on the main street at that time, you can hear them laugh as they play. It’s such a sweet sound. Otherwise, they are very quiet. On the street, I always try to make eye contact and smile a lot. Usually, I get a bright smile in return. Friendships are important to everyone, aren’t they? I need to go check on my patient now. Maybe if he’s good, I’ll let him write the blog tomorrow. It’s good night for me. I hope you all have a great day!!