Home sweet Hotel Roma

Thank you for the comments on my last entry! It makes my day to get your feedback, even if you are laughing at my misfortune. Yes, this week has been quite stressful for me: giardia and an undesirable housing situation. Both have caused significant anxiety and loss of productivity at work. On Monday I paid three months rent to a landlord, not to mention house furnishings, expecting to get an apartment suitable for living. He kept claiming to be “working” on getting things fixed (electricity and what not), but he eventually evaded my calls and left me in the dark all together (literally). This blatant disrespect, in addition to the fact that I feel plain lousy, left me doubting the whole situation and I even decided to spend a night or two back in a hotel to get proper rest. My primary frustration was that this guy had me totally move into this apartment (remember at night without electricity) without it being properly prepared and then seemed bewildered that I was getting so angry that he was leaving me hanging. On Thursday morning I made up my mind that the best thing would be for me to just get out of this situation all together, as I was not comfortable, in addition to the fact that I was then paying for both an apartment AND a hotel. Enter Lina. Remember Lina? She was my savior when I first arrived in Gulu but she has been abroad in Austria for much of the time I have been here. She is so smart and energetic – I have really missed her presence this last month. In fact, she was only in Gulu for a few hours Thursday morning but the woman gets things done! I filled her in on what had happened and I instantly knew that she would not rest until the mess was rectified, as she proclaimed: “The one thing I hate is injustice!” She accompanied me to meet the landlord (since he wasn’t answering my calls, I had to confront him in person) and she dug into him, dropping her status as a former magistrate. Her legal training was apparent, and more importantly, she was pivotal in getting the man to return my money. So we went to the apartment, removed all my belongings, and went back to the good old Hotel Roma, where I was so warmly received (“you are most welcome!” and “you are our sister/daughter”). Why was I so anxious to leave my Roma family? At least when the power is out here, I know the generator will be going for a couple hours in the evening, and when there is no running water, somebody will provide me with an ample supply. And my new discovery is if I leave any clothes aside, they show up washed and pressed!

I am disregarding the expense of my hotel and putting the housing issue on the backburner for now - at least until I feel well again. I am clinging to my toilet more than ever.

So I have been taking my drugs (I do love that you can just walk into a pharmacy and request whatever drug and in whatever quantity you desire – 30 pills for my illness cost 600 shillings or about 35 cents), eating trees of bananas, and resting. Giardia (or the animal, as it was termed in Kigali), if that is in fact what I have, leaves you feeling completely fatigued, heavy headed and without an appetite. I am frustrated because I know that it can take weeks to kick this. I am too lethargic to even lift my arms above my head. Well, at least it is curbing my unquenched cardio cravings. The only positive development is that the nausea has subsided. Boo-hoo, right? This update is a bit self-indulgent but there has got to be better news ahead…