The last saga (which seemed like forever ago, thank you, Thanksgiving and LIFE!) left us off with the possibility of having to get a Yellow Fever shot. What do you think I ended up doing?
After talking with our guide in the morning, he told us of a clinic he could take me to prior to heading out on the five-hour drive to our village. We traveled as a group to stop there prior to grocery shopping and when we pulled up, the sign outside the clinic (what looked like a ramshackle building on the side of the road) said, “Priorities: Cleanliness Caring Competence.” Phew! Glad they clarified that for me.
I jumped off the van with our team leader and guide and Paul asked someone outside the clinic where we would go for the Yellow Fever shot. Their response, in English, “Go to the yellow hut.”
The yellow. hut.
ZOMGosh. Are they serious!? Go to the hut? To get a sharp object poked into my arm? They must be misunderstood.
Head behind the building and sure enough, a small building the size of a shed with a tin yellow roof awaited us. We went pass the small line of people to ask how long the wait would be. Inside, there was an EMPTY box of gloves, a small bathroom size trash can filled with discarded needles and a floor covered in dirt and dust. I was immediately reassured (ha ha ha).
After paying our Kwacha, we went back to the hut for the event of the day. We had a few spectators join us from the group and within a few minutes she had stabbed me gloveless. I was still wincing as she held the cotton to which she laughed and said, “Why are you wincing, Mizungu? You’re all done!”
She passed my my yellow card (thankyouJesus) and then we were on our way to grocery shopping. One thing off the list. Next up? Trying to find my luggage!
We traversed to the grocery store (a place that resembled closely to a mall) and then we began our five-hour trek to the village in order to get there before nightfall (remember, no electricity?)
Along the way, we saw a store called Shoes and Baby World and this started a ten-minute conversation about buying loafers and getting a baby free.We asked countless questions of Paul, learned about the families, children and “children WITH parents?!?!” and found KFC and Subway to be the fast food of choice (and available).
Upon our arrival, I met and fell in love with Dora (more on him later) and were greeted by these smiling faces as they helped us get our food into the kitchen house. They were excited, ran around asking for pictures and to see how they looked on the digital side of things. Kids seemed to come from everywhere and immediately, my heart was SO full. It’s hard to explain what it’s like to meet your family halfway across the world, but this was amazing. Feeling so much like home, yet being so far away.
I could hardly wait to continue our week’s adventure…
Beautiful children!