Cornishmaninafrica

Flu is as common in December-January as it is in England, but for different reasons. Here it is the wind and dust which brings it on. I have never known such a strong harmattan season as this year. Day after day of high winds and dust storms. We haven’t seen the plain down below us for days on end. Temperatures do not exceed 26c in the daytime, and drop to 18c at night. It is nice that it is so cool, but the wind and dust are quite exhausting day after day and they bring major flus, colds, and throat infections. I was feeling so lousy by 18th December that I decided to throw in the towel. I locked up the office for Christmas, much to Emmanuel and Noel’s delight, and spent the week at home, taking things easily, overdosing on vitamin C, decorating for Christmas as and when I felt like it, and hoping to recover by the time my visitors arrived. It worked.

Felt malaria symptoms coming on, so went into Kara to get a blood smear done. The results were negative, but I decided to take a treatment anyway. You don’t mess with malaria. But what’s the point of coming all the way into Kara to have a test, the result of which you don’t believe. I may as well just stay put at home and just take a treatment anyway.