Malarone

I threw up today (technically yesterday) for the first time in years and years. Although I had woken up with a troubled stomach, it must have been due to the fact that I started taking Malarone this morning (malaria prophylaxis). Side effects include: cough, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, loss of appetite, mouth sores, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, weakness.

And I had heard that Malarone was the malaria drug with the least side effects! I'd hate to be on another one....(unless I am mistaken). So anyway, there's been stomach pain and severe loss of appetite (apart from the vomiting), and a bit of nausea. So I guess it's not too bad. I'd rather have this than malaria, in any case. I just hope that the side effects go away soon...

And why have I just started taking a malaria prophylactic, you ask? Well, I am leaving for the coast tomorrow night (yayy beach time!), and malaria drugs are recommended for any area in Ecuador that's not in the Andes (where I currently am). So you should start Malarone 1-2 days before the trip, take it every day during the trip, and then for 7 days after. I'll actually be taking it non-stop until five days after I come back to the States, since the weekend after this I'll be in the Amazon jungle for a 5-day, 4-night tour (and then I'll stay in Quito for a day and then fly back to the U.S.!).

I know--such a hard life! Haha so I shouldn't complain about the drug that's allowing me to do all these things without (too much) fear of contracting malaria. And I am very grateful that I even have access to a drug like that, knowing that so many people in the world need it and can't get it. I hope a cheap malaria vaccine is created, and soon (somewhat relevantly--I think I will continue to pursue my Global Health Technologies minor. I was unsure at the end of this past school year, since it would take away so much time from other things I could be doing during senior year...but I find that I am still passionate about it).

Update on work: it's been slower these past few days, ever since we actually finished up delimiting the neighborhoods of our first, trial parroquia (parish in English). Due to our work, we actually found out that the parish lines had been changed, way back in 2007 or 2009 (there were two agreements), so not only did we formally draw neighborhood lines, but we also changed the limits of two parishes! (Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal to you....but it'd be like changing county lines I guess. It's a big deal here.) So yeah, these past few days have been filled with data entry and the sort. Tedious, but necessary.

And now, I must return to my writing assignment for SOSC 422, which is the class I am getting credit for through this internship. Sigh....I always procrastinate on Blogger when I have something else I need to write....