Ahhh...

This evening we had the necessary Spa Event at our house! The Spa Event is a regularly occurring event here in Jb, as everyone has terribly sweaty, dusty, stinky, and yes, even crunchy, feet. Our pores are full of dust and sweat. Our eyes are gritty and swollen from the dust and the sun.

So once in a while, a girl just has to spend some time taking care of herself! And it's always much more fun to do it together :) In fact, we have a whole bag full of spa event lotions and potions and wonderful masks and hydrations and polishes, which gets lovingly pulled out of the cupboard for such events. We had a good turn out tonight, though I forgot to take many photos. Here's just one corner of our living room, complete with Kristina's newly exfoliated and moisturized foot:
Look how clean those toes are!
I was busy sitting back and relaxing. The label on my hydrating mask promised "bouncy skin". Not being one to miss out on bouncy skin, I had to try it. And indeed, my skin feels soft and bouncy, like a baby's freshly bathed bottom :)
Truly amazing, if you knew how my face started out feeling! You're supposed to discard the mask after you use it... but man, what a waste! There was still lots of hydration left in that mask - but, well, I haven't lived in Africa for THAT long, so I did not stick it in one of my old ziplock bags to save for another day :)

So now that we've all been scrubbed and polished and cleansed, I think we can make it through another week!

On another happy note, have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate the person who invented antibiotics? I've been feeling rather rotten for the past several days. So I took myself to the clinic, run by Ugandan doctors. First time I've ever been to the doctor in this town - quite an achievment in and of itself, I'd say. And I was more curious than anything to see what kinds of tests they'd do and what they might find in my digestive track, because, well, because I've lived here for three years and never been thoroughly checked or treated for anything crazy. The doctor was amazed that I've lived here for 3 years and haven't yet had malaria! I'm somewhat amazed, as well. Today I had my first malaria test ever - it's just normal practice here to do a malaria test on anyone who complains of anything. Have a toothache? - do a malaria test. Sprained your ankle? - do a malaria test. Of course, as I expected, the malaria test came back negative.

They did, however, find some generic "infection". Not quite sure what that means. And the doctor wasn't too forthcoming with information, either. He just gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and sent me on my way. I went to the pharmacy and spent $4 on some antibiotics to last me for the week. I could have gotten the brand that was made in Switzerland for $25, but opted for the more local brand and saved a good deal of money! I've eaten two antibiotic tablets so far today and already, I feel loads better. It's truly amazing how quickly those things work.

I probably could have "prescribed" the same antibiotics for myself (you don't actually need a prescription to get drugs here - you just walk into the pharmacy and tell them what you want and how many!), but I was sorta curious about what the doctor would say and what the tests would tell me! And all in all, it wasn't a bad experience at all... but next time I feel rotten, I'll probably just start taking the antibiotics and skip the doctor altogether!