“Mr. D n’est pas gentil”

They told us during staging that while the word “diarrhea” is somewhat taboo in the United States, it will be considered casual conversation in Niger. I never thought I would be comfortable talking about something like that, but my stage has already affectionately named him “Mr. D.” When Mr. D shows up at your door, you should be prepared to stop whatever you’re doing to tend to him. Haha. Needless to say, most of us have never been so sick in our entire lives. And it’s not really Mr. D at your door if you go to the bathroom less than 4 times during a day. One of our VATs (current PCVs who are helping with the training of new volunteers), told us stories about using the restroom up to 30 times in a day. Basically, our bodies can’t really cope with the stress, culture shock, weather, the same bland food day after day, and not to mention water that still has bacteria in it after being filtered and bleached. They say you don’t truly become a Peace Corps Volunteer until you crap your pants. I didn’t think that was possible, but we’ve already had a few from our stage inducted into that prestigious club.

Only a few weeks in, I’ve already been diagnosed with amoebas and bacteria – a combination that leaves you in the bathroom the majority of the day. The medication I received for it was actually worse in many ways to the sickness itself, and you aren’t able to drink alcohol while you’re on them. Luckily, I am currently on the third set of medications, and they don’t suck quite as bad, and we aren’t really able to drink much here in Niger…A note left from a volunteer says “Amoebas are a girl’s best friend” with a picture of a fat girl and then a skinny girl. It’s sadly true – I’ve already lost 15 pounds in the short time I’ve been here…but no worries! Apparently most female volunteers gain weight here due to the over abundance of starches in the diet.