Mmmmm......Turkey

I was very close to staying at home for Thanksgiving and eating beans and tortillas for a second year in a row. But I got an invitation to celebrate with some volunteers at the oprhanage in La Paz, which is the largest city in my department and about 4 hours away on bus. It turned out to be a really good time with way more food than you could imagine for being in Honduras. 3 turkeys were bought and cooked, along with an assortment of potatos, green beans, biscuits, cakes and cookies. We even had Oceanspray cranberry sauce. Now that was excitement. And of course, the kids....who had never tasted many of the things we're so accustomed to. I brought arts and craft supplies and we did the traditional hand-turkey cut-outs. But with a flair...instead of just coloring we used little pieces of construction paper to make multi-colored turkeys. Then the wind blew....and the ground was decorated with a rainbow of colors. I of course took part in the activities and made my turkey and decorated the rest of the paper. A little boy watching me draw politely informed me that trees were not pink. So I pointed out to him that turkeys were not blue either. We accepted our differences and happily continued coloring.

Lola stayed at home, but she decided to have her own post-Thanksgiving feast on Sunday. I went to buy in the market and Lola is not allowed. There's a dog-hater who threatens to poison those that enter the market. So I put Lola in the kitchen and ran off. I got back and realized that she had eaten at least half a pound of chocolate that I had on the counter! Well, Lola is okay....she didn't even get sick. Some of the hyperactivity I think kicked in the first night, but she's been acting like a normal Lola.

I on the other had got some sicknesses going on. Fevers on and off that started on Saturday night followed by chest congestions and pains and a cough that hurts my lungs. Just hoping its not bronchitis or doesn't turn into it. And back pains that are more consistent than before...which could be b/c my bed has a huge dip in the middle. Or it could be my kidneys again...another thing I hope its not. We'll see. I'm waiting for the Peace Corps doctors to call me back.

In the mean time I went to my host parents' store to see what they had for medicine and bought a cough syrup that said it was for cough, helps bronchitis, as well as a fever reducer and has antiviral somehthing. It is the most foul tasting stuff I have ever had. Deyvis was trying to tell me to take at least double the recommendation, but just from the smell of the stuff I would be drunk if I did. Haha....so in the night time I'm taking another dose and read the ingredients...its 10% alcohol! That's more than beer! Haha....that's why its only a tablespoon at a time! But think....its declared safe for kids too!