Kenya says "yes"

It's officially been two weeks since our arrival in Kenya. And today is my mother's birthday. And today is election day. A holiday! As of about 9pm the results were showing an overwhelming response for the “yes” by 2 to 1. Such results would be unfathomable in any election in the States but this appears to be no surprise to any Kenyan. In fact, while chatting Kenyan politics over lunch, Mercy openly admits that she didn't renew her voter's card because “the government will do what it wants to do”. So it looks pretty safe to say that Kenya will have a new constitution. Another interesting tidbit was that polling locations are using fingerprint scans for identification. I had flashbacks of a recent polling experience in west Los Angeles where blue-haired ladies were fumbling with stacks of stapled lists and couldn't find my name. I think there might be something wrong there.

Today also marks the road to better health for this stubborn tourist. Just like we're told NOT to do, I went and drank the tap water right from day one. And ate everything my Kenyan counterparts were eating. And I've been hanging out with those super healthy folks in what should be the infectious diseases ward (if there were such a thing) of one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the world. And I was still in denial that I could have caught something.

But yesterday I experienced the healthcare system in Africa from a different perspective. I was the patient. Apparently I spoke too soon on Monday thinking I was feeling better but the next morning I was in rough shape. We called our go-to-girl, Ann, for a recommendation for a doctor and the only one who could see me right away was the pediatrician that takes care of her 7 and 10 year olds. So I swallowed my pride and marched up the little step ladder to the miniature exam table and let him look in my ears. I especially liked the pooh bear wall paper. It really put me at ease.

A few minutes and several uncomfortable questions about my marital status later, I had enough antibiotics and amoeba eating drugs in my paws to kill anything on our block. Yippeee!! I promised the doctor no more tap water, and I will try to cut down on my cravings for liver and intestines.