A Fine and Pleasant Misery

We interrupt this program to inform you that life in a foreign country is sometimes not entirely peaches and cream, nor rice and beans, nor anything remotely pleasant at all.

Last night, after a great time at Detwilers' doing WT study and Bible charades, I came home and found that several pairs of sandals in my closet were moldy. I put the whole shoe holder on the back porch to deal with the next day, and went back to my closet only to find that a couple of dresses, my favorite skirt, some other sandals, and a bag were also moldy. Out the back door they went. Along with them went my boots, my apron and oven mitt set, a comb, a hairbrush, two small pouches, some cooking chopsticks, and a few other things which I can't remember. Every time I turned around, there was something new and moldy to be found. I'd been really lethargic for a couple of weeks, and I suspect the mold is the source of the problem. I relocated all the clothes that had been hanging in my closet to my indoor clothesline which crisscrosses my bedroom, and began praying. I can deal with termites living in my door, swarming my lights and spread all over my floor dead in the morning, I can deal with dust everywhere, bird poop, dog poop, cat pee, problematic refrigerators, personal insecurities about how I look in a swimsuit, and being lonely from time to time, but I cannot deal with everything I own going moldy all the time and getting sick from it. I'd been cleaning the chopsticks every day with vinegar, but it only took them a day left untouched for it to come back. My apartment was fine during the dry season, but it's set between some other houses and a hill and has extremely poor air circulation. I prayed to Jehovah that I find a new place soon (the landlord raised the rent recently and it's no longer especially cheap anyway), and I was very specific so we'll see what happens.
This morning, I woke up to find that I had crippling stomach cramps and a malicious case of what we simply call the No Buenos. I'd agreed to housesit for the Cooks for several days, and I arrived there late morning, leaving my bird unfed and my moldy belongings still on the back porch. (The Cooks and Rodriguezes are going to Quepos to help with a Kingdom Hall build there, it's pretty exciting for them. I hope I can do RBC again soon.)
I spent the majority of the afternoon stretched on the couch watching Friends and Batman Begins (thanks, Chris and Sarah!), much more comfortable than I'd have been at my own house.
Around four o'clock, the cramps were coming less often, so I decided to go home and fetch Bird wearing what I hoped was a waterproof jacket of Chris's. As I walked up to the house I realized it was strangely silent, and, slightly panicked, I rushed over to find his cage hanging empty. The piece of twine that had been tying one of the cage doors shut was on the ground, frayed and apparently chewed through. I frantically started calling for him and ran around the back, put my boots on disregarding the mold, and went to go look for him up on the hill. It began raining harder, and I found the jacket was not waterproof. After walking around for sometime, calling, whistling, and asking my neighbors, I finally just prayed that he wouldn't die and trudged back down the hill.

In addition, the 3G on my phone stopped working a couple of days ago, so if it weren't for Cooks I would have no internet access at all (my home internet never did work, though the electric company keeps sending technicians.) I use my phone to get internet to my computer for work, so until I can get it sorted I can't work at my house.

So, here I am today. Alone again, without even my little bird that I had become attached to, half my belongings in a moldy heap outside my house and the rest threatening to follow suit, a minimally useful phone, and in possession of a digestive tract that seems to think it functions more like a laundry chute than the marvelously designed system that it's supposed to be. Lura suggested the possibility of a parasite, and until I can get medicine from Samara I'm eating raw garlic cloves. So add to the list a terrible cloud of garlic breath that I can't get away from. Thankfully, Jehovah does know our limits, and I'm suffering in comfort in the internet, fan, A/C, and movie projector-equipped haven that my friends are letting me stay in.

No pictures of the misery, but there will be some positive ones in the next post where I'll pick up where I left off with service experiences and a nice picture or two of me and Bird pre-escape. Oh, I didn't go in service today and missed doing a couple of studies as well. Good thing I made my time yesterday.

As crummy as today has been, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your love and support. Jehovah's love is manifested in you and in your letters, calls, emails, cards, messages, and comments that pick me up when at times, nothing else will. I thank him daily for my wonderful family and friends and I can't wait to see many of you this summer. I fly into Seattle July 4, fly from Portland to New York August 2, and fly from Boston back to Costa Rica August 12. Let's go in service sometime, you know how to reach me. For real. If you're reading this, send me a message so we can figure out when we can do service and related adventures, if not this summer, next year or some other time in the future.

Thank you for your patience, love you all.

A Fine and Pleasant Misery is a phrase coined by Patrick McManus