Fireworks

OK.  So, those of you that are REALLY close friends and family already know about my firework phobia.  The rest of you, just get ready to say, "We always knew there was something wrong with that girl!"  For as long as I can remember I've had a dislike for fireworks.  They scare me.  I don't even like sparklers.  I especially hate the loud things.  They make me want to hide in a closet and not come out!  Unfortunately, living in a big city means fireworks are everywhere.  They like to shoot them off the week of Christmas and more and more until New Year's comes and goes.


For the last several weeks or more like a few months, we've been hearing firecrackers in the streets.  Firecrackers are among my least favorite of the fireworks especially if I don't know they are coming.  Think with me for a moment here.  Only a few months ago here, men had guns and were running around in the streets shooting them at one another.  I've felt OK about being here, fairly safe and not too worried, but random pow pow noises in the street are not really what I want to hear!!!!

Fast forward to the weekend of New Year's.  Before the sun is even down, people started with the bottle rockets and firecracker and some sort of super bottle rocket.   Around 9, apparently the city stages a big show which consists of an hour worth of constant fireworks including that big cannon sounding thing they like to do in the grand finale of a show in the states.  I went outside in the yard for one reason only, to look and see if there was a portion of the city going up in a TNT explosion or something.  I thought maybe somebody had gotten into one of the supposed weapons cache things and had blown it up.  I thought the whole city might be blown off the map, with what I heard.  That went on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night.  The neighbors seem to have finally run out of their stash, much to my relief!  Since buying and selling fireworks is illegal here, I have no idea how the WHOLE city came by them, but I'm glad they seem to be gone for now.

This week, I've been getting ready for my first solo trip since Ben was born.  I have to go to Niger for a home school conference.  I'm hoping he'll be good for Mike and not notice I'm gone.

This week has also brought up one of the biggest challenges to me of living overseas.  Caleb has had a bad cough and I finally decided it was time to take him to the doc.  She says it's bronchitis and gave him a boatload of meds.  When he didn't respond like I thought he should to those, I am posed with the ever present dilemna.  Do I really trust the healthcare here and where can I turn if I don't?  I suppose I had an easy time of things in the states.  The kids aren't sick much, I was never sick much either.  When the doctor told me I had an illness, I believed them.  If they said, it's not something to worry about, I didn't worry.  If they gave me medicine, I took it.  All of the sudden, we're off in the wild blue yonder.  I barely understand the doctor and I'm not always sure they understood me.  They treat people differently here.  They explain nothing.  They prescribe unnecessary meds.  We've been frequently misdiagnosed, sometimes gravely so.  I've even been prescribed medicines that don't exist.  We do have help.  We have people we can call, it's just so frustrating not to know a doctor in country that I feel like I can trust.  To end a long rant, Caleb is doing better today.  I think the meds are finally working and he'll be fine.  It's just a reminder that "I'm not in Kansas anymore"! ;)  I miss my family, I miss my friends and I miss Dr Milroy!

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