Friday, June 19, 2009

Sick of sick


Let me preface this post by saying that we, as a family, have been sick since since January. At no point in the last 5 and 1/2 months have we all been healthy. Rashes, sniffles, sore throats, fevers, putrid bug bites, vomiting, phlegm- you name it, we've had it. And I'm SICK OF BEING SICK! Our family doctor down here has described Panama as "the perfect petrie dish", meaning viruses love this environment. It's damp, it's hot, it's humid. Voila! You're sick. Add to the mix that there must be viruses down here that are new to us, as in our systems don't have any way to fight them and it feels like we're under attack. On this note alone, I'm ready to come back to Canada, where at least the viruses are ones we've had before and maybe have a measure of being able to defeat. Zella has had it the worst, I believe. She doesn't even know that she's sick. As only a kid could do she has figured out how to use her snot-filled nose to to hammer out a disgusting version of Name That Tune. No kidding. She says things like, "Mom, guess this song..." then proceeds to breath through her nose in time to various pieces of music. ENOUGH! It feels like Panama is beating us right now. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to blow my nose for the 30th time this morning.

5 comments:

Janie said...

No es sorpresa que Zella es una estrella del rock, tiene que ser genetica de su mama!

Espero que todo es fabuloso, las extrano much!

Avisanme si regresan a Ontario este verano.

Jane!

Mara said...

whoa! when did you learn Spanish?? First year Trent? Or Google translate?? Impressive J!

Janie said...

No spanish capability here (are you really that surprised?!?!). Chalk it up to a young colleague who has too much capability and capacity so I've decided to keep her busy translating spanish.
J.

Mara said...

Ha! That's awesome, you really had me going there.:)

Big hugs from all us (and good thing it isn't in person, or you'd be SICK TOO!!)

Anonymous said...

Hi Mara ! Let me first of all send you my congratulations on your very nice website, I like the way you tell your stories, and your pics are amazing ! I am Sylvie, Belgian, and have been living in Dubai for the past 5 years. My husband and I have 2 daughters, 16 and 11 years old. There is a possibility my husband will be 'sent' to Panama by his company, you know, the crisis-story...
Although it's not my first experience as an expat, I am really nervous on what to decide. Our children are not babies anymore, and I just wonder if Panama is a good country to raise a teenager. There are so many questions running through my head, our daughter 's final 2 IB diploma years (I already found there is an IB school in P. City though), is it a safe country (malaria, earthquakes, thunderstorms, thefts...), ... I know these questions probably seem silly, but you know how it is if you know nothing about the country you plan to move to...I just figured, Mara seems very nice, and has children, so she will be able to give me sone answers I can trust... Thanks so much, and I really hope you guys are healthy and sound again !
Sylvie
mail address :
dewaele@emirates.net.ae