Intestinal Parasites, Cats, and Roosters.

Today, we had our amazing session entitled "Intestinal Parasites and Hospitalization". No worries though...I don't have any yet. Some symptoms, maybe, but those parasites can't work this fast! Ha, it's a reality for most volunteers, I guess, so I must be prepared. We also received our first shots for rabies and Japanese encephelitus. Now there are no worries when strange cats show up in my bed.

Last night, I was in my room getting ready to settle down and do some reading (mind you, it was 8:00 and everyone was already in bed...exhausted from the heat and the brain-stretching). All of a sudden, I had the feeling that someone was watching me. You know that feeling? It just feels creepy. And then I saw it. Behind my mosquito net was a set of eyes. A CAT! A cat?? My family doesn't own any cats. I was actually really tempted to claim it as my pet, so I would always have a friend to listen to me. Then, I decided to wait for the rabies shot. Hopefully the fleas left when the cat did, after tshhhing it away. Good bye, cat. Hope to have another pet soon.

Have I talked about the roosters yet? Of course, you cannot travel to another country and not experience roosters. My mornings usually go like this. I wake up at about 2:30 and check my phone to see what time it is. Usually, I am surprised with text messages, because my phone does not get good reception...thus deliving text messages in the middle of the night. I go back to sleep, at least until 4. At 4:00, the roosters begin. It is not so bad, and I am actually quite used to it. Between 4:00 and 5:30, I doze in and out of sleep, usually only awaking when the roosters create their chorus. Yes, there is actually a chorus. I've been thinking about doing a fundraiser to get them some new choir robes. It's amazing. At 5:40, my alarm goes off. By then, I've had about 9-10 hours of sleeping, having gone to bed at 8:00 or 9:00 the night before. Still not satisfied, I hit the snooze button once, allowing me an extra 10 minutes of rooster sleep. It's amazing, and I love every minute.

After writing this, I will head home for dinner and studying. Hopefully my family teaches me Cebuano tonight, as it seems to be a mixture of Tagalog, Cebuano, and English that I am getting. It's actually pretty amazing that there are three languages spoken within the home! I will eat dinner....I'm really in the mood for rice, so perhaps we will have some :).

It's present at every meal, so I don't have to worry....

Love to ya'll.