A few weeks ago there was a Water Board strike. We were given ample notice (4 days) that the Water Employees Trade
Union of Malawi planned to strike unless their salaries were increased. This gave all of us plenty of time to stock up on water in every type of receptacle we had (last year's strike lasted 3 days - which may not seem like a lot, but i'd much rather be without electricity than water, purely from a sanitation point of view!).
The first day of the strike we decided to go out to dinner. We figured it was better on the first day than on the 2nd or 3rd or 4th when restaurant staff were less likely to have any means of washing their hands prior to preparing our food!
Fortunately, the strike only lasted a few days and it wasn't nearly as bad as last year. Apparently there is some rule that even when on strike, water must be running for 30% of the day (or something like that). However, just because the water was running, didn't mean it was being TREATED properly.
Lo and behold, about a week later, B got sick. And then our friend T got sick. And then I got sick. And then B got sick again. And I was still sick.
We're almost certain it was giardia and, for once in my life, I willingly sought out medication to fix whatever was ailing my poor intestines. The medicine of choice was tinidazole. I've taken tinidazole in the past and my number 1 complaint is that it makes your mouth taste like metal! However, I had no idea that some of the other side effects included:
The first day of the strike we decided to go out to dinner. We figured it was better on the first day than on the 2nd or 3rd or 4th when restaurant staff were less likely to have any means of washing their hands prior to preparing our food!
Fortunately, the strike only lasted a few days and it wasn't nearly as bad as last year. Apparently there is some rule that even when on strike, water must be running for 30% of the day (or something like that). However, just because the water was running, didn't mean it was being TREATED properly.
Lo and behold, about a week later, B got sick. And then our friend T got sick. And then I got sick. And then B got sick again. And I was still sick.
We're almost certain it was giardia and, for once in my life, I willingly sought out medication to fix whatever was ailing my poor intestines. The medicine of choice was tinidazole. I've taken tinidazole in the past and my number 1 complaint is that it makes your mouth taste like metal! However, I had no idea that some of the other side effects included:
Anorexia and...furry tongue!? Fortunately, I did not become anorexic nor did I grow a furry tongue. I did, however, get better. So, I suppose the several days of metal flavoured coffee, metal flavoured salads, and even metal flavoured water was all worth it.
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