I'd like to apologize for my lack of updates, I really don't have any excuses besides maybe the increase workload I'm experiencing. It pales in comparison to work back home, so if I can't handle myself here, I'll be in a world of trouble back at Madison.
Recently, I've been partaking on an adventure that tends to begin this time of year for me. It's the adventure of "How far can I push my dollar?" It's a bit troubling to think that my last two posts are about money, but, instead of ranting about money, I'd like to let you know about how I'm beating it. It's nothing too clever, but it's been fun to see how far I can stretch a dollar here. Food really isn't that expensive, but it's definitely my biggest expenditure. At the onset of the semester, I had the idea of bulking up and getting strong; I stuck with it for quite some time. My calorie intake was quite high, and I was nearly meeting my protein quota everyday: around 100 grams or so. I was doing this without protein shakes or bars, I was doing it with A LOT of tuna, eggs, and milk. Milk goes for about $2 USD per liter here, and I was shredding through about 1.5 of those a day. A dozen eggs may last around two meals, and a can of tuna was a snack between my three high calorie meals. It was expensive! I stuck with that idea for far too long. I'm still eating well, staying relatively healthy (I'll get to that part later), but I've manged to cut down the cost of food considerably. First I began to lay off the milk, second I lowered the amount of proteins I bought. Most of my protein comes from eggs and Chinese sausages; the daily total doesn't come close to 100 grams like it used to, but that's alright. Thirdly, I had to swap my expensive cereal from Cost-U-Less (about 20 FJD for a 2 kilogram bag) for the 4 FJD Weet-Bix box. I don't particularly enjoy Weet-Bix because they get mushy instantly! The trick is, though, to add a bit of milk with each bite instead of soaking the bales (yes the cereal comes in little bales) completely. The addition of raw sugar makes it enjoyable; "A part of a nutritious breakfast!" French toast is what's usually for dinner, and it's what's in my stomach at this very moment. Eight sizable slices worth of cinnamon goodness in my tummy. I had it a couple of days ago too. The reason why I've been eating so much of it recently, is the same reason why my buddies have been too: it's super cheap. A large loaf of fresh wholemeal sliced bread will run you out about 2 FJD, 3 eggs cost about 1.50 FJD, a splash of milk is almost free, and the extra bit of vanilla and cinnamon don't cost too much either. For less than 5 FJD I was able to stuff myself! In contrast, the hamburger that I used to make spaghetti was over 5 FJD to begin with. I have just over 5 FJD to spend until Friday, and I see no particular problem with it. I have the groceries I need and there are plenty of free things to do. None of my friends are going on crazy adventures at the moment either, mostly because they're feeling the financial pressure and because we all have things that need to get done. It's much easier to live/eat this way when everyone else is doing the same! It's similar to how I felt my first year in Madison. My high school self would have thought that waking up around seven every morning and hitting homework hard until, at least, eleven at night would really suck, and it did! However, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, because everyone around me was doing the exact same thing, if not harder yet. Funny how that works.
In summary, I'm winning the battle against money.
Bacteria on the other hand is kicking my ass!!! Last week I developed this weird red lump on my thigh and then on my face. It looked and felt like a pimple, but it was quite hard to squeeze anything out. Anthony would watch and cringe as I attempted to rid of anything that may be hiding in there. Soon the "pimple" on my thigh turned into a volcano of pus and blood! It's a bit of an exaggeration, but it was oozing a pretty good amount of bodily lava. I decided to head to the doctor, because I didn't want that blood and pus party all over my face! I was prescribed some antibiotics and instructed to return in a couple of days so he could make note of the progress. The antibiotics worked on my thigh first. All of the dead bacteria and white blood cells retreated to the lump on my leg; pressured would build and build until the lump couldn't take it anymore. A marvelous geyser of all things nasty would shoot out of my thigh!!! It didn't quite go like that. The pressure was uncomfortable, but it was up to me, and whoever wanted to play with pus, to get it out. Cassie was quite happy to volunteer her services after I showed Anthony and her how much fun it was to squeeze the nasty pus cocktail out of my leg like squeezing toothpaste out of its tube. She had a field day releasing the worms of pus from their comfy home in my leg (that's not really an exaggeration, they looked like worms coming out!). Anthony capture it on film! After that initial round of pus filled fun, I sanitized and dress my thigh properly; it proceeded to heal. My face however... decided that it wanted in on the action! I could feel the pressure in my right cheek, and knew that it would soon turn into something similar to my what was on my tight. I really hoped it didn't match the scale though! A couple of days ago, while on a hike, Liz, Alden, and Albert had to witness my face ooze its special blend of pus and blood. I would clear it with what I found closest: leaves and other vegetation. I couldn't see my own cheek, though, so they'd have to periodically remind me that my face was squirting again. They are understanding friends, but it was still quite embarrassing. Later that night I found that band-aids weren't hefty enough to stem the flow, so I had to resort of a full gauze patch. I must have looked like a dweeb. Turns out that the two lumps that plagued me were boils: infections caused by Staph bacteria. They're basically gone now. Not surprisingly, I'm very happy about it.
On to my left shin! Several days ago I was in the shower when I noticed an itch on my shin. I used my sponge to relieve it; the area burst, and more itchy spots formed. I didn't want to provoke it any more, so I gently washed it and hoped that it would just go away. Now, on my left shin, sits a beautiful, dark, crusty, itchy, lumpy, oozey, rash the size of my palm. It's on an imperialistic mission, and it's winning. Not only is its mainland getting bigger, but it has formed satellites on the side of my leg, behind my knee, and up my thigh. The ooze is its method of conquest; whatever touches it becomes its new territory. Today I have been armed by another doctor with stronger antibiotics in the form of pills and creams. It's a war of attrition now. This sort of antibiotic inhibits the bacteria's ability to eat! Five days is all it should hopefully take!
Fiji is great! Really it is! I'm utterly broke and covered in boils and malignant rashes!
But seriously, this is the neat part of this post, I am still having the time of my life here. I may be broke, and I may be covered in bacteria, but I'm still smiling and still happier than ever. If there's any testament to how awesome it is here, this should be it.
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