The wall. I hit it last week. HARD. I thought maybe that
wouldn’t happen. I thought because it was so up and down in the beginning that
this wasn’t coming. Well, it did. It all started on Thursday when I was eating
a particularly delicious cassava sauce and bit down on a tiny piece of bone.
I felt an instant jolt of pain but nothing more. With the next bite I felt another
piece of bone which I took out and placed it on the edge of my plate with the
previous one. After this bite I happened to feel something sharp in the back of
my mouth with my tongue. It was then I realized I had chipped a tooth and the second piece of bone was actually my own. I
immediately started to sweat, feel nauseous and lost my appetite. This was one
of my fears. Before we even left for Guinea I told the girls that there weren’t
any good dentist in Guinea so they would need to take especially good care of
their teeth. I looked on the US Embassy website and found a document listing
health providers and found a Chinese clinic that included dental care. My
husband called to find out if this was accurate information and, upon
confirmation, the location of the clinic. We decided to go the next day since
it was already 3pm and that’s basically the end of the day here because it takes
so long to get places. I slept fitfully that night and my nerves continued to
wear on me through the morning. I was seriously scared. I thought we would walk
into a dirty clinic and that the utensils would not be clean or they would use
some sort of horrible chemical that was long since banned from use in the US.
When we arrived we first had to check in outside with the nurse and gain
permission to enter. They also took our temperatures and made us use hand
sanitizer (now a common practice for larger establishments like
hospitals, clinics and schools to prevent the spread of Ebola). We went into
the main clinic and I sighed with relief; it was air conditioned, clean and
there was even a big flat screen TV with the news on (in French, of course). We
checked in with the front desk, paid an initial fee and then sat down to wait.
We waited about an hour or so to be called back. I was also pleasantly
surprised by the condition of the dental clinic. It looked pretty much the same
as any dental office. They went right to work, which freaked me out. I had to
tell the dentist, “wait! I need to know what you are going to do to me first.” He explained they would try to polish the tooth first and then see if
additional steps were necessary. They put some sort of substance on my tooth
then a strange contraption in my mouth, I think to heat it up. They did this a
few times before taking out the tool to polish the tooth. It didn’t take long
and by the time he was finished it felt like the tooth was rebuilt and there
was no pain at all. We thanked them, negotiated down from the absurd amount
they wanted to charge (because I’m white – and still way too much even
negotiated) paid and left. I was so relieved by how everything went and knew that I needed to be cautious to not break the repair. We were extremely hungry
by the time we got home well after lunch. After a few bites of food, I felt the
back of my tooth – the repair was gone! Of course it was too good to be true.
We would have to go back the next day and have them re-do it. My husband called
the dentist who told him that part was supposed to fall off, it was only placed
there to numb the tooth while he polished it. Thank. Goodness! So, not only was
this a scary experience, (mostly in my mind – I could have prevented that part)
but it was the harsh reality that we don’t have access to any of the healthcare
we did in the US. I can’t fully trust the care here yet and that’s hard. I don’t
have our dentist and more importantly for me, my alternative healthcare practitioner
to help support my body when I need it. I was pleased to see the clinic
provides traditional Chinese medicine, but even then after speaking to the
practitioner, it seemed to be a more medical approach when what I am looking for
is far more intuitive and holistic.
The next morning I woke up to our next challenge. I think it
the future instead of calling it the rainy season it will be mold season. One
of our upholstered chairs was covered in mold. I freaked out; wiped it down
with a damp cloth and with essential oils known to kill mold. I kicked all of
the girls out of the living room and diffused the same oil for half an hour. I
felt accomplished but the next morning woke up to defeat. More mold on the same
chair and mold in one of the bedrooms all over two of the suitcases and the
clothes inside. Mold on the desk, inside bags, on shoes – EVERYWHERE. We washed
all of the clothes and the bags, wiped down furniture and anything else that
could be wiped down. The next day Amina complained of mold in her room, but I
couldn’t see anything. I finally found it – under her pillow! Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!
It was from a worry doll she kept under there so that problem was solved but
still! We are surrounded. I keep finding it on toys, books, the cabinet where
we were storing our food and supplements (luckily all of those things were
protected). I slipped into a depression. I felt like everything was out of my
control, that I couldn’t keep myself or my family healthy in such conditions. Piled
on top of this is that I basically can’t do anything on my own. I can’t go to
the store on my own; I can’t fully prepare my own food; I can’t find out information
about anything on my own – for now. It’s all in French and I’m white. They
instantly take advantage of me – the prices skyrocket. For about 3 days I spoke
as little as possible. I wanted to get out of here and stop living this
miserable reality. Hawa was grumpy as she felt my discomfort. I finally broke
through it when I sorted through it all and finally felt ready to say everything
I was feeling out loud. Has anything changed? Nope. But I’m here again ready to
face the new day and keep learning about this incredibly complex place.
French lessons are going well. And we got all of our things
and very little was damaged! As far as I can tell only a rug and a box of
diapers were taken. Customs was absurd – 4 days of making payments, getting
signatures and waiting for all of our things to be inspected. The girls are so
happy to have their things. They spend much of their time riding their bikes
and scooters on the top balcony. I’m most excited to have a couch and a kitchen
that is as complete as I could hope for at this point.
The rain continues; the mold keeps growing; we’re still here
– doing alright.
p.s. I know I've promised pictures, but the internet connection has not been strong enough to upload. Facebook and instagram are an easier place to post. I'll try to do a better job. I would like to share pictures of the streets and market, but right now I don't quite feel comfortable taking picture of people and places since I'm already quite a spectacle
