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Friday, August 5, 1977, 10:00 pm, Day 556
Craig Hafner, the Peace Corps Rural Development Officer, came up to visit me. It was good that he came because he brought along with him alot of tools, including a wheelbarrow and a big pry bar. He also brought along a pack of food, alot of which he left with me when he left. I showed him around Kamiendor yesterday and then today we traveled down to Jagbwema to look around. He then left for Freetown and I came back up here to Kamiendor.
Wednesday after I came up from Yengema, Thursday before Craig came, and today after I returned from Jagbwema, I went out to work on my footpath. So far, I am the only one who has worked on it, and I have worked four days already. I've been going out with my pick and shovel and cutlass each day, and have been working on the special places, the places that require special handling due to various things. Some of the spots are where the path switches back on itself. Another spot that I have done is one where the path cuts between two giant cotton trees. In order to get around all of the roots, I had to make one section all fill, but the ground was so steep there that I had to also place stones to make a rock wall to hold up the fill. It's all coming out pretty good, but it will be good when I can get some help doing it.
This past week there has been no communal labor because I was away in Kenema, Moiba was in Sefadu waiting for his pay, and Mr.Lansana was also in Sefadu for a meeting or something. Anyway, they say we will be getting communal labor tomorrow, so we should get quite a bit done. Even if they don't show up, I will probably be out there working anyway, because I love this pick and shovel work. I love the working away and then being able to see the path materialize before my very eyes. It materializes very slowly, though, when I am doing all of the work by myself, so it will be good to get a few more bodies out there helping me.
Monday, August 8, 1977, 10:00 pm, Day 559
Well, I've had communal labor out working on the footpath for the past three days now. I haven't been splitting them up into two-man teams like I was thinking of doing. Instead I would just let them work along down the trail until they hopefully reach the place that I think they should reach. The first day worked okay with five communal labor plus myself and Mr. Lansana we completed 350 feet. Yesterday, we all did 400 feet with six communal labor.
Yesterday, at about 2:00 pm, when the communal labor was all done, I let them go, but I stayed and worked an additional 40 feet or so of trail all by myself. I finished by about 7:00 pm and didn't get all cleaned up until about 8:00 pm. I was totally exhausted and very hungry, since I hadn't eatten anything from early that morning, and then went out and worked hard all day. The rice filled me up though, so I survived.
Today, I was a bit dissapointed in the footpath progress because, even with eight communal labor today, we only managed to complete about 260 feet. Some of it might be explained away in that there were more rocks and roots to dig out today. I was back in Kamiendor by 3:00 pm today, and was very hungry from the work. I ate alot of crackers and had a couple of soft drinks, but they didn't do much to fill me up. As it turned out, the rice wasn't ready until 8:00 pm, and so for those last couple of hours I had the hungries so bad that one would have thought that I was in deep pain or deathly ill of something. It was horrible! The rice managed to fill me up at the moment but I am afraid that by late this night I will again be starving. This is because I have worked so hard lately that I have been using up more than I have been taking in. I am already starting to feel a little bit hungry now. Hopefully I can go to bed and get to sleep before the hungries start to overwhelm me again.
Tuesday, August 9, 1977, 9:00 pm, Day 560
The hungries were with me again today, but luckily I was able to keep it under control, mostly. I started out the morning by fixing me a big bowl of hot oatmeal. I've had the oatmeal for a long time now but this is the first time that I have used it, because I really don't like oatmeal all that much. The oatmeal was basicly just for emergencies, and so today was an emergency, trying to hold off the hungeries that were growing inside me. Later on I finished up the crackers that I had, and then around noontime I was able to get ahold of some bananas. I ate seven of them and it was enough to hold me over until dinner time, which was earlier today than usual. She gave me a bit extra rice so it was good, because I was still able to eat it all without feeling the least bit stuffed. At the moment I am baking biscuits so that I can eat them tomorrow while I am out working. Next tomorrow is Market Day, and so hopefully I will be able to stock up a little.
Jim Sobeman, the Peace Corps doctor, showed up in Kamiendor this afternoon. It was quite a surprise for me. Just a few days ago I was thinking about how I should make a bet with him that he would never get out to see me like he has always said that he would. I was thinking along the lines of a ten Leone bet, payable in either 6 months or when I see the doctor in Kamiendor, whichever came first. That was what I was thinking two days ago, and then who should show up today but Dr. Jim himself! I never thought that he would make it. As it turned out, he didn't actually come out just to see me, but was with some people from the Ministry of Health, and was going around looking at health centers and dispensaries. He said that they were thinking of putting a health volunteer somewhere, but he didn't specify where or when. It was a short visit, maybe half an hour or so, but it was "a visit", so it was good.
He was turning around and they were all going back to Koidu for the night. That was quite a trip, just to stay for half an hour, but the Ministry people were doing the driving, and Dr. Jim was just along for the ride. They stopped top look at some places on the way up also, so it wasn't all just for Kamiendor. It was very clear when they came so that they were treated to a fantastic view here in Kamiendor, and Dr. Jim remarked on the lawn here in town, and also on how beautiful the country was around here.
Wednesday, August 10, 1977, 10:00 pm, Day 561
I think that my hungeries are over for a little bit. Today, we worked on the footpath again, and again I stayed overtime to work a little more. I was back in town and washed up by about 6 o'clock, and went to check on the food. Sia Kundi wasn't there so I went down towards the shop to visit and also to wait for Sia Kundi's return. On the way, I stopped off for a visit and was given about a dozen one-bite-size banana and rice flour fried cakes. They were good. Then I went on over to the shop. The ladies were there, just pulling rice, and so I made it known to them that Sia Kundi hadn't come yet, and so I hadn't eaten. They gave me a plate full.
After awhile I went back to my room and was doing some reading when some of the family returned from the farm. They offered me some rice and so I accepted. By this time my stomach was quite content. Then, a little while later, I was informed that Sia Kundi had come, and that rice was ready, so I went on over for dinner. I finished off my first plateful but only made it halfway through my second when I finally found that my stomach was full and didn't want to eat any more. So I am now full, but it took eating 4 times, all within just a couple of hours, to do it. I had 8 bananas and some hot chocolate for breakfast and some cold biscuits and water for lunch, so I haven't starved today.
Thursday, August 11, 1977, 10:00 pm, Day 562
I am sick now, but I think that I am over the worst and on my way to a quick recovery. This morning and this afternoon, all through going to the market and everything, I felt just fine. Then early this evening by about 5 or 6 o'clock, I began to feel not so good. It was my stomach. It was telling me that something wasn't quite right with it, but I couldn't be sure just what. It might have been saying that it was full, because it probably was, but it didn't seem like a normal full feeling. I didn't eat my evening chop, but instead I brought it to my room to see about eating it later. I've made 3 trips to the latrine so far this evening, and the last one finally paid off.
The first one, I went out, but all I could manage was a healthy-looking solid shit, and a burp or two that tasted like I was sick. The second time, all that came out was a little air, from each end. It was a little relief, but not much. The third time I got out there and was squatting with my pants down all ready to go, when I suddenly had to make a very quick move a few feet in reverse because I was throwing up. It was horrible, but it was great, because it was just what my body needed. After I was through there, I had to scoot forward again because I then had quite a bit of loose shit to get out. It was all a very big step in emptying my stomach, which is what I will have to do before I start eating again. It was also a very big step in relieving the pressure, so that at the moment I feel well enough to write.
An hour or two ago, though, I had thoughts of the possibility of my dying up here in Kamiendor, and of my body lying around for a few days before anything could be done about me. They weren't nice thoughts, but I thought I was on the verge, and just hoped to God that I would be able to survive while my body takes care of what is wrong with me. As to what I got ahold of, I don't know. I don't think that anyone else has gotten sick, so that would narrow it down to something that just I ate. Going back over these, I see that at about 3 or 4 o'clock I drank a little bit of water from a rain barrel. That might have done it, but it was just a swallow or two, and only a few hours before I started to feel sick. I don't know how long it would take for my body to feel the effects of something I ate. Going back before that, I ate some packaged cookies and two soft drinks at the market, and before that I had an orange. I found the orange lying on the ground, but the peel was still intact so it should have been okay. Going back over it, I feel that the rain water might have been it, but it must have been powerfully strong to affect me so.
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