Apparently, I'm allergic to cashews?

Imagine this: You just arrived to a new place, in the bush, less than a week ago. You know the language at an Intermediate level. These people have never seen a white person before (probably). And you woke up on morning with your face looking like a balloon? You have just put yourself in my shoes.

My whole life, I don’t think I have been allergic to anything. (I know what some of you are thinking, but everybody gets poison oak when they touch it, so I don’t call myself allergic to poison oak, even though those at Canyon Creek might like to believe…) I have tried so many different things throughout my life and in different countries: guanabana (in Costa Rica), a weird fish egg looking like fruit (in Costa Rica), kava (in Fiji), a lot of different fruits (in Thailand), masala and ata (fruits here in Mozambique), leaves of anything edible (in Mozambique), shrimp eyes (in Thailand), kangaroo (in Australia), (can you tell I’m finding it fun to go through this list right now?), toddy (the sap from a palm tree fermented while still in the palm tree – In India), I think I ate a maggot with a curried flavor (in Montana). I mean, I have eaten my sister’s food (and she puts TONs of spices and shit in it) (and it’s very good, by the way!)  I guess I’m just trying to say that I’ve eaten a wide range of things, and been exposed to many things, and now that I’m in the bush in Africa, I swell up like a balloon? And from something as simple as cashews for goodness sake??!!??

Okay, I’m not going to lie. I don’t actually believe I’m allergic to the cashews themselves. I ate a lot of them this past Saturday and I was fine. It was Sunday evening I started noticing itch splots on my skin and my eyes feeling like bags.

Sunday late morning I went with a few of the other teachers to a house because they wanted to buy onions. So, I tagged along. It was a social event also. There was a big group of people there snapping the cashew fruit off the cashew nut. I was sitting there, so there was no reason I couldn’t/wouldn’t help in this process. We were snapping along, and then they wanted me to try this liquor/spirit they make from the fruit of the cashew. I knew it was going to be strong because I watched one of the other teacher’s do it right before me. Damn, it was strong. And no chaser afterwards (the locals who were there all day, just drink it as they work). Let me try to explain how strong this was. They were real excited to show me this, too.  You can help a fire go by pouring this “spirit” on it. Maybe you can do that with other liquors also. I don’t know. I’m not a liquor expert, but the proof on that had to be high! I only took one small sip. That was it. No more.

I think I did start to itch while we were still there, but not a lot. My eyes were barely puffed up before I went to bed that night. (It wasn’t noticeable to the naked eye anyway). So, I just go to bed. Most think just sleep away anyways, right? My body is smart and always gets me through everything (That is the reason we take care of our bodies…by eating well and staying physically active. Extra drugs are not ALWAYS needed) 

This has definitely been an interesting 3 days now. If I just paint some black and blue around my eyes, maybe people would just think I was in a big fight? For some reason, I would rather people think that…I don’t know why. . . Think of the scene in the movie Hitch where Will Smith’s face blows up…now think of my and what my face looks like…

Monday morning I pulled out my Peace Corps First Aid Kit and found the Benedryl stuff. I’m just about out of Benedryl now… I was self assessing myself. How bad is it? Can I still eat, breathe, and drink? Is my body still functioning normally? Yes. In this case, I would say this is a non-emergency. I sent a text to the non-emergency number of Peace Corps with all the basic information. Have I told you this problem yet? I only get cell phone reception under this one tree at the entrance of my school. If I’m not in that reception spot when you call or send me a text, I’ll probably never get it because it doesn’t go through at all then.

On my message to the non-emergency (I didn’t need to freak out or make anybody else freak out), I told them I would stand there for another 10 minutes and if nothing, I would come back at 16 hour. (military time here in Mozambique). I came back at 16h and nothing. Communication in Mozambique can be hard because messages don’t always go through and you never actually know if they do or not. I didn’t hear anything back, so I decided to wait it out another night. Maybe I’m already at the worst part and it’s slowly getting better?

I go to bed Monday night in those high hopes of having a normal face the next morning. Prediction? Yeah, you’re right. I still had a balloon for a head with squinty eyes. (I’m posting a pic of my puffy face). It’s Tuesday. My director has come over to check up on me and he’s concerned. I tell him what I have been doing and we both decide to wait it out (Esperamos pouco).

Monday and Tuesday were both spent by me taking the recommended dosages of Benedryl and lying on my concrete floor sleeping (the floor is cooler than the bed). My airway is still fine, I can still eat, and if I kept a cool rag on my face, my eyes could open on their own. Nothing life threatening. But, by Wednesday morning, with my balloon of a face, I decide my patience has run out. I call the Peace Corps doctor at the emergency number. They had been trying to get ahold of me, but you already know my phone dilemma…

Our PC First Aid Kit has a lot of stuff in it, which is great because that makes things accessible for times like this…and you are in the bush. So, this morning (Wednesday morning), I started taking something I guess that is suppose to be stronger. I can tell it’s working… you can’t quite see it on my face, or maybe that’s me being critical about my face… I’ve also been told not to touch any more cashew shells or nuts for that matter. And I was really liking cashews!!

PS – Have I told you that everywhere you look out here I am placed there is a cashew tree?