So I had a wonderful trip to Guatemala overall. I learned a ton of Spanish, saw some great sights, and all.

But then the very last 5 days of my trip, spent in Antigua, Guatemala, were terrible.

(Warning, graphic description ahead.)

After eating a salad (I know, I know, I should have known better) in Antigua (very touristy, and I assumed that meant safe), I was puking. The next day I spent in bed rehydrating. The next day I felt a bit better. The next day I had overwhelming nausea, only controlled by around-the-clock dramamine (an antihistamine). Then finally the next day I went home.

I continued to feel sick for the next 5 or so days after I was home. About two days ago I got an appetite back and finally feel better.

I finished a 3-day course of Cipro, took an albendazole to de-worm, and a 4-dose course of tinidazole (anti-microbe, anti-amoeba). Apparently tinidazole isn’t approved in the US, as a compound similar to it causes cancer in rats. Whoops.

But I feel better. Finally. After 10 days of hell. And I’m 13 pounds lighter, down to 139, the lightest I’ve weighed since I was 19. (Eternal optimist that I am, I now get to eat whatever the hell I want to try to gain weight. Yum.)

Also: take any American who thinks this country is a terrible place (I was not one of them, I’m just sayin’), send them to a developing country for a month, and they will come back the biggest Patriot.

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