In an earlier post I had reflected on how one thing I have learned during my experience living here is that germs are not necessarily something to freak out over. I spoke of how my family hardly even rinses their dishes before reusing them, and I have not yet experienced any negative effects by this. I was momentarily feeling that the processes of North America were frivolous, unnecessary, and solely ploys of marketers. That was before someone in my house contracted an illness.
While I was on my tour, Hilda also took a vacation to Mexico. While there, she came down with a major cold. Now that we are all in the same house again and eating off of the same utensils, I am feeling as though those extra sanitary measures in North America are the best thing that ever happened to me.
The first problem with Hilda being sick is that she feels as though it is her job as a stay-at-home mother to prepare the meals for the family. This mentality is relatively common for a stay-at-home mom in any culture. However, the difference with Hilda is that there are no alternatives. In my home in California, if my mom were to contract an illness, we would explore a plethora of other options for dinner: take-out, tv dinners, pizza. Likely, my dad and I would collaborate together and prepare something ourselves. Hilda, however, will not give up her role in the kitchen. I try extremely hard to remain oblivious to her sneezing on the food, coughing into her hands and then grabbing at the food, and wiping her nose with her hand and then, once again, touching the food. However, it's like a horror movie that I can not take my eyes off. The worst part of the whole scene is when she proceeds to set the food in front of me. I feel conflicted because, on the one hand, I am hungry, but on the other hand, I don't want to eat the food. I also don't want to be rude. I also don't have any other plausible alternatives. So I eat the food and wait for my inevitable demise.
The second problem is that there are very limited amounts of sanitation efforts when it comes to cleaning the dishes. I can almost see the bacteria multiplying and spreading on the "drying counter" after the dishes have been "cleaned" (aka rinsed off). This morning-- I kid you not-- Hilda, while feverishly sick, rinsed a spoon with an extremely conservative amount of [cold] water, dried it with her fingers that she had literally just sneezed into and wiped her nose with, and then stuck it into my rice and beans for me to eat with. Excuse me if I'm being a gringo, but I can't help but to internally scream, 'WHAT THE HECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
The lack of health education in this country is baffling to me. Superstitions, wives tales, and intuition all seem to come before science with the people I have encountered. How in the world can Hilda think it is sanitary for her to dip her unwashed, soiled fingers into the peanut butter (that she bought for me, I might add), lick her fingers clean, and then repeat the process four or five times?? How can she not realize how, the next morning, I do not want to eat the crackers and peanut butter that she serves me? Costa Rica prides itself on being the highest educated country in Central America (as the US fights its wars they have extra money to spend on their education system), so how can its people not know about germs, bacteria, and ways to spread an illness?
When everyone was healthy, it was all fine and dandy. However, with the lack of germ-consciousness and sanitation efforts, the illness in my house is, inevitably, spreading like wildfire. First Hilda, then Johan (who is now in worse shape than Hilda), and now Manuel is showing symptoms of early infection. I do not want to be next, but I know that my crash-immune-system-building efforts will only delay the inevitable illness that I am going to contract.
Needless to say, Peter, who gets our leftovers, has been feasting recently on the food that I'm too scared to eat. To thank me he has been lunging for my throat twice the amount as he had previously-- that sick, twisted, mentally ill rodent-dog.
This is sure a unique experience. I hope I can make it out alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment