My iron-clad immune system

Life in Mont-Joli's Katima House has not seen smooth sailing in recent times. There have been fights and squabbles and all around bad feelings. I've been house managing this past week with Simon and it has been rough. On Monday, when we were supposed to buy groceries I instead had to go to the clinic with Maddy and Denise because Maddy is deathly afraid of doctors and has had this nasty cough for a very long time and she needed someone to go with her. We waited at the clinic from 9:30 to 5 pm. It was ridiculous. The seriously need another clinic. By the time all the medicine stuff was over, dinner was coming up very soon, but we had no food in the house. Simon and I had to go buy food quick as we could, and with all the rushing around, we didn't stick too closely to our shopping list. Basically, all week long we were over budget and without everything that we needed.

Anyway, the next day, Tuesday, I wake up feeling, hot and cold, nauseaus and achy. I couldn't do anything all day long and basically rolled around trying to sleep. At around 3 o'clock I cam downstairs feeling much like a zombie and was able to eat half a bowl of thing broth and noodles. It was not the most appetizing thing ever, but it was all I could handle. At dinner I ate crackers while everyone else had meatloaf.

The next day I felt fine, but Thursday I was sick again. We were supposed to go sledding at the highschool on Thursday, but all the sick people (which by this time included Cassie) had to stay home and do a core workout using videos found on youtube. It was fun, and actually the second time I've had to do it (the week before everyone went swimming, but I couldn't find my bathing suit bottoms) but it would have been nice to be healthy.

On Friday I felt good. We had a workshop led by a past participant named Thomas who has killer eyes, and we talked about how do media presentations and recruitment presentations at schools and kiosks, etc. It was fun and gave me a lot of ideas about what I could do after Katimavik. I actually like the idea of being a recruiter for Katimavik and do presentations at schools. I can see myself going to my old highschool for sure and telling them all that they don't HAVE to go straight back into school, that they have another option and that they can actually live life instead.

On Saturday we were supposed to go snowshoeing for two hours, but that idea was killed because again, people (including myself) were too sick. Everytime I step out of doors I start coughing like a mad woman and feeling ten times more sick than I actually am. Instead we wrote up stories in our 2nd language and had them edited by a person of the opposite language and then read them outload. They had to include 10 random things that people had written down on the board, so they ended up being a bit insane. My own story was about a small boy named Timtam who had a small and beloved toy wool piano (piano and wool being two of the required words). The small piano and the small boy go everywhere together and do everything, so one day when the two of them are on a rollercoaster, it is in surprise that the small piano is flung off and is lost for all eternity. The small boy goes through the rest of life with out his small piano. He eats alone. He sleeps in hot summer nights alone. Eventually the small boy grows up to be a small man but he is never happy again without the small wool piano.

It was quite depressing and sad, but everyone laughed at the right parts and gave shocked sad noises at the right parts so I was satisified. Also, there were a lot less corrections than I thought there were going to be. Can that mean I am improving?

That day we were also having a 24 hour black out as part of the environment committee's activites and we had fun trying to eat cold food, and live without any electricity (besides the heat and hot water, which we kept on). That night Sarah Perron's parents took us out to dinner and hung out with us for a while at the house (which I'm not proud to say was quite messy, but then again, everyone was home so it does not all fall to the house managers). After they left we played a few rounds of hide-and-seek in the dark and when that was no longer any fun we played sardines which is fabulous game in which one person hides and the rest search for them. When you find them you don't say a word, but neatly hide with them until finally everyone is squished into the same hiding spot. It is quite hilarious.

Well, anyway, fun activities there was horrible house managing. I just don't do as well as a house manager when I can't bounce idea's off of my partner. Simon is great, but he doesn't know how to cook like Maddy does so I was left making most of the decisions. And it really was a crappy week. I was sick, and not working at 100%, Simon as kinda aimless, everyone were having arguments and being generally unhelpful. I much rather working at the hospital.

When I was sick all I could think about was home. All I could think was 'I want my mommy'. No one really takes care of anyone here. I mean I was sick and moaning and tossing and turning all day long, and not once did anyone come into my room and ask if maybe I wanted something to eat or drink, or another blanket to keep me warm. There were people in the room, absorbed in the computer who I had to finally ask to get me some water and a blanket because I honestly couldn't stand and move all that much. But you would think that someone would be kind enough to think of the sick person. I always ask if someone wants some water, or if I can get them anything. Can you tell I feel quite strongly about this?

I just really really want to be home right now. Just a week or two to breathe without the entire group being here and around me. I want some space and I want some time. There is just too much togetherness right now and too much tension and bad feelings on my part and on others. Time away to see family and friends and to go back to something familiar would be so lovely. Maybe not being in the house all day will help though.

The week started off really shitty and ended really shitty and I don't ever want to repeat such a bad house managing experience. I also don't want to ever be sick again. I side stepped so much illness in Terrace Bay that I have become very confident in my iron-clad immune system, but it seems that it has become a little rusted because I have been brought down by a small and nasty cold that seeps into your bones and drains you of all energy. Nasty, nasty cold.

Sara