Worth a try

So, as per usual, I arrived and then I got sick. Not really sick, just my usual sore-throat, absent-voice, bit-of-a-fever sick. I wasn't going to say anything because I have Parents Who Worry, but the story that came out of it was just too good to pass up. I was doing laundry on Sunday afternoon when I started to feel bad and I had pretty much lost my voice by the time I went to bed. It was entirely gone on Monday, so there was a lot of gesturing during meals and across the camp to apologize for my apparent lack of response to people and their questions. I didn't have to talk in class until Monday afternoon in Swahili. Daniel is our Swahili teacher and he got kinda worried when I gave a croak and a wheeze instead of a word. Since then, he's been making me talk to him every time I see him to check on the progress of my voice. It was better this morning and then we went to Amboseli National Park (more on that later because it deserves its own entry). Amboseli is basically two things--wildlife and dust. Guess what the dust did to my newly restored voice? Ah, yes, gone again. This time Daniel pulled me out of the dinner line to tell me that I had to try, "Water, honey, and (?)gali" for my throat. They have a food here called (HU)gali which is a pretty bland cornmeal bread/paste. I was picturing some kind of oatmeal concoction and readily agreed to give it a try. Daniel found me after dinner and took me into the kitchen to find James (the head cook). James wasn't there, so Daniel starts pulling things out of cupboards. About then is when it dawned on me that he was saying GARLIC. Daniel boiled water, added honey, chopped up the garlic, added that to the boiling mixture, and strained the entire thing into a mug with instructions to drink it while it was still steaming. For better or worse, I can't actually taste anything right now, so I drank the entire thing as instructed. By the time I finished the cup, my voice was almost ENTIRELY back. This is a recipe that proved too effective not to pass on. Also, Daniel is my new favorite person. The moral of this story is that SFS has put us all into very good hands.