I wanted to say "all in a days work," but that doesn't really apply. It has been raining here quite a bit which makes the air pregnant with moisture and even things that are undercover and not directly "wet," are damp.
Yesterday, we went on a spice tour (wet but enjoyable) and they folded some really cool things from coconut fronds. Of course my eldest, being so capable in his 3D thinking, has been folding palm fronds since we have returned. There is one particularity kind security guard who has enjoyed checking in on the boy's activities. When he saw him folding yesterday he came over in his quiet way and showed O several other things which were really cool. Today after O finished his homework he looked up some instructions online and learned how to weave a small 3D bird.
An older Muslim man from the village came by to collect the dead palm fronds (I learned today that people save them and sell them or give them away. People use them to make all kinds of things). He and our guard friend folded some more things for us, then insisted I learn how to fold something. They didn't speak English and my Swahili is situational (and not for any art/craft or weaving) so I really had no idea what I was making, I though it was part of roof. The one showing me kept moving my hand and tapping them when I was mistaken then saying "Safi!" (literally this translates to "clean," but it's similar to "good" or "cool") and laughing. My hands became blacker and blacker with the fine mold of the leaves. At one point two of the gardeners were watching also and one couldn't stop himself from adjusting my hands as well. It must have been madding for them to see someone work so slowly. It ended up being a mat you can use on a table or a decoration for the wall. The one I made and the other one of them made are different and they kindly insisted I take them with me as a gift.
Later I convinced O to go with me to the water. The beach here has several areas of seaweed and some coral here and there, and there is a reef a ways from shore, as well. There is a minefield of sea urchins all along the way and we've felt the nasty spikes break off in our feet. Today when the two of us were walking back in, O was stung by one. I knew it was something new by the way he told me he was stung. He sat down so I could see it; a small, bloody hole on his foot. We looked where he stepped to see what it could be. He pointed to two areas he thought he could have stepped and said "maybe it was that fish." I looked and I don't know how he saw what he did so fast. There was a stonefish, but it looked like a clump of sand, the only reason I saw it was the two rounded fins. Even so, I thought, "that cannot be a fish." Clearly, these fish rely on their camouflage and stinging (vs. speed), since I picked it up with two sticks to look at it, and it did nothing. It didn't freak out at all. I thought perhaps I should take a picture of it, because I knew stonefish were an issue here, but I wasn't yet sure of what it was.
The answer is yes, it was a stonefish. Yes, they are poisonous. Yes, you swell. Yes, you don't feel great. The treatment is to soak the affected area in hot water for at least 40-60 minutes. The nice thing was that three ladies with four kids checked in today, as well as two adults. I thought the people with kids would have antihistamines, and one did. A year out-of-date (would have used anyway if it was just that), and without instructions in a language I could read and without dosage information, so we didn't use it. Regardless, it was so nice to have them there with me, to have other concerned mothers who are mostly fluent in your own language, and are mostly from a culture similar to yours. Two of them lived here and had suggested numbers to call. They and the staff here were SO sweet and helpful. I was mostly concerned if he should or should not, and if he should, then I was concerned about my lack of, antihistamines. I was able to also text Paul who called back.
Of course, his younger brother was very concerned. I gave him the computer (more like push... "take this!") with the instructions, "look online to see how to treat it!" I had looked briefly myself, but found nothing more than soak your infected or the other option is you die. No real helpful middle ground. He completed his search, reported it to me, then 'thoughtfully' suggested his brother should be allowed (they've been without- only using computer for schoolwork, etc.) to play a computer game to "take his mind off" the discomfort. I allowed it because, actually, he was really in pain.
It is okay now. He said it feels like when he sprained his ankle and took the brace off. No acute pain and such. I tried to find a picture of it online to know more about the specific type of fish. It was on a "Top 10 Most Poisonous Animals" webpage. I swear, between both the blue-ringed octopus and the black mamba (which they also have here).
