Up Chucks (Solomon Islands)
It sucks to slow down, because you’re sick, but I’d always suggest to take your time and fully recover. You’ll be back on your feet in no time and you won’t run into any surprises later when you go all out!
As I finished up my interview with the National Director of Literacy here in the Solomon Islands, I could feel pain in my stomach. I was in the process of reviewing the institution’s published literacy materials. Most of their work focuses on creating materials aimed at raising the level of adult literacy by providing materials that help people learn as well as material for people to read in their own vernaculars since many of minority languages of the country are unwritten. Essentially they are writing books that teach people to read while also creating a body of literature for people to read. As I finished up my work there, I felt in my stomach a heavy pain. It was as if someone had dropped a hand weight on my abdomen.
Literacy Materials in Indigenous Languages of the Solomon Islands
I figured it might be hunger so I ran over to a barbecue place and grabbed some lunch. It was delicious. I had a fish and rice topped with coconut milk with a side of chicken soup. Being in the Pacific, I’m always happy to have the fish because I know it’s probably fresh out of the water, but I would not be happy to see my fish swimming in the water later.
Lunch helped a bit for a while as I walk out in the hot tropical sun while searching for a taxi. I needed to get home as I had another appointment later that day. I hopped in a taxi and that’s when it started. My head and stomach began to ache like crazy. I tried to distract myself by talking to the driver. He asked where I was from as always comes up and in term asked the same. He was from Malaita, specifically the Baelelea speaking area. I told him that I’d just come from Malaita and that I was in Baelelea for a while. I told him to bring me to the Bible translation center.
Apparently, there are two in town, because we ended up at the wrong one. I was becoming nauseous. I began to spit like one does before throwing up, but luckily I was able to keep it in. He asked if I needed to go to the hospital, but I had him to just bring me home.
I ran inside and continued to spit in the kitchen sink. James who was helping me organize interviews with important people who deal with language work in the Solomons called to let me know that my next appointment was coming to me, to my house that is. The pain at this point was intense and I was hot since there’s no air-conditioning and the fans hardly worked. I jumped out of my clothes and went down for a nap. I was down for 15 minutes when I suddenly woke up.
The pain was unbearable. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. Then I felt it coming. I ran and just a few seconds before I mad it projectile vomit leaped from my mouth and just perfectly landed in the bowel. Although it was disgusting, vomiting offered a bit relief as thus I pushed myself “get it all out,” assuming that the illness was due to something I’d eaten. And then it was coming again, but this time in the opposite direction!
I was unbelievably happy that there were two bathrooms in the house. I ran over to the other where diarrhea was the name of the game. I ran between both bathrooms emptying out everything I’d eaten, especially that presumably from the night before (it feel more like I was letting out everything I’d ever eaten in life though!). That night that I’d attend a traditional Malaitan Panpipe show there was a buffet. Even though it was at an upscale hotel, the food was crappy, especially the fish options.
The buffet hall at the upscale hotel in Honiara (Solomon Islands).
Although I’m sure it was the buffet that did it, there was talk of things going around since the infrastructure of the city was hit hard by a cyclone just a few weeks before I’d arrived. Apparently, people were getting sick all around town.
Damage from the cyclone in Honiara (Solomon Islands).
James, whose house was right next door, could hear my suffering and asked if I were ok from outside. He brought me a Pepto-Bismol tablet. I was passed out on the bathroom floor. I reach from the tablet which offered some relief, just enough to allow me to take a nap right there. James canceled my appointment. I woke up a few hours later and I felt much better. Although my stomach was still in pain and would continue to be from the next few weeks, the vomiting was rare and the diarrhea gradually got better with each day.
After a few days in the Solomons, suffering through the pain, of what we’ll call for now “food poisoning,” I flew over to New Zealand where I stayed with friends. I only had a week in New Zealand and unfortunately spent all of it in bed, but I needed the rest and the time to properly recover. I visited the doctor while I was there. He examined me and found no reason to worry. There was also nothing he could do really to cure it, although he did give me medicines for the symptoms. I simply had to wait.
Although I was glad to hear it wasn’t serious, the cost of the doctors’ visit and the meds took an unwanted bit out of my budget. But it’s better to be safe and get checked out than to end up in a serious health situation by not doing so. After a few days’ rest, I was good as new and ready for my Pacific adventures to start up again in French Polynesia where I decided to travel “the islands” by cargo ship.
Cargo Ship Zone at Pape’ete (French Polynesia).
I was a bit worried that the symptoms would come back since I would be putting my body under enormous stress as sailed across the Pacific. Everything went very well though and it was at the point that I knew I was completely over the illness.
Being sick is never fun, but still an inevitable part of any great travel adventure. You have to find a way to push through and get back on your feet. Don’t rush yourself. Take your time, get checked out, and rest up for a full recovery so that when you hit adventure mode again full throttle, you don’t have to hit the brakes with any surprise emergencies.