Okay, so I've been bad. No surprise there. Right?
We are in the middle of an awful head lice epidemic. Imagine dozens of little girls frantically scratching their heads, picking lice out of one another's hair, watching head lice jump on tables and desks, and you get a picture of how bad it is. Thankfully, I don't have head lice yet, but it's only a matter of time. The children get as close to me as they can. Today, I drew the line when they wanted to be near me and started picking head lice out of one another's hair while they were sitting on my lap. ENOUGH ALREADY.
Here's the part where I start to go bad. I noticed that there are about 50 head lice kits in the Harry Potter closet. I asked the Principal if I could give the housemothers the head lice kits for the children. She said, "No, those kits are for the volunteers." I asked her what the children were using to help control the problem. Her answer? "Nothing." WHAT!!!!!! Long story short. The head lice kits have gone missing. I know where they are. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Update on the bug bite problem. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but I prayed about it. I asked specifically to be shown some kind of remedy for the worst bites. I needed help. I went to bed. In the morning, when I awoke, I looked toward the ceiling and there were two HUGE spider nests built of clay. They looked a lot like the wasp nests we see in Oregon. My bed is pushed against the wall where the nests were. Apparently, at night, they were crawling down and having quite a feast. Problem solved. I moved my bed away from the wall and destroyed the nests. Thank you, God. Credit given where credit is due.
Being in love with India is like being in a love affair gone terribly wrong. India is a demanding lover and absolutely irresponsible. You know India will get you in the end, and yet you still hang in there. You love the person, not the creep. Right? That's why I love India. I'm a schmuck.
We are in the middle of an awful head lice epidemic. Imagine dozens of little girls frantically scratching their heads, picking lice out of one another's hair, watching head lice jump on tables and desks, and you get a picture of how bad it is. Thankfully, I don't have head lice yet, but it's only a matter of time. The children get as close to me as they can. Today, I drew the line when they wanted to be near me and started picking head lice out of one another's hair while they were sitting on my lap. ENOUGH ALREADY.
Here's the part where I start to go bad. I noticed that there are about 50 head lice kits in the Harry Potter closet. I asked the Principal if I could give the housemothers the head lice kits for the children. She said, "No, those kits are for the volunteers." I asked her what the children were using to help control the problem. Her answer? "Nothing." WHAT!!!!!! Long story short. The head lice kits have gone missing. I know where they are. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Update on the bug bite problem. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but I prayed about it. I asked specifically to be shown some kind of remedy for the worst bites. I needed help. I went to bed. In the morning, when I awoke, I looked toward the ceiling and there were two HUGE spider nests built of clay. They looked a lot like the wasp nests we see in Oregon. My bed is pushed against the wall where the nests were. Apparently, at night, they were crawling down and having quite a feast. Problem solved. I moved my bed away from the wall and destroyed the nests. Thank you, God. Credit given where credit is due.
Being in love with India is like being in a love affair gone terribly wrong. India is a demanding lover and absolutely irresponsible. You know India will get you in the end, and yet you still hang in there. You love the person, not the creep. Right? That's why I love India. I'm a schmuck.
"I know where they are . . . . " haha. Betty I love you!
ReplyDeleteSh-h-h-h-h-h. Don't tell.
DeleteSneaky Sneaky! I hope they get more lice kits in when you need one! :) Or maybe you snuck one under your bed. that would be smart! so do they just have lice ALL the time? They never fix it?
ReplyDeleteRachel - there has been a head lice problem since I got here and it's been progressively getting worse. No, there does not seem to be much concern about the kids having head lice and there has been no effort to treat it since I've been here. Apparently, it's a chronic problem here or there wouldn't be dozens of kits for the volunteers. Or rather, wouldn't have been . . . . I keep hoping I'll dodge the bullet because my hair is fairly short.
DeleteGood for you!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure it's only what both of my daughters would have done. ;) Brooke Shoko is the only volunteer here with access to my blog. She won't ever tell.
DeleteI'm glad you found the bug bite problem but I have to wonder if those were really spiders. I've never heard of a spider that dines on human blood though of course India has lots of critters I've never heard of.
ReplyDeleteI'm also surprised they would reserve the head lice kits for teachers. Prevention is always better than cure and if you can keep the kids from infecting the teachers you won't need the kits for the teachers. I've also heard that the best defense against head lice is to never wash your hair, that the lice prefer nice clean hair they can grab hold of easily. Oily, unwashed hair causes problems for them.
Thanks for the insights, Hal. These little spiders were tiny, almost like mites, but hundreds of them were marching in and out of the nest and up and down the walls. I don't know about that head lice cure. I'm not sure how often the girls get to wash their hair, but I'm sure it's not every day. They have very long hair and they're required to wear it in braids to school. The problem was so bad and no one seemed to be able to do anything about it. The housemothers really couldn't do anything without medicated shampoo of some kind.
DeleteBetty dear.....SAVE A LICE KIT FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!!!! I could never deal with lice outbreaks when I taught..Look for teatree oil...lice hate it...I am PROUD of you for doing what is right for those children...You are a sneaky little cuss!! Part of what we all love about you...
ReplyDeleteScratchingly yours,
di
Oh you are so BADDDD!! But really you are sooooo GOODDDD! Maybe I should come over and be the new principal. Common sense PLEASE!! If you clear up the children, the volunteers won't need all those kits, unless they are infected as well!! Those children must be miserable! Also, be sure the children (and everyone else) wash all their bedding and clothing after they are treated, or the lice will find their way back to any type of hair. They can live for a couple of weeks without a host, especially if the nits (eggs) are hiding in clothes and bedding. Nasty buggers! I hate it when we have an outbreak here, but yours sounds 100 times worse. Love Ya!!!
ReplyDeleteYou would make an excellent supply seargent; a good person to have on your side. Keep making a difference.
ReplyDeleteI love you all so much for listening to me and for your love and support. It's so important to 'hear' your voices right now. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI always feel so guilty after reading your entries. I need to be doing something for you, for the kids in your school, for the kids that don't have the opportunity to go to school & for India. Then it's kind of maddening to think that this country does not seem to be helping itself. You've pinpointed problems and solutions. You'd think that these people would be miserable or mad enough to not put up with the situation they are in.
ReplyDelete