Today, Anya’s fever returned on and off. While her sore throat slightly lessens, the cough persists. I walked to the bank, pharmacy, and grocery store. At the pharmacy, I picked up the rest of Anya’s meds and some new cough syrup. This 100 ml bottle (3.4 fluid ounces) was $8.10, but her American bottle is getting low, and there is no way she’s going to take the thyme extract stuff again! This one is less horrendous, but the anise flavor will be difficult for Anya to swallow.
Anya asked if I could get some more cough syrup (that she doesn’t hate) on Amazon. Well, I checked. It can’t be shipped to Norway.
Honey was the most expensive item I bought today, 500 ml for $9.16, (but not per ounce, where the cough syrup wins.) I’ve made quite a bit of honey-lemon “tea” to soothe a sore throat, so I needed more.
When not taking care of Anya, I’m reading and writing about the Maasai worldview. I received an email blog from Father Ned, which relates to the aspect of the Maasai worldview that I’m writing about–generational curse–or curses that affect others, not just the wrongdoer. If you’re curious, here’s the link: http://nedsmission.org/musa-lifts-curse/
Remember that the emergency room visit was only $6.64? But now, here’s the rest of the story. I finally got my Norwegian tax number today. Knut secured a stipend as a research fellow while I’m here because life in Norway is expensive (what a super adviser!). So, I learned today that I’ll be paying 35% income tax! I guess I’ll be paying for Anya’s emergency room visit any way.
At the end of the day, I tucked Anya in and was rubbing her back. Anya and I talked a bit, realizing how blessed we were to be in a home when she was so sick. If we were in two rooms in the old dormitory for PhD students, we would have a shared bathroom and shared kitchen with quite a few people. Our 19-year-old housemate has only been here for 3 nights in our 15 days (and he’s gone for the next 7 to Berlin and Amsterdam), so we basically have the run of the place with all the conveniences of a home. However, out of those 15 days, Anya has been sick half of the time! What a difficult way to start life in Norway. Keep her in your prayers.