AHHHHH! T-minus two days until this wonderful group of human beings depart for Nicaragua! The amount of work that has been prepared for this trip is astounding and I’m so proud of what we have accomplished so far! But we are ready to continue and expand our knowledge over stay in Makengue and in the various other locations we will be visiting in Nicaragua!
I can say that I am very excited but I am also very wary of all the possible diseases that I could probability get. Though I did get my typhoid vaccine (thanks modern medicine); the World Health Organization has alerted travelers-especially to Central and South America- about the dangers of Zika. I have been reassured that as long as I am not pregnant (I’m not) and do not plan on getting pregnant (definitely not), then contracting the disease is the least of my problems. There are other viruses present in carrying mosquitos such as Chikungunya and Dengue fever. Dengue fever can be transmitted to humans through mosquitos bites; it is more common throughout the day and it is more present in urban areas. Symptoms include fever, headache, bone and muscular pain and there is no vaccine so the only way to avoid it is to prevent mosquito bites. On the other hand, Chikungunya is another virus that is on the World Health Organizations radar. Chikungunya, along with Dengue fever, is transmitted by mosquitos (I hope everyone is bringing mosquito repellent) and the main symptoms include fever and joint pain. It has been found in many parts of the world such as Africa, Asia, Europe and appeared in the Caribbean in 2013. Exactly like Dengue fever and Zika, there is no vaccine and prevention of mosquito bites is the best form of protection. But I trust that everyone is taking all the safety precautions necessary and that this trip will run smoothly!
Understanding the risks of traveling to a foreign country is important but I believe it is important to look on the positive side. As a group, we will be continuing and adding on to previous research (hopefully by finding crabs). That, my friend, is pretty impressive. As a group, we will continue to strengthen our bonds and have the opportunity to create lasting memories through hard work and goofing off (and possibly hiking a volcano). And most importantly, we will have the opportunity to let Makengue have an impact in our personal growth and help us become more worldly people. By stating of all this, I am even more excited to get on that flight on Friday and have an amazing time exploring the beautiful country of Nicaragua.
The Makengue Project 