Staying Healthy in India

On Thursday last week I woke up with diarrhea and feeling very weak. I had not slept well because the generator (located right outside my room) kept turning on and off throughout the night. [Side note: Power failures are a daily occurrence here, and the generator is a crucial contributor to our electricity supply. It powers about half of the light switches and appliances in my room. Yesterday the generator died and half of the school was without power until 3pm. It was almost unbearable to be in some classrooms without the ceiling fans working. Thankfully the food in my fridge stayed pretty cold and I didn’t need to throw anything away.] I took some medicine and decided to stay in bed to rest up. As other teachers came to check on me throughout the day, we came up with the following reasons for my illness:
1) No ventilation in my room
2) The heat and humidity (even in my room)
3) Not resting enough
4) Not exercising enough
5) Something I ate or drank (never identified)
Once enumerated, Manoj wasted no time in rectifying what could be rectified. Holes were opened up in my kitchen to allow air to pass through, my bed was moved to an interior room so that the doors of my suite can be left open to allow air to circulate, and the water was changed in my cooler so that it functions properly. I am ordered to drink at least 5 liters of filtered water daily (I do my best, but that’s a lot of water!) and not to drink chai with the teachers because the water might not have been boiled properly. I decided to take Sunday to rest, as last Sunday’s program of sight-seeing with a teacher and his family did not allow for any recuperation. Unfortunately, the most exercise I can get is walking up and down the stairs, as it is too hot to exert myself much and running is out of the question with the dangerous roads and cow patties everywhere! Nevertheless, I have been feeling much better since last Friday, and I think it was just a very good reminder not to work too hard.