Okay. So maybe ''The Flea'' isn't the proper name for this post, since it's actually about parasites.
Yes. You read correctly.
Parasites.
Here's the thing: apparently, it's really common in this part of the world to take a pill that kills the parasites in your body....every 6 months.
I kid you not. There are commercials of Asian families speaking Spanish, singing a jingle about taking their anti-parasitic.
When I first heard this, I thought it was a joke.
"No way." Those are the exact words I spoke.
Jethro proceeded to explain to me that in these parts, parasites live in everything. Your food. Your water. The air in the markets.
Then he told me about one parasite that lays eggs in your body, sometimes in your brain, and if the eggs hatch you die. Or become a vegetable. Or lose your speech.
....and that is why people take anti-parasite pills.
So it's been about 2 weeks since this terrible news was broken to me, and all I can think about is how never, not a single time in my entire 26 years of existence, have I ever taken a pill to kill parasites in my body.
I'm convinced that my insides are crawling with microscopic, and not so microscopic, blood sucking, intestine biting creatures that are taking my life force and starting families in my guts.
Seriously. Could this be the reason for the dark circles under my eyes? The strange abdominal pains that awake me in the night?
Are parasites nocturnal?
I think I've accidentally waited this long because I'm afraid. I don't think I need to explain why or what it is I'm afraid of.
And here's a question: why don't we do this in the USA? Are we the only country that doesn't do this? Do we think we're just immune to parasites? Doesn't anyone know that a good portion of our produce comes form Mexico?
Or, is everyone in on this? Has everyone always been taking measures against parasites?
Am I the only one who didn't know about this?
Yes. You read correctly.
Parasites.
Here's the thing: apparently, it's really common in this part of the world to take a pill that kills the parasites in your body....every 6 months.
I kid you not. There are commercials of Asian families speaking Spanish, singing a jingle about taking their anti-parasitic.
When I first heard this, I thought it was a joke.
"No way." Those are the exact words I spoke.
Jethro proceeded to explain to me that in these parts, parasites live in everything. Your food. Your water. The air in the markets.
Then he told me about one parasite that lays eggs in your body, sometimes in your brain, and if the eggs hatch you die. Or become a vegetable. Or lose your speech.
....and that is why people take anti-parasite pills.
So it's been about 2 weeks since this terrible news was broken to me, and all I can think about is how never, not a single time in my entire 26 years of existence, have I ever taken a pill to kill parasites in my body.
I'm convinced that my insides are crawling with microscopic, and not so microscopic, blood sucking, intestine biting creatures that are taking my life force and starting families in my guts.
Seriously. Could this be the reason for the dark circles under my eyes? The strange abdominal pains that awake me in the night?
Are parasites nocturnal?
I think I've accidentally waited this long because I'm afraid. I don't think I need to explain why or what it is I'm afraid of.
And here's a question: why don't we do this in the USA? Are we the only country that doesn't do this? Do we think we're just immune to parasites? Doesn't anyone know that a good portion of our produce comes form Mexico?
Or, is everyone in on this? Has everyone always been taking measures against parasites?
Am I the only one who didn't know about this?
