June 13, 2005

Things that Bother Me, Part One

So i know this is kind of wrong, but its been bothering me so I feel the need to share. As i believe i've said before, shaking hands is a favorite activity here. You shake everyone's hand (well almost everyone, uncircumcised boys greet you with their heads and girls are supposed to as well if they are younger than you) even if you have no real business with them. A part of the problem is that Kenyans dont generally own hankercheifs, or kleenex, or anything of that sort, and much as they have no shame about cleaning their ears, they like to pick their noses. We work in hospitals a lot so people also sneeze and cough a fair bit onto their hands as well. Kenyans are fastidious about washing hands before meals, but its apparently not really a concern in between, and their hands are touching mine. Usually I wouldnt be quite so disturbed about the situation but after having seen TB patients lose parts of their lungs into their hands as a result of particularly violent coughs, I've been thinking about it. Also, if someone's hand looks diseased, like it might have leprosy or some other disorder that would cause the skin to rot and molt off, I really really dont like touching it.

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