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Journal of African trips

Africa, spring 1999 part III

Agelasto
2004-05-21 18:12:22

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which I arrange in a Rube Goldberg fashion with strings tied to any anchor I can
find (I also carry twine and scissors). I have repellent, the most effective available, the
kind with the chemical Deet in it. And I take the most effective malaria prophylactic on
the market, a weekly pill under the brand name Larium. Many twenty-somethings can?t be
bothered with nets or repellent and are put off by Larium, which I think is banned in
several European countries as is Deet, because it (Larium) has unknown long-term effects.
(Deet is not suitable for infants). Larium produces extremely vivid nightmares (I had
several) and has other unappreciated side-effects, such as edginess, insomnia, poor vision,
dryness of the mouth, etc. The bout of malaria experienced by the Flemish lad served as a wake-up call to his companions, and they had started to take more care, using nets and
repellent and a drug, not Larium but one less intrusive to the body, but also one less
effective (60% versus Larium?s 90%).

The twenty-somethings are on my mind, in part because they are about the only travelers I
meet, until the widow Ann-Marie came on the scene, and because their carefree attitude
toward life (and their ignorance of death) reminds me of my former student Liu Xu (or
Sean Liu the name he acquired in the US, where he had emigrated). Just before this trip
to Africa, when I passed through California, I had dinner with Liu Xu, as I do every time I
go to LA. One of my favorite students, Liu Xu was on his way to becoming a successful
businessman in the US, importing eyeglass parts from China and wholesaling them in the
western US. I gave Liu Xu copies of my books on Shenzhen University; he had been one
of my informants. After we had dinner, he was planning to drive all night to get to a
business meeting the next morning in Phoenix. He loved to drive, had owned five
different ...