I have a parasite

I would say WE have parasites, but Alex refuses to accept this as her reality. Honestly, there is not much we can do about it at the current time. It is called Giardia and it is very common and highly contagious, apparently. I learned about it from talking with other volunteers who have been suffering with diarrhea for the same amount of time as I have...6 weeks. Due to this experience and my firm belief in giving you the full scoop on our travel experiences, I have taken it upon myself to investigate this matter further and identify the root cause of the issue and then come up with a plan to erradicate it permanently...and Alex too, but I will most likely have to crush the medicine and hide it in her food, as she refuses to believe that she has a parasite.
The thing is, that it is transmitted through poop (fecal to oral transmission to be more clinical) and/or water and there is no way to escape poop germs while working in this community. For example, the compost toilets...wonderful for the environment, reeks havoc on the gut. Despite the fact that we clean then (by hand) every single day with clorox bleach, there are still a portal of poop germs. After one wipes oneself, one then drops the used toilet paper in a garbage bin next to the compost toilet so all the poop gets smeared against the sides of said bin. Then, you grab the saw dust scooper with your poopy hand and shake some saw dust over your poop to hide it and begin breaking down, as well as to mask the stink. We all know that the hand that was used to scoop the saw dust has poop germs on it...then, if you do decide to wash your hands, you must use a communal bar of soap and there are no towels to dry your hands...so again, this is a mine field of poop germs.
Another observation I have made on my quest to locate to source of my tummy trauma is while watching others, particularly the Hare Krishnas, empty their composting toilets...without gloves and without a subsequent wash of their hands afterwards. Hmmm, they are also cooking in the kitchen at times so again, poopy germ transfer point number 2. Then there is the mere fact that all of our shit and piss are used as fertilizer and either buried or sprinkled on all of the vegetables that are cultivated here...now this might not be such a big deal in relation to transmiting germs, but we spend an awful lot of time in the gardens and I am stil ill so I figure this is the third germ transfer point in my quest to discover the root cause on my endless Giardia.
I am sure that there are many more fecal germ points of transfer that I have yet to uncover, but this parasite can also be transmitted through the water. Now, in the Eco Truly Village, there is a giant blue barrell that holds all of the 'purified' water and everyone fills their respective water bottle up from this barrell...and honestly, they all seem fine. However, since the arrival of a few more volunteers, there have been more upset stomachs and I cannot help but think this filtration system might not be strong enough for our sensitive Western stomachs. Maybe I am wrong. Another water issue involves the salad and other foods that are prepared in the kitchen, as they are all washed from the tap and NOT the barrell so this might be another way of transmitting this parasite from one person to another just by eating the fresh food that is prepared.
So in summation of my intensive and exhaustive investigation I have made the following conclusions and plan of action. There is no point in taking the medication that kills this parasite until the day we leave the village, as we will continue to have toilet duty, drink from the blue barrell, work in the fields, eat the food and touch things. Therefore, on the day we leave, we will both begin our 1 day 4 pill course of anti-parastie medicine and will them be cured once and for all from Giardia. Honestly, you kind of get used to having intensive stomach pain followed by explosive diarrhea...it becomes the normal way to poop. The Hare Krishnas are also lovely and caring and make us all drink this tea, which is literally a root boiled in water and then you drink that water...it helps with the stomach aches and enables us to carry on happily from day to day. And we are both quite happy and healthy otherwise...and it could always be worse. We could have a worm like one of the new volunteers. She had to take a medicine and then poop her worm out into the compost toilet...yes, the actual worm in its entirety. At least we don't have to go through that experience...yet...

End Note: Not to worry Wendy, we will be all nice and cured by the time we see you in Buenos Aires and we will be drinking only bottled water and there will be NO compost toilets to deal with either so you will be nice and safe... we thought you would be a tiny bit worried after reading this blog.