Saving Fish from Drowning - Heal Burma

•14 •
THE INVENTION
OF NOODLES
By the end of the second week in No Name Place, my malaria-
stricken friends were somewhat improved, enough to complain
about the menu and the mosquitoes. They sat on two logs fac­
ing each other across a clearing that was grandly called “the dining
room.” Their faces, arms, and legs had been rubbed with termite
powder, which Black Spot had given them to prevent mosquito bites.
The powder came from a bark or mineral that was also effective
against termites, hence the name, or so they thought. It was actually
the ground-up bodies of termites. Had they known, they still would
have continued to use it. They did not automatically question the ad­
vice that the tribe gave them anymore. Every day, at every meal, they
drank the wormwood tea.
They also drank the soup that was made especially for their
health. A bland rice broth had been suitable when they were finally