Did you know... ?

It's 2 in the morning here and I can't sleep... not sure why. So after tossing and turning for a few hours, I decided to distract myself and hopefully tire out in the process.

One of the many great things about Gautemala is that there's never a lack of fantastic fresh fruit. Pineapple, papaya (which I don't really like, actually), melon, banana, and the ubiquitous mango, just to name a few of the most common.

Three or four times since I've been here, I've woken up in the morning with a random case of severe chapped lips. Hang with me, here... this story will come back around. It's an odd sort of feeling that won't go away, isn't helped by chap stick, lasts for about 5 days, and is accompanied by a sort of itchy irritation. Now, the first time I wasn't too worried... it was odd, but not too weird to cause concern. Then when it happened again a week or two later, I got rather scared and started to think about what in tarnation might be wrong with me. As I began to search my memory for any patterns that could have caused this phenomenon on both occasions, among many things that popped into my head was the fact that I had eaten mangos a day or two before each outbreak of the unknown, undiagnosed disruption of normal lip sentiment. Another week or two later, I ate mangos a third time (cautiously and cleanly), then had a very mild outbreak of the same symtoms. Then Saturday, on the way back from Monte Rico, we encountered a Mango tree on the side of the road bursting with ripened orbs of flavor. Though I had recognized a subtle pattern, I was ever unsure of my hypothesis's validity and, wanting to put out of my mind the sneaking suspicion of a more serious medical condition, I decided to put my body on the line. I ate three of those delicious suckers, and I ate 'em like a monkey. Biting a small hole in the top of the mango, I worked my way down, peeling the skin with my teeth while basking in the glory of what, to me, is Guatemala's finest cuisine. So after three mangos, I was sufficiently full and overly doused in mango nectar. I was satisfied that my experiment was properly initiated as to produce difinitive results, but I was wary of what was to come (if I don't get chapped lips, I was wrong, and if I get chapped lips, well, I'm stupid for eating mangos like a monkey when I more than suspect it causes severe chapped lips).

Sure enough, I woke up Sunday morning with an annoyingly painful set of lips and a fully developed sense of pseudo-scientific accomplishment. At the computer on Monday I decided to probe that omniscient brainchild of Al Gore to determine once and for all if my hypothesis and conclusion to this grand experiment had any merit whatsoever. Sure enough, my conclusion was soon confimed. After but a quick google search for "Mango skin allergy," I encountered myriad unscientific personal experiences claiming similar (and often worse) symtoms resulting from identical actions. After a little more searching, I discovered that Mangos, oddly enough, come from the sumac family, the same one that includes poison ivy, oak, and, of course, sumac. Though the skin of a mango contains relatively small doses of the poison urushiol (the same contained in the other 3 aforementioned plants), for those already sensitive to the poison and prone to urushiol-induced contact dermatitis (as it's scientifically known), contact with mango skin can cause mild to severe reactions, depending on your level of sensitivity. Also, if ingested, the skin (which also has "considerable potential as an antioxidant") can cause further irritation in the esophagus and digestive tract.

Never fear, however: only the skin of the fruit contains this lip-attacking culprit, and with careful eating and proper post-consumption washing, I should be able to avoid such discomfort in the future, while still being able to enjoy one of my new favorite snacks. So for those of you who DIDN'T know that mangos can make you itch, you're now advised to take caution. Peeling is a good idea if you suspect sensitivity, wearing gloves also not a bad idea if your allergy is severe. For those of you who've never had problems, go to town. I haven't met another person here who encounters such inconvenience upon consuming mangos.

And there's one perfectly good thing to come of all this: I've always answered the question "do you have any allergies" with a boring negative, but now I can proudly and resoundingly claim, "Yes: mango skin."

In other news, I went to the National Palace today and poked around a bit. Quite a lovely place. Friday I'm headed to Rio Dulce for another "mission" with church members, and then Saturday when we're done we're heading to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, where we'll camp Saturday night inside the park and explore the ruins on Sunday, heading back Sunday night and planning on a return around 1 or 2 Monday morning. Expect pictures. And if you haven't seen the pictures of Volcan Pacaya yet, I highly recommend you go take a look. Link's still hangin out down below.

Now it's three, and I'm waking up at 6. Oh boy.

G'night.