A friend and acquaintance of...May 5, 2008 07:25 AM

A friend and acquaintance of mine back home died on Saturday, he was only 44 years old and one of the sweetest most giving men on the planet. An infectious smile and laugh that filled a room, and died pretty suddenly. I am truly sad and in mourning. I feel weak from that this morning, and also the fact that I have lost around 16 pounds so I have made the connection to that with why I am not feeling so strong in my classes as well. Our class nurse has given me directions to eat more, but my appetite is either very low or not there when we get to our daily buffet. I  increased my intake of electrolytes and nutrients, but appetite still not where it was a few weeks ago. I am not alone, other classmates are stating they have the same problem, no or low appetite and weak, and it also makes it hard to think and concentrate. Luckily, there are some great people here from other countries I have talked to that are all experiencing the same or similar issues, so I am going to keep moving right along.