Sao Lao

For the past two weeks I have been wondering when I would be the next victim in the class to catch the flu. I thought I was in the clear when I only had a sore throat and a little bit of coughing a couple of weeks ago and got better. I’ve been sitting in the middle of a class with all sick people and in the train everyday so many people were coughing at me. It was unavoidable for me to win this losing battle. I even sat across a classmate on the way back from school on Wednesday and wished him a better health and said to him that I hope I won’t catch what he had and will try not to pass it back to him.

Well, guess what? I woke up to a not so happy Valentine’s Day with fever and a headache that felt like my head was going to explode. Johan had made a reservation at a restaurant for a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration but I told him to cancel it. He thought I would be able to go out with him on the weekend. He was wrong.

I haven’t been outside the building since Friday. On Saturday and Sunday I was not able to keep my food down. I was coughing so hard that it caused me to vomit several times (5 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday). Trying to sleep at night has been difficult because the coughing kept waking me up. It was purse misery and there is no good enough medicine to make it any better. I’ve been getting plenty of rest though and drinking lots of fluid, taking my vitamins and eating lots of fruits and veggies.

Perhaps I need to eat better for breakfast and lunch. Since school started again I have been eating fruits and drinking soy milk for breakfast. Lunch is pretty simple as you can see from the photos. I haven’t been eating my spinach for two weeks now and this is what I get. Then again the weather has been crazy lately with rain on and off and the sun coming and going. I just want to be back in Laos where it is nice and warm and lots of people to take care of me at a time like this.

Ready or not I have to go to school on Friday. I missed three days of school already and can’t miss anymore.

I was generous enough to my boyfriend and shared the flu virus with him. I did tell him to stay away from me but he said my germs are weak (hahaha). The poor man didn’t go to work for three days last week because he was at the high point of the sickness. The doctor did his best to help Johan to get more air in his system and gave him prescribed nasal spray. It must be really strong since I can’t buy that kind over the counter. Perhaps I should have gone and see the doctor too. Let’s hope Johan doesn’t give me back the flu virus again.

On a lighter note, I started to feel 75% better yesterday. As of today I can reach 80% by the end of the day. When I am 100% back I will start to do my daily stretch again and some light work out. I tried to do the ususal stretch and exercise on Friday but had to slow down a bit because I felt so weak. It’s a bit frustrating even doing something simple as washing dishes or cooking could make me so tired.

Why can’t we (human beings) be more resistance to simple germs. Wait germs are more complex and tougher than we are. Even when all of us are gone, they will still create more colonies and rule the universe.

When I get sick, I tend to think more and the more I think, the more headache I get. I feel glad though that I don’t have any children. When you have kids, being sick doesn’t give you an excuse from parental duties. When you are just a student or a typical worker, you can take a sick day.

I am ready for school tomorrow. I have a presentation to give and hope to be able to talk without coughing. Just two more weeks and it will be Finals time and then a few weeks of vacation (whoohooo). Thanksgiving is next Thursday. I will be here and will make the best of it.

I’ve been battling this cold/flu for a week now. It’s so like me to get sick not even a month after I came back. I made a list of things to blame myself, just to feel more miserable and think of the ways that I could have taken better care of myself. Then yesterday as I was sitting in the train (on the way to school) and feeling guilty for letting out a cough or two, I noticed the others around me were coughing as well. Later at school, I ran into a girl in the bathroom and we looked at each other because both of us got red spots right below our noses (from blowing our nose too much). After spotting more girls with the same red spot and red faces, at the cafeteria and the computer lab, I realized there is a cold or a flu (out break) going around the country.

How can I escape the flu season and not be another stat? Hmm…that is a good question. I can eat well and exercise and hope for the best. In the meantime I will be sleeping with another onion tonight. Yes, you got that right. I was told of a good remedy for a cold or a flu. You cut up a big fat onion in half pieces. Put one piece one one side of the bed (one a small plate) and the other one on the other side of the bed. Then go to sleep as normal and hope for the magic onion to do its trick.

I started to use the remedy on Saturday night because it was the worst night of the week. I was grasping for air and coughing like crazy. On Sunday I could breath a bit easier. Then by yesterday I woke up feeling more clear and today even much better. I don’t have any cold medicine to take. Going to the doctor here will only get me Paracetamol and an advice to go back in 14 days if I don’t feel better.

Tomorrow I have a date with my dentist. Let’s hope I don’t have a cavity. Time for another pot of green tea.