Because Misery Loves Company

I'm not actually miserable - maybe an approximation of it, but not the real thing. I have the flu! And I am so far from home. I don't really think this post is going to be interesting, but if you have nothing better to do, please humor me for a minute (or 5).

I didn't really realize how sick I was for 2 days. I went to work, and I was really tired, and achy and coughing, etc... then somebody I know mentioned the flu and I googled it - and lo and behold! The symptoms for the flu matched what I had.

So I called in sick today, which sucks because that means I won't get paid, but that's the preferable option over going to work and actually feeling miserable.

The thing is - I'm really bad at being sick. I never know what to do, and inevitably I try to pretend that I'm not sick which results in actions like going to work for 2 days and not getting better, if not getting worse.

So, what is it like being sick in Tokyo? Well, first of all, I don't know the first thing about what medicine to buy here - which is why I brought a small sampling of medicine with me - NyQuil, DayQuil, and Sudafed. I also don't really know anything about seeing a doctor. I considered talking to the Nova Foreign Personnel about it when I called in sick this morning, but the man on the other end of the line practically cut me off in his rush to hang up.

Thankfully, I was able to get advice from some people. One student told me to be sure to wear pajamas. Another student recommended that I eat rice seasoned with garlic, soy sauce and hot water. A couple of American friends also gave me advice - sleep a lot and drink lots of water! It seems simple enough. So, that's what I'm trying to do, and there is another piece of advice I could give myself - don't forget to eat!