I Got Sick

Well, it’s been another week since I’ve written, but it’s gone amazingly fast as I slept for literally the entire second half of it.  But, I’ll start at the beginning… Monday was fun day.  I went to my normal classes and worked out and then met Stefanie and Camille (my housemates) and we went to dinner at a dumpling restaurant in Box Hill (the Chinatown Suburb about 10 minutes from where I live).  It was really fun and SO delicious!  After we got back, I walked with Stefanie and Michael (another housemate) to the store for some juice and ice creamJ.  Tuesday was another good day.  I slept in a bit, went to class in the afternoon, did some homework and then went to two fitness classes on campus.  I tried out boxing and cycling.  They were both excellent and I got a great workout!  I came home and got showered and ready and then went with Camille, Stefanie and Michael to the Hawthorn Hotel for “Uni Night”.  A lot of students go each week for the discounted drinks and the good DJs they always have.  I had never gone, but had a great time!  It was like all the best parts of a high school dance – getting dressed up and really fun dance music.  All in all, it was a great night.  Wednesday morning I woke up for my 9am class and powered through the day.  I was tired from the late night, but I made it through my two classes and even managed some homework in betweenJ.  I came home and went to the store and then got ready for our house dinner.  My roommate Amar left Friday for a 2-week vacation and he wanted this week’s house dinner (his last before leaving) to be at one of his favorite Thai restaurants in Camberwell (20 minutes by tram).  It was delicious food and a fun evening!  It ended up just being Camille, Amar, Stefanie and myself, but we had a good time.  We got back around 9pm and I went straight to bed, as I was not feeling well.  I already knew I was getting sickL.  I woke up Thursday and then decided to not wake up.  I got out of bed about 3 times all day to eat and refill my juice, but otherwise took a series of 2-3 hour naps all day.  I had the worst sore throat, a fever and just hurt all over.  Friday I woke up and decided it was time to see a doctor.  I called the Deakin University Health Center and the receptionist told me that they didn’t have any more appointments with the doctor for the day, but that I could see the nurse.  The only problem was the nurse couldn’t write prescriptions or give referrals.  So… not very helpful.  I emailed my host coordinator here and got her recommendation for a doctor and she directed me to one right near the grocery store I go to.  I was able to get an appointment for that afternoon.  The doctor I saw was really nice and friendly.  He asked where I was from in the States and when I told him Washington, he said he had just booked his tickets for Kelowna, BC to go skiing next winter at Big White.  It was SO funny!  I told him I had just been there over Christmas and he started quizzing me about it and asking all kinds of questions.  If my throat hadn’t hurt so badly and I hadn’t been so focused on not passing out, I’m sure I would have appreciated it a lot more.  So, it turns out I have a bad cold/ flu that’s going around here (darn Australians getting me sick!), but the good news is that I WILL get betterJ.  The doctor was super helpful in what type of medicine I should get – it is all named differently here.  He told me I should get some of their Tylenol with codeine to help with my super swollen and painful sore throat and some decongestant medication.  I got back from the doctor’s at 4:30pm, slept until 9:30, got a piece of toast for dinner and went back to sleep for the night.  I had a very vivid dream about an alien invasion – thank you medicineJ.  I slept terribly most of the night as my fever kept breaking and then coming back, but when I woke up at 6:30am this morning, it had broken for good!  I felt a million times better.  I still have a headache, terrible sore throat and am weak and tired, but getting over the fever helped immensely!  I’m getting betterJ.  All in all, it’s not how I would have chosen to spend my last few days – all the extra sleep was good, all the pain was pretty terrible – but now I’ve had the experience of being sick in a foreign country.  I got to problem-solve finding a doctor, experience what a doctor’s office is like in Australia and learn the names of some medicines here.  It also gave me the opportunity to try some Australian chicken noodle soupJ.  It’s all part of the experience I guess.  I’m feeling better day-by-day.  Life is good.