Traveling to winter, I didn't think about mentioning to my doctor that I needed a flu shot. You know the elderly are more susceptible. But it seems that what I am recovering from is the flu. And I am recovering. It started with a scratchy throat which I thought my tea tree oil/echinachea throat spray would help, but it didn't. I then got this very tight congestion in my chest that made it difficult to breathe, and I was very tired. I had a dry cough that made it difficult to sleep. On Thursday I finally decided to go to a pharmacy and get something. Marcela recommended an "anti-gripal", which is for the flu. The pharmacist said I might have the flu, I might have a cold or allergies. She recommended I see a doctor. But I didn't want to go all the way to the German Hospital and sit and wait for a doctor to give me some medication I could just as easily get over the counter. I also have some anti-biotics that my doctor gave me before I left, so I felt I could deal with this without the help of a doctor.
At the pharmacy, they gave me dristan. I took that on Thursday and it helped. It seemed to loosen up the phlegm, which I coughed up and looked at. It was yellow - a good sign - no infection - I know green is bad and red is definitely trouble.
On Friday after my test, I went back to the pharmacy and got an expectorant. I'm really not in favor of medications that just cover up symptons, but I've learned with congestion, that if you don't clear it up, it leads to infection, and an expectorant doesn't just stop you from coughing, but helps to loosen the phlegm and clear up congestion.
I came home from school and spent the rest of the day resting.
On Friday evening I started running a fever. It was mild 99.8 at its highest. I still didn't think I needed to see the doctor, but I pulled out my z-pack, the antibiotics I got from my doctor, just in case.
Yesterday morning I woke up feeling feverish, achy, etc., but the sore throat and tightness in my throat had significantly eased. I was able to sing, which is something I could not do earlier in the week (I like to sing when I'm at home alone) - each time I tried to sing something, I was unable to hit any notes, but now my voice was recovering. I knew I was getting better.
So, I spent all of yesterday in bed reading and watching TV and sleeping. I checked my temperature in the morning and it was still 99.8. After an afternoon nap, I got up and took a shower. I was sitting in front of my computer and all of a sudden I started to sweat. I thought, "the fever is breaking". I don't know what that means, but it's something I remember from my childhood. Once the fever broke, I was ok.
And so it was yesterday. The fever broke and all of a sudden I felt hungry. A sign that I was ok.
I still didn't go out afterwards, and spent the rest of the evening watching TV. Saturdays are for Latin American Idol.
They are into the early elimination rounds now. They invited the initial group to Buenos Aires, and are now getting down to the final 12 or 10 or however many it is before the real competition begins.
Yesterday they eliminated about half of the contestants and are now at 30. It is really interesting that the contestants come from all over - Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, etc..., and so do the judges. The grumpy judge speaks with a Spanish lisp, so I guess it is a requirement that there be someone representing the colonial powers on the show and that person must act superior - like Simon. Still, this guy, Gustavo, is not as bad as Simon. Even when Simon went to Africa and saw the horrible conditions that people were living in, and he said, 'this is dreadful" it was almost like he was criticizing the people for living the way they were - I know he wasn't doing that, but I think he is incapable of showing emotion. I actually think Simon is a robot. Well, this guy Gustavo, who apparently is from Spain, does have emotions. He laughs, he smiles, he is sincere, but he is also grumpy and bluntly tells people they are not good. The other judges tell him he is too harsh.
Why am I watching this stuff?
After that I was flipping through the channels and came across a show called Coronada de Gloria or something like that. It was similar to American idol but was searching for the next folk singer in Argentina. It was very interesting because I got to learn a little about this huge country outside of Buenos Aires that is apparently very different. They had competitions in all of the provinces (I don't even know how many there are), and chose one person to represent the province. Last night, there were duels. One person from one province sang, and then someone from another province sang, and one of them would be eliminated. It seemed like an unfair way to do a competition, but...
I don't know which show I liked better. I liked Corona de Gloria (or is it Coronada?) because I got to see other parts of Argentina, hear Argentine folk music, etc., but they had these weird dancers behind the singers and the whole thing seemed to be really corny. Latin American Idol, because it is a tried and true reality show package that I guess has been exported all over the world (after its original debut in England), seems to be really good at getting you hooked, because you get to know the contestants, you get involved with them personally and you get emotional with them. I guess I'll have to stay tuned to both.
Well, today I feel better but I'm not ready to go running around yet. I was invited to dinner at Mike's host family's house, and even though I think it would be really fun, I think it's better if I make today one more day of relaxation. If I go out, it will be to get some fresh air, have coffee, maybe eat something substantial, but I think it's better to keep my outings near home and short. Tomorrow I start my new level, which is probably going to be more difficult if it is just me. I can't sit there and let the other students talk like I did in level 6. I also want to be able to get back to my tango lessons as soon as possible. I had to cancel yesterday's lesson because of the fever.
So, it's been a kind of boring few days here, other than the excitement that Latin American Idol brought to me. It's been 4 weeks that I've been here, and today is July 1. Unbelievable. And here I am with the flu. I wonder if this means that I'll be immune this winter in San Francisco.
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