Te de Tilo

I woke up feeling sick again today. I don't know if my apartment was too hot, or if I caught another cold, but last night I felt really hot and achy, and I woke up with a really dry mouth. I didn't feel too bad once I got up and had some tea, but wasn't sure I was up to my tango class, so I called Marcelo and canceled. Then I decided to do my homework for Martin today.

I had to read this article from the newspaper that was an interview with an Argentine doctor about the state of the medical system here. I really wasn't into it, but I went ahead and did this assignment anyway because I don't want to appear to be a difficult student. It wasn't that hard. I set Microsoft Word's language to Spanish and opened Bable Fish and between the spellchecker on Word and going to Bable Fish when I needed a word that I could only think of in English, I was able to write a decent essay on the medical crisis that I see happening in the US. Fortunately I had just seen an interview with Michael Moore on CNN, and while he was a bit over the top I really admired him standing up to Wolf Blitzer and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and also now want to see his new film where he looks at the crisis in American Health Care because of profit-seeking insurance and pharmaceutical companies. That point of view helped me to have a focus for my essay, because I really don't know enough about medical care in Argentina to write about it in Spanish.

I was eating a bowl of lentils when my doorbell rang. I thought it was just someone ringing the wrong doorbell until the door opened. The maid came today at 11. I guess I'm usually out of the apartment by the time she comes or she came early, but it was inconvenient for me. I had planned on going to school to give Martin my homework and maybe leaving at the break, but I didn't want to to out just yet. So I sat and worked on the computer a little and when she finished cleaning the bedroom, I went and took a shower and got dressed and left.

I stopped at a restaurant near school and had a cheap lunch - veal cutlet and mashed potatoes - the veal was very thin and was like a snack and the mashed potatoes were very salty, so I didn't eat them all - the lunch was a little over 3 dollars. I got a cup of tea and went up to the classroom.

When I got to class only Nancy and Martin were there. Martin told me we were going to a concert. I told him I just came to turn in my homework and that I was sick and wanted to go home and go back to bed. He told me that he had just found out that a tango orchestra was giving a free concert. It sounded like it would have been fun, but it turned out it made it the perfect day for me to miss class. So, I gave him my essay, and they both left. I stayed in the classroom and finished my tea and then came back home.

Before he left, Martin recommended that I get some "te de tilo" - tilo tea. He said it was an herb but it was a sedative and would make me sleep but also sweat out the toxins. I'm tired of being sick and don't want to keep taking dristan or other over-the-counter medications, so I figured I'd try this.

I went to the pharmacy across from school and the pharmacist checked behind the counter and said he was out of te de tilo. I thought it was strange that he looked behind the counter where he kept the medicines because he had a whole section of tea on the other side of the counter. Teas and herbs really seem to be big here. I've seen these bags of herbs called "yuyos" in every pharmacy I've been in.

So, I left that pharmacy and walked towards the subte. I stopped in another pharmacy and he also said he was out of te de tilo. I passed a Natural Food store and thought I'd try there. The guy checked and said he was out. Boy, this te de tilo must be popular stuff, I thought.

I found another pharmacy, not realizing how common they were - I had found three in a three block radius - and this time they had it. The guy who was helping me asked me if I wanted, bags or prepared, and I had no idea what the difference was. I knew I wanted bags, but didn't know what he meant by prepared. I told him this was the first time I was buying it and that someone recommended it to me for a cold. He said, 'no, for a cold, you need another tea', and I asked him to recommend something. He showed me a tea that had citrus, euculyptus and vitamin C. So I got both teas.

I came home and fortunately the maid was gone and the apartment was clean. I went and laid down but was feeling wired, I think from the dristan which has caffeine in it. So, I got up and made some te de tilo, and sure enough, I fell asleep. I woke up some time later, not sure how long I had slept, and felt drowsy but a little refreshed. I made some of the citrus tea and spent the rest of the evening in front of the TV. I watched a program in Spanish on the top 5 parks in Latin America - the number 1 was in Buenos Aires - it was an interesting program and good for my Spanish -why don't they have us do things like that in class?

I've been drinking the citrus tea all afternoon. I put lemon in it and agave which I brought with me, that I use as a sweetener instead of sugar. It's really yummy. I haven't really eaten all day, so I'm going to go to the supermarket and get some food and then settle in for the evening. I'll probably do my homework for tomorrow.

I'm hoping that this little illness is just that, nothing major. I also hope it is the tail end of what I had rather than something new. I spent the whole winter in San Francisco and didn't get sick once, I was so proud of myself, and here I've been sick for three weeks. I've been noticing all of the ads for cold and flu medicines in the subway. It makes me want to go out and buy everything and see which one makes me feel better.

But, I think these teas are good. The citrus tea is very soothing and I think with the te de tilo, I will get a good night's sleep.