I know I should have seen it coming. But it came and it went without leaving a trace (thankfully).
I’m talking about the tragedy of getting sick abroad. I’m not talking about a cold, or even a sinus infection. I’m talking about stomach pains, up all night, nutrition deprived, everything leaving your body, sick. It robs you of twenty four hours of your life, and then it’s gone (if you’re lucky, like I was). I don’t know, I should have seen it coming. I ate way too much and just did not consider the consequences. The good news is, I was prepared. If you have ever traveled for a long(ish) period of time, you know that Tums, Ibuprofen, Immodium, and Peptobismol are necessities. Depending on where you travel chances are you will not find them anywhere. It is truly a circumstance of ‘you do not know what you have until it’s not available in your local drugstore and it’s gone’ type of thing. Sad times. Anyway, yesterday I went nuts on just about every food group. I ate tacos and full-fat ice-cream and croissants and spicy snails. What was I thinking…? Also, shameless plug, all of these things are available within about a square mile of each other in Seoul. I think we all have those days, though. We just live life and decide to go for it and eat everything. Some of us, like myself, pay for it later. Unfortunately, spending a day cooped up and in bed in your flat abroad is not exactly an exciting day. It’s actually kind of sad and slightly traumatic depending on who you are. My best advice: just be prepared and understand it’s going to happen at some point. Also, maybe just try to eat in moderation. Try new things in moderation. And always stay hydrated. Don’t do what I did. Time abroad is supposed to be a positive experience no matter what. So if you’re sick, listen to your body and take a rest. It’s a great time to catch up on Facebook, Netflix, and maybe even send your parents an email. Definitely drink some water, and if you’ve never have had to deal with sickness by yourself, read up on it. It’s a good life lesson. Just like everything else studying abroad, it’s a time to grow up. Everything can be made productive, if you try hard enough. After sleeping for about 13 strait hours yesterday, watching multiple Aziz Ansari comedies on Netflix, drinking a few gallons of water, and putting on a face mask to take time and treat my skin with some respect, I feel worlds better today. A day of recovery never hurt anybody, in fact usually it makes life a lot better. Today I haven’t eaten a whole lot, but Ive written a whole lot of new content for this blog as well as my Medium site. I also took the time to make some moves in the new Harry Potter (a personal favorite of mine right now), and even go to a coffee shop to drink a latte and do some school work. I’ve been thinking about planning a few trips out of Korea (hopefully Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia)… If you have any suggestions, feel free to reach out! I’d love to open up some dialogue about airlines and cool destinations. Anyway, in conclusion, being sick sucks. It really does, no matter where you are in the world. But like anything else, be prepared. It’s a test of who you are, so make sure you come out on the right foot. And, if you can, make the most of the day. Studying abroad is full of all kinds of enjoyable moments, a day in bed could potentially be seen as an enjoyable one, especially if you’ve been needing an excuse to slow down.
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Author: Allyson DitizioGeographer, yogi and occasionally creative writer. Archives
September 2016
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