Did you order a side of bronchitis with you first week of school?
With this blog post I could do one of two things: 1. I could tell you in extreme detail about my first week as a Rhodes student, how my classes were and what I learned, or 2. I could tell you a little bit about school and I could ramble about my current predicament. I’m choosing the latter.
I have been fortunate enough in (most of) my travels to not be sick before or during them. Of course their are exceptions. The first is post surgery and going to Japan (which in no way hindered my awesome trip), the second was some type of crazy virus thing I got in Tanzania that literally did not allow me to hold down any type of food or liquid for 2 1/2 days (I was convinced I was going to die there because I couldn't take a sip of water or a bite of a cracker without throwing up, I had a fever, chills, and the spins for 2 days, and by the end of it all I was 10lbs lighter), and the third is right now/here in good old South Africa. So its normal for people to get a little sniffle when they travel, your immune system isn’t at its prime, you’re getting used to changing pressures and climates, so thats what I thought was happening to me. Turns out thats not the case. For the past week I’ve been progressively getting worse: stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, fever, lethargic, etc. for the past 3 days I’ve been having trouble breathing so this is not something I can ignore any longer. If you’re in a country where you have medical facilities available to you, don’t try to be tough and stick it out- it may just get worse. Of course everyone is different. I know that due to pre-existing conditions (Arthritis and a nerve disorder) I have an exceptionally high pain tolerance and I’m pretty aware of my body and how it is/should be working. This is one of the only time I have sought out medical attention while I was abroad (I didn’t have the option in Tanzania) and although I’m a bit nervous, I would rather get some antibiotics and be attentive in class than end up having pneumonia and missing half the semester. Its okay to push your self and test your limits, but know yourself well enough to take it easy and find help if the situation calls for it. Trust me, the few nights you miss going to the bar or the disco in town are not actually as exciting as you’ve built them up in your head to be, and if you don’t take care of yourself you wont be going to either of those anytime soon.
For those of you that are reading this to find out what it like to go to school at Rhodes, heres a quick rundown:
- You remember that feeling on your first day of school when your stomach sorta hurts because your nervous/excited and you’re just kinda freaking out internally? Yeah multiply that by 10, factor in the thousands of people staring at you constantly because lets face it, you clearly don’t know what you’re doing and you stick like a sore thumb, throw in a much larger campus, classes anywhere from 7:45am to 5pm, totally different surroundings (not to mention a crazy season change), and you have my very overwhelming first day first week at school. (good news friends- the staring does eventually slows down)
- Classes: 45 minute lectures everyday (meaning you have the same classes everyday). Throwing some Rhodes lingo out so get ready- Each class has a tutorial (TUT) or practical (PRAC) once a week. These are equivalent to a lab or discussion/interactive lecture session (depending on the course).
- My Experience: I wouldn’t give the week 5 stars but overall it was a really interesting and informative time. Its crazy how different the schedule and teaching system here is from WAC, and its definitely going to take A LOT of getting used to. The word of the week seemed to be “overwhelmed.” It was like starting freshman year all over again and I was feeling very overwhelmed by everything and everyone. But I think the strangest thing of all was putting on boots, a scarf, and a jacked on July 22nd and still being freezing as I walked around campus. Thank goodness its going to get warmer, I know that if I’m going to survive this semester Ima need some sunshine and warm weather.
[Side Note: I really really wish that people would approach me/talk to me/smile at me! There have only been a handful of people brave enough to start a conversation with any of us (the internationals). Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried to be as friendly and polite to people as possible and started many conversations, but I (and not just me, almost all of us) keep getting the cold shoulder. From the incredibly nice South Africans I have interacted with I am pleased to say that they have all been extremely helpful and sweet. One girl actually walked Rachel and I home from the bar just so she could chat with us. Hopefully the situation with the rest of campus will improve soon, fingers crossed!]
This brings me to.... being sick while studying abroad traveling.
[WARNING THE FOLLOWING MY BE TMI FOR SOME PEOPLE]
I have been fortunate enough in (most of) my travels to not be sick before or during them. Of course their are exceptions. The first is post surgery and going to Japan (which in no way hindered my awesome trip), the second was some type of crazy virus thing I got in Tanzania that literally did not allow me to hold down any type of food or liquid for 2 1/2 days (I was convinced I was going to die there because I couldn't take a sip of water or a bite of a cracker without throwing up, I had a fever, chills, and the spins for 2 days, and by the end of it all I was 10lbs lighter), and the third is right now/here in good old South Africa. So its normal for people to get a little sniffle when they travel, your immune system isn’t at its prime, you’re getting used to changing pressures and climates, so thats what I thought was happening to me. Turns out thats not the case. For the past week I’ve been progressively getting worse: stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, fever, lethargic, etc. for the past 3 days I’ve been having trouble breathing so this is not something I can ignore any longer. If you’re in a country where you have medical facilities available to you, don’t try to be tough and stick it out- it may just get worse. Of course everyone is different. I know that due to pre-existing conditions (Arthritis and a nerve disorder) I have an exceptionally high pain tolerance and I’m pretty aware of my body and how it is/should be working. This is one of the only time I have sought out medical attention while I was abroad (I didn’t have the option in Tanzania) and although I’m a bit nervous, I would rather get some antibiotics and be attentive in class than end up having pneumonia and missing half the semester. Its okay to push your self and test your limits, but know yourself well enough to take it easy and find help if the situation calls for it. Trust me, the few nights you miss going to the bar or the disco in town are not actually as exciting as you’ve built them up in your head to be, and if you don’t take care of yourself you wont be going to either of those anytime soon.
Cheers,
a very sick American
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| A view during my walk to class |
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