Being Sick in Japan

Before getting to my class-related Kyoto trips this weekend, this post will be about how I was sick last week! How exciting!

It was not fun. I figured it was just a little thing with my throat, so skipped the gym and just tried to rest; but I woke up Tuesday and realized I couldn't talk. These voice issues lasted for two days and my throat continued to hurt. At the request of my host parents and my own frustration with the lack of a voice, I went to the clinic on campus for the first time.

It looked like a very old elementary school for some reason on the inside.

After consulting with the front desk, I took off my shoes and put on the communal green slippers and headed up the stairs. The second floor desk attendants were a lot friendlier than the first floor (not that the first floor were mean - just not very friendly). It helped put me at ease a bit - I am always nervous when going to doctor offices. And of course, as I sat in a little chair, holding my coughs, there was a billboard about diseases across from me and a picture of mosquitoes next to JE. And of course, my mind being what it is, I started thinking "what if this little cough is the beginning of JE? Even though I got a vaccine, I've been bit by a few mosquitoes. But I got a vaccine." Of course, I was not serious about this speculation...I think. Anyway, then I was called in.

There was a doctor and a nurse, both wearing masks the entire time. The doctor had his own office, with a desk and I walk in and sit on a little stool next to his desk (it reminded me of a principal's office but less formal). We talked about symptoms and tried to overcome the barrier of me not knowing medical/body terms. Then at one point, they were asking for me to raise my shirt so that he could listen to my breathing and then there was an awkward conversation where I tried to explain that I did not want to take off my shirt because I was only wearing a shirt and was not comfortable and they were just kind of trying to figure out what was going on and what we should do. It was interesting. But eventually, figured out I could lift without stripping. That might have been what they meant from the beginning, but I don't know. They were very nice, but I don't think I knew the proper etiquette for talking with doctors in Japan because there would often be overly long moments of them expectantly staring at me after I had finished talking. But I was tired, my throat hurt, and I had fourth period so I didn't want to ask "how do people usually talk to doctors in Japan?"

Then, I got some tablets with strict schedules and, interestingly, cough drops and a gargling solution to be used at my own disposal. Thanks to insurance, all of this medicine and the consultation cost me less than taking an hour-long nap in the nap room of my university clinic back home, after I was given an anti-nausea shot for food poisoning that basically incapacitated me. And the medicine helped immediately. I only had to take the tablets for three days (after every meal and before bed) and now, about a week later, am pretty much all healed. Just the occasional cough.

So I feel like my experience was lucrative.

I NAPPED AGAIN! WHAT IS UP WITH THIS??? I took a three hour nap on Wednesday and then went to bed and slept until 10 or 11 the next day. What? Of course, sleep is pretty much the most important tool for healing and it helped a lot, but it was still discombobulating.

Another nice thing was how understanding my host parents and teachers were. After hearing me talk, my teachers would avoid calling on me that much and later inquire about my health and if I had seen a doctor. My host parents kept urging me to rest, took my dish washing duties away, and served me food to help with health and the throat. It was incredibly nice. My host mom even made foods that she said her mom made her when she was sick. They were amazing.

One of the down-sides was not being able to work out for another week, but I'm going to work out this week and try to do some sort of physical activity in the gap between end of the semester and returning home. Just doing nothing is not the best option since I realize working out really helps my emotional stability and energy levels.

I almost forgot one of the most important things about being sick in Japan: I had to wear a mask. To be honest, it did not bother me that much. Maybe if someone else had worn a mask, I might not have gotten sick. Knowing that me wearing a mask is helping keep others from getting sick made me feel a bit better. I wish we did this in America. I will probably continue to do it - though, from what I've seen on campus, those who do it are bullied or made fun of. And in movies, people wearing masks are often portrayed as either suspicious characters or people with extremely dangerous diseases. But no one likes even the small colds so I think masks would be very helpful. The downsides were because of the humidity and the mask, sometimes my breath or speech would fog my glasses or my nose would feel a little too cleared up. 

Well, I must get to sleep soon to prepare for a day of studying. I had two finals today and will have two more Wednesday. I cannot tell if that faint, distant buzzing is just regular electricity, or a continuation of the crying of the cicadas that has been going on since the weekend. Hmmm. More on them later.

Here are a few pictures of the extra-healthy foods my host parents made me!

You've already seen the goya (left) and I have had this dried and re-hydrated tofu (right). Below is fu, literally just glutin. Soft and easy to eat with a sore throat.

 This is a jiggly, cold tofu custard dish wish a sweetish soy sauce - also perfect for a sore throat, for the heat, or for when your teeth hurt.

 More of the cold tofu dish alone with salmon and a soup/porridge mix full of vegetables that was extremely delicious. It was then topped with onions, ooba, and plum.

 Natto (extremely healthy as well as easy to chew and swallow), chilled tofu with green onions on top, a vinegary salad of rooty veggies, cucumber, dried fish (eat all of it~), and miso soup.

Most of our dinners look like this, with multiple side dishes and many small plates.

This doesn't really connect to me being sick, but I had some left overs and it felt so good on my throat. These are a type of traditional Japanese sweet that are kept chilled. In the modern age, they are packaged in little plastic domes. You peel off the flat side's plastic, use a thin object and slide it around the edge, and then slide the water manjuu out. It is not mochi but made with similar material, is cool and firm, and filled with red bean paste. Manjuu is often filled with red bean paste or something else, with the exterior being mochi or a type of bread - this is "water manjuu" and is more of a summer treat. Very delicious, though a bit difficult to eat.