iHola a todos!
I cannot remember how many times I have been sick during the school year, perhaps, too many times. I was hoping this curse would break while living abroad, but some things never change. My immune system and I are not friends and I have come to accept it. However, one experience after the another doesn’t lessen the nuisance that comes with being sick.
On Monday I woke up with the most irritating sore-throat and it was one that I’ve never experienced before. Later that day I visited the doctor’s and found out I had pharyngitis and laryngitis. If I am honest, the thought of being sick did not scare me because it is something that happens to even the best of us. The process of visiting the doctor, getting medications, and taking care of myself was what I had dreaded.
Before coming abroad, my mother would always know what to do in these kinds of situations. She always made sure to call the doctor, grabbed my medications, and provided me with comfort through her home remedies. For the first time in my life, I had to face these things by myself. Luckily, I had the help of my program’s assistant director to kindly made the appointment for me to see the doctor. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous to see the doctor. It was frightening for me to see someone whom I have never been acquainted with or have heard anything about, but everything turned out great except for my diagnosis.
Aside from visiting the doctor, another scary thing about being sick is communicating with the pharmacist what kind of medicines you would be getting and what to take. The pharmacist I went to did not speak fluent English thus it was a bit difficult to understand her. I was amazed at how good my Spanish was because I found myself understanding most of the things she said.
True to its words, the April shower had officially arrived in Madrid. Luckily, I was able to escape to sunny Marbella for the weekend. Marbella is a city in the province of Málaga in Andalucía. The city, located in the Costa del Sol, is a major hub for tourism due to its climate and infrastructure.
Before leaving on Sunday, we made a pitstop in Málaga. The main reason was due to the fact that there is no direct train from and to Madrid. In fact, this was a blessing in disguise because we were able to catch up with one of our Spanish friends living in Málaga. He took us to see Monte Gibralfaro, a hill that overlooks the city. It is such a bittersweet feeling knowing that I won’t be returning to Andalucía for the rest of my stay in Spain.
Hasta Luego,
Lisa
Song of the week: “Safari” – J Balvin, Pharrell Williams, BIA, Sky