Love and Theraflu

I'm siiiiiiiiiiiick.

It's miserable business this getting sick in a foreign country. I wouldn't recommend it. Particularly not if you already don't handle being sick like this girl. But I'm a pro at having a sinus infection. First, I call my mom and I wine and complain and get real sad when she tells me that no, she cannot make the seven-hour trip to my house to take care of me. Then, I muster all the courage I possibly can and I go to the grocery stores where I pick up the essential "get-well" items - tissues, orange juice, theraflu, mucinex, and cookie dough. Nothing beats a sinus infection like warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies. It's my own secret home remedy  that really does work wonders. Then I wallow in my bed, throwing dirty tissues on the floor and eating cookies straight out of the oven. I'm usually 100% in a day or two. 

So, despite the fact that Hubs and I have been taking vitamin C every day since getting here, have been getting a full amount of sleep and have been eating very healthy, I was hit pretty hard by this sinus infection thing. Not only did I get sick during the one week that Hubs and I have been apart in four months, but I am completely lost in a foreign country where I don't speak the language. Not a good time to have a fuzzy, cold head. 

Luckily for me, a new friend of mine swooped down and saved the day! Not only did she offer to take me to the pharmacy, but she later called when she had errands to run in my area and forced me out of bed and into the pharmacy with her. How did she know that I just needed a good shove to get out the door? I am eternally grateful, and thanks to her, I was set up with some Russian theraflu and tissues. 

My mom's first question was, of course, "can you go to the doctor?" Not, "how are you feeling" or "I'm so sorry, I'll be right there"... No, she has her own routine when I get sick too and nothing has changed about that. We do have medical coverage here in Russia, but I have no idea how it works. Or, I do know how it works, but not how it works for us. Another friend of mine tried to visit a doctor at the European Clinic and was charged close to $300 when she had been told that it would be covered under insurance. And she's Canadian, so she was real not happy. Turns out, she's only covered at the American Clinic, but she still had to pay for her $300+ visit. I wasn't so sick that I wanted that on our bank statement, so we're on standby for which clinic is covered by our insurance. 

I've been thinking about why I got sick because at first, I was really at a loss. We did everything right! We worked so hard to avoid this and I can't even get through the first month and it hits?! There has to be a reason, and here is my comprehensive list of possibilities...'

1. The plane. Twelve hours in a cesspool of germs circulating and re-circulating in one enclosed space. Reference back to those dirty hockey kids and grandma in my first blog and you'll see why this is a viable option.

2. Timing. All events leading up to moving to Moscow were pretty stressful, but swept under the rug for the most part. Straight from the time Hubs told me where he was being transferred to, the engagement, wedding, second wedding, garage sale, car selling, moving, downsizing, passport/visa experience. So, basically, this is my post-Bonnaroo camping sinus infection that my stress wouldn't let me have.

3. No chocolate chip cookies. Laugh if you want, but I swear on my life that this is the world's greatest sickness remedy. And there is no place in Moscow that sells chocolate chips, much less the Pilsbury pre-packaged cookie dough. 

4. Weather. It's cold. It's hot. It's cold. I grew up in Texas and I understand days that jump 30 degrees in one day, but this place can be ridiculous in the spring. I have no idea what the weather is and where its going. And I had to download three different weather apps for my iPad and average the weather forecast in each of them. And its still usually wrong. 

5. Humidity. God bless Texas. We complain about it, but it does wonders for keeping my sinuses in check. And being inside with the heater on could be a possible culprit in my sickness. I don't think we turned the heater on once this winter in Corpus Christi...

6. KGB. No explanation necessary.

7. Mulligans Pub. As dirty as that place is, more booze gets thrown around there than any other place I know, therefore making it squeaky clean and germ free. Also, my good friends and their affection for Barenjager may have been keeping my throat/sinus issues in check.

8. Spice. We're from South Texas and we like spicy. And I really think that has kept our sinuses healthy with a regular cleaning. We don't have that luxury anymore. We have dill. And don't get me wrong, I love dill. It's just not clearing out my sinuses very well.

I've thought of a lot more, but these are the serious ones. I'm over the worst right now, but still blowing my nose constantly (and also very loud, even in public) and coughing. Blah. Hopefully the rest will blow over soon or I'll find a pharmacy that sells antibiotics to anyone without a prescription. (I've heard they're here somewhere...) Green tea and frequent napping will have to do for now. 

Cheers to home remedies that take care of the things that make us sick.