Sick in Germany

On Thursday morning I woke up. "Oh no" I thought. My throat was sore. That past week of staying up late for homework, staying up late traveling in France, and stress was catching up to me. I proceeded to rush through my day arriving at home at around 9 pm. The next day I woke up and knew I was sick. Not just a cold but sick. My body was aching, my eyes were feeling warm, but my forehead wasn’t hot so I proceeded to go to class until 1 pm when I rushed home to crash and sleep. It was the weekend of the Bonn Marathon and Charity Day but I felt awful. I had pulled out of the marathon that morning after speaking to my friends and had a feeling I would not make the charity day. I arrived home, kicked off my shoes, and headed straight upstairs to my bed. I was ready for some sleep. The rest of the afternoon, my trash can was slowly filling with tissues and I was slipping in and out of a light sleep. At around 6 o'clock, my phone dinged. It was my host mom asking if I wanted soup brought up to my room. I responded enthusiastically with all the proper emojis before falling back onto my pillows. The soup was absolutely delicious! My host mom is awesome! The next day (Saturday) I came downstairs at around 9 to find my host brother and host dad in the living room. I was surprised (we are usually all on our way to church by then). Turns out my host mom was the only one to escape the sickness. I laughed at the realization and ate my breakfast then headed back upstairs for more rest. After a day of relaxation, my body felt a lot better by the next morning though the congestion was still quite bad and I went through all of my tissues.

Though I felt bad for missing two of our major events (both of which I had signed up for), I am glad I decided to rest. Or should I more accurately say, my body forced me to rest. So often in life we go so fast that we neglect our mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual health. Yet, we can not do well in academics, relationships, or life in general if we constantly stay at this crazy pace. Our bodies will force us to rest. So, to all my future study abroad students, have fun, do as much as you can, but don't forget to take care of yourself!