Oh Happy Day! February 16, 2009

I am finally healthy again!  My prayers have been answered! No more cough, headaches, flu, cold, sinusitis, aches, or pains. They are all gone! So now what? I want more than anything to stay healthy. I dress appropriately for cold weather (including long-johns, cap, and scarf), keep my feet warm at home (since according to the Turks this is the cause of everything from a stomach ache to infertility), get enough sleep, eat healthy (lots of veggies and fruit), and have good hygiene. I do not exercise, but I am not overweight by any definition (5′4″ and 125 lbs). Other than the fact that “S” happens, I really should not get sick. If anyone out there in ‘cyber-land’  has any tips I would love to hear them. Please, do comment ….

In other news (better late than never), I had a wonderful time with my mom when she visited. I was still ill, and she was coming down with the same, but we had fun relaxing and doing little things around the city. We visited the Koç Museum of Transportation, bought head scarves in Eyüp, walked down Istiklal Caddesi, visited our favorite little painter in Ortaköy, and shopped for yarn at the Kurkcu Han. The rest of the time was spent in my neighborhood eating fabulous food, reading, and relaxing. Here are few pics from the trip (with my new camera!)…

Yeni Camii/New Mosque

The square in front of the mosque

Sun shining through…

Ortaköy Mosque

Me and my mom :)

Bedridden January 19, 2009

Being a kindergarten teacher is tough. Teaching kindergarten children whose first language is not English is more tough. The language barrier, since I am not allowed to speak Turkish with them, is a pain but the fact that they are ALWAYS ill makes things difficult too. On Friday I was giving one of the sicker children an assessment, to see how many shapes and colors he knows in English. Without any build-up or warning he sneezed all over my face. I went to wash my face immediately but the damage had already been done.

I woke up on Saturday with some minor aches and pains, took a pain killer and was fine for about six hours. Then it hit me like a load of bricks! Every joint in my body ached, my skin was super sensitive, my cough was worse, I had a constant but low fever alternating with chills, nausea, killer headache, dehydration, and the list could go on. Basically everything that could go wrong did. Last night my fever finally broke and I could eat some food. Murat has been taking wonderful care of me, making me food, taking me to the doctor, and staying the night on my couch in case I need anything. I could not ask for a better boyfriend!

What makes this even worse is that it is our last week of school before the semester break. I am supposed to be doing assessments on all my kids and doing report cards. The doctor said I should not go to school all week because I am very contagious. I said this is not possible so he said at least three days. Now I have to break the news to my co-teachers and principal. They will not be happy at all, but hopefully they will be understanding.

My poor deviated septum :( December 1, 2008

I have heard of deviated septum’s before but I never though I would have one. On Saturday morning I woke up with intense jaw pain, but only on the right side. I thought I may have slept funny and it would go away. It did not but the Kızılay (Red Crescent) is closed on Sundays. When I made it there this morning, my friendly doctor looked in my ears and said they were OK. Then looked down my throat (which was also OK). And finally used  these crazy nostril openers to look up my nose. There he say a problem and asked me some questions. Do I have prolonged sinus infections?- YES!, do I wake up with a dry mouth?- usually, do I wake up at night suddenly?- sometimes, and do I wake up with a stuffy nose frequently when I am not ill?- yes! He said I have a deviated septum and require minor surgery to fix it now before it gets worse (in 5 years or so). Yikes! I have not really had surgery before (other than wisdom teeth and a bone spur on my foot). I asked what this had to do my jaw pain. He said that the deviated septum was causing stress to my body and making me clench my jaw. It makes sense that this would be a cause of stress that I was not aware of since I am really not stressed in my day to day life. Any who, I will hopefully get a second opinion this week and give you all an update as soon as I know the final verdict. Most likely my school will pay for it which is great and a relief. No worries though . I have been given a prescription of no gum, soft foods and soup, and a light pain pill for a couple weeks. Other than that, all is well and I will write again when I have some good news

A deviated septum, but not MY deviated septum