Homesickness and Sickness

This past Sunday, I went to church soaking wet.  This sounds like a senseless and silly thing to do.  And I definitely agree that it is both of those things.  However, the rain on Sunday was awful, and I had to walk to campus and then wait to catch the bus to church in the rain.  My trousers (can’t use the word pants because it’s the British equivalent of underwear – awkward) were absolutely waterlogged.  After the service, I went to the bathroom and literally stood under the hand dyer in an attempt to warm up!  Not surprisingly, I now have a really bad head cold. :'(

After church, a group of us from the CU went out to Whetherspoons, a popular chain pub in the UK.  The meal was free of charge for all freshers – international students included.  Score.  I ordered a chicken roast, not knowing that I basically ordered half of a chicken with vegetables, potatoes, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding.  Holy cow - that was a lot of food.  I don’t know how I managed to finish it off. 

I know I’m a little late to the party on this one, but YORKSHIRE PUDDING CHANGED MY LIFE.  If you think I’m overreacting, come to England and try it for yourself.  Then you’ll see. Then you’ll understand what I’m going through. 

And you probably thought it was real pudding...

After enjoying some good food and great company, I headed home to the library to write an essay.  It wasn’t until Tuesday that I began to feel really sick.  And that brings me to today.  I hate to have a pity party on this blog, but I am feeling reeeeaaallly crappy.  It’s just a head cold and I should be grateful that I’m not puking or something worse…. But I still feel awful and it’s making me miss home.  There’s just something about being sick thousands of miles away from home that pulls at your heartstrings.  Another fact that is adding to my misery is our building’s lack of toilet paper.  I know I need to just break down and buy some, yet I can’t bring myself to purchase something that is supposed to be supplied to us weekly.  Occasionally, I take toilet paper from the bathrooms at school… I know – I’m cheap. 

How I deal with homesickness:

-play piano

-read

-pray

-laugh at something, anything

-write

-sleep...?

-go for a walk or a run

-drink a caffeinated beverage (this doesn't actually help, but it's yummy)

So with all this sickness going on, my homesickness has doubled.  Not that I was really homesick to begin with.  I truly miss my family and friends, but being here is such an incredible opportunity that I thank God for every day.  I don’t want to spend all of my time moping about how I wish I were home.  At the same time, being sick (even just a minor head cold) can be really depressing, especially when you’re far from home.  Like, you know what I could really use right now?  My mom.  And her minestrone soup.  But mostly just my mom!  She does this really cool thing that only moms can do – she takes care of me when I’m sick! :D  And for some reason, I really miss that right now.  Maybe it’s childish of me, but I just want to be all tucked in my bed at home, with real blankets that actually provide warmth, and some hot soup and my dog and someone to laugh at stupid Pirates of the Caribbean references with me.  The comforts of home.  That’s all I ask for.  Just thinking about coming home for Christmas gets me all giddy inside! Woohooooooo, I cannot wait. 

My dog is addicted to snap chat... *sigh*

Now that I have sufficiently depressed myself, I will talk of some exciting and happy things.  Yesterday afternoon, I went to a friend’s apartment to hang out.  We watched Mulan and ate dinner together.  It was so nice to relax and sing our hearts out… “What do we want? A GIRL WORTH FIGHTING FOR!” Ahh, good times.

In other news, I will be in PARIS in two weeks!!!  This is going to be swell.  Expect some lovely pictures to come!

Here's a picture of a cool door :]

Until next time,

– K