Sick in Japan

So after a night of this, the universe decided I had to pay for it, so I got deathly, painfully sick. OK, not the worst cold I ever had, but the fact that it's So Frickin' Cold here made it that much more intense.

After spending one weekend and two sick days in bed, using up my precious horde of smuggled NyQuil and DayQuil, I figure I've been gone from work too long and should buck up and go back, Japanese bop-'til-you-drop work ethic and all that. Plus, 4 days is enough to recover from a mere cold, right?

So I go to elementary school on Wednesday despite being miserable since I know that these kids only get me one day a week. By this time, I don't feel like crap so much, except for the runny nose and uncontrollable cough.

I go in to work on Thursday with an even worse cough and runny nose. (I found out later that the Ny/DayQuil I so carefully wrapped in underwear in my luggage and snuck into the country no longer even has pseudoephedrine, which is why it wasn't working.) This is where the absolute kindness of my coworkers comes in. Instead of ignoring it and letting me trudge on for the betterment of the team, they send me home. Not only that, they find me a doctor near my apartment, call the clinic to let them know I'm coming, and bust out a map to show me where it is. And they tell me to stay home until I'm all better.

Watch for Part 2: The Doctor's