Food Poisoning & the Flu

Came down with the flu last Wednesday. Patiently sat through a dinner with the teachers/staff called a 회식 (hweshik). We ate at 전복 마을 (Abalone Village), a seaside restaurant located in Mokpo. If we had sat on the floor as we usually do, I think I would have died. I don't know how all these old people can sit on the floor for hours without collapsing from aching back or joint pain. I'm normally fidgeting and cringing by the end of the meal because the floor is so uncomfortable. Anyways, we sat in chairs this time and dined on various kinds of sea foods including abalone. I don't have any pictures of it, but it was sliced up nicely on a plate. The texture was chewy and crunchy, at times it was gritty like sand. It was gross, but other people seemed to enjoy it.

 

 

Happily filled with beer & soju, the teachers and staff wanted to go out for 노래방 (noraebang / karaoke) after dinner. I declined and got a ride home. I went once, and it was really awkward. They sing a bunch of Korean folk songs that sound sappy and dated. Not doing that again...

I didn't sleep well. My body ached, I had chills, and I had a splitting headache. I woke up feeling more sick, but went to school anyway. I had a slight 99^F fever, which the school nurse gave me medicine for. She kindly offered to take me to the hospital --in Korea, going to the hospital means getting a ~$5 miracle booster shot-- but I declined. 

Thursday night was worse. Another sleepless night and a bigger headache than before. There was no way that I was going to teach on Friday. I went to the nurses office, asked her to take me to the hospital, and laid down in the bed. We went to a hospital in 삼호 (Samho). No one spoke English. I tried to communicate my symptoms in broken Korean, while pointing at places on my body. They only took my temperature, which I already knew was 103-04^F. They didn't take my blood pressure. Didn't ask to look at my throat. Didn't listen to my breathing. Didn't give me a miracle booster shot. Just printed out a prescription, which we took to a nearby pharmacy. I took the bus home and stayed in bed for the next 3 days.

I put myself on this amazing thing called the bread and soup diet. I also took 3-4 different mystery pills 3x's per day for 3 days. After the first dose, my headache disappeared. It was a miracle.

 

 

I still have a cough and congestion, but it's manageable.

On Tuesday, I went out for dinner with Joanne and Nari at the Emart food court. Joanne and I ate 알밥 (rice topped with raw fish eggs). Never again. Both of us got food poisoning probably because the eggs or veggies weren't fresh. I woke up at 2:30AM feeling digestive discomfort. I experienced some temporary diarrhea and spewed the rest. Joanne wasn't so lucky with the vomiting. She had bowel issues for the next day or two. No bueno.

알밥 (albab)
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