This week was an interesting one! It consisted of a fever, turning in my first assignments, seeing the most incredible view of Florence, and even a trip to the Italian hospital to take care of my poor roommate. Speaking of roommates, we definitely all learned the challenge of being abroad while sick as all of us struggled through colds and coughs while still having to attend our classes. With that said, I'm happy to report we survived and I picked up a number of thoughts on surviving your sick days while abroad!
For one thing, research or ask your school about the best English speaking doctors in your city before it's necessary! We were lucky enough to have this list available to us through the SACI handbook - we even made a house call and they were incredibly kind. Without this list things would have been much more difficult!
Research how much doctors are going to cost you while abroad. Florence is wonderful enough that your visit to the hospital is either going to be free or around 100 - 200 dollars! This makes the choice between 'risking it' and getting help incredibly easy.
Learn how to make soup. This may sound like a strange tip, but there aren't easy to grab Campbell's soup and crackers here in Italy! It was so nice to grab some broth with my roommates and make a cozy chicken vegetable soup dinner. Without their help I would have been stuck with my hodge-podge Italian meals or salads and pasta.
Go to your local pharmacy (or ask a friend to) and ask about your symptoms - they can be surprisingly helpful!
Find out your school's attendance policy. Unfortunately for me, you cannot miss class unless you have a doctor's note - which meant come Wednesday I was in my High Renaissance course sniffling and achy!
If you're living with roommates try and sanitize however possible. To some extent, getting sick while you're abroad is inevitable. That doesn't mean, however, that everyone around you has to get sick as well. Be sensitive to that!
With all of that said, I am finally feeling better and ready for my classes on Monday! We were lucky that my roommates trip to the Hospital went smoothly and she's 100% okay in the end, but it involved a lot of waiting and attempting to explain things in Italian. I but I'm glad I got over this hump of stress and sickness! Luckily there were also some really lovely moments this weekend - such as good feedback on assignments and a wonderful trip to the Palazzo Michelangelo. This is an incredibly gorgeous area with the most incredible view of Florence imaginable. On Friday, my friends and I all headed up at sunset with a bunch of picnic food. This was such a lovely experience and to be able to see Florence like this - especially before it got cold out - was so wonderful!