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This post might be fairly short, but it is one that I wish I would’ve been able to read before going on exchange.
My worst nightmare (an exaggeration, but go with it for the sake of dramatics) came true roughly two weeks ago. Getting sick while on exchange. “Why on Earth would something as stupid as THAT be your worst nightmare??” Some of you, I imagine, might be asking that question. Well, being sick away from home is never fun. Now imagine being sick, away from home, with no idea which medicine to take (because no, not every medication has the same names), as well as being around people who might not even understand what you are feeling so that they can try to help you (yet again, because language is definitely NOT universal). It was a VERY unpleasant experience, and truly the worst four days of my exchange so far.
I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling particularly exhausted and feeling as though my allergies (oh yes, I have been privileged enough to experience seasonal allergies half way across the world as well, thanks Dad) were acting up way more than usual. When I arrived home from school that day, I ate lunch and quickly went to go take a nap. I slept from 4 pm until 3:30 am (when I decided an alarm for the next morning was DEFINITELY necessary) before promptly falling back asleep until my alarm awoke me at 7:10 am. I spoke with my grandmother (in even worse Slovak than usual) about me staying home, before passing back out until around noon. I feel asleep again roughly an hour later. This pattern continued throughout Friday and Saturday as well. I finally felt a little better on Sunday, but was told by my YEO to stay home on Monday as well (since I was participating in a half marathon on the next weekend, and he wanted to ensure I was completely better).
I have truly never felt so alone in my life as during those four days. Even though my host family tried their best to understand my problems, the language barrier made it incredibly worse. All I wanted was to be home, in my own bed, with my own medicine, and my own parents. However, I think it was a good experience too. It taught me how much I needed to work on communication and it also (most importantly) taught me that I can, indeed, take care of myself when I am sick. Even if I am in a foreign country.
So, with my “worst nightmare” officially over and done with, I can say with certainty that I CAN make it through this exchange, even through those days that I just want to give up. As a certain someone told me recently, “I can ALWAYS get on a plane back home tomorrow, I just need to make it through today first.”