So, I'm sick. I touched on it briefly last week but was still hoping I would be feeling well enough to go on a trip to Vienne or some other destination by the weekend, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. As it turns out, I had bronchitis. I still have it, actually. So for the last week I haven't even left the house, except to go to the doctor and the pharmacy. I guess that's what there is to talk about, then.
Food
I didn't get a chance to visit any restaurants, so there won't be any pictures of trendy meals with swirls of an unknown colorful sauce around the plate, but I've got some badly lit pictures of home cooked meals, so that'll have to do. Thanks for my host family for keeping me alive during this time.
Also included in the Home Deluxe Super Ultra Meal Plan for One was a tuna salad. No, not a tuna salad, a tuna salad.
I don't know if there's a name for this dish, but it's an excellent combination of ingredients starring tuna and many vegetables. In the salad was a combination of olives, tomatoes, onions, rice, corn, and egg, served with a side of potato chips. This seems like the perfect type of meal to clean out a fridge. You can simply add vegetables and other items at random out of your pantry and it'll only get better. Definitely recommended!
Sightseeing
Yeah, this section is going to be completely barren. At the very least, you could simply imagine beautiful old architecture housing some of the world's best art, or a bridge over a murky river, or maybe a small church in a provincial town somewhere. Now stop imagining, and realize that you're actually lying in your bed. That's the authentic being sick in France experience.
Spending
I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention French healthcare costs. Given that my spending this week was almost entirely for medical reasons, it's a good opportunity to at least touch on their healthcare. Here's the breakdown:
- 45€ for a consult with a clinic doctor on Saturday (because the regular family doctor does not work Saturdays)
- 16.77€ for medication (antibiotics and cough syrup) at the pharmacy
That makes for a total of 61.77€, with unfortunately no chocolate-flavored medications to deduct. Thankfully, the above items should be reimbursed by insurance, so my spending this week will be a whopping 0€ (for the U.S. folk here, that's $0).
I did end up paying with my phone at the pharmacy (a different one this time), but I didn't bother trying at the clinic, especially given it didn't work at the other doctor. After paying (if you don't have insurance that they can bill directly), you get a feuille de soins, an itemized receipt you can submit to your insurance for reimbursement.
The only other purchase I made is a bittersweet one: train tickets to my departing airport in Frankfurt. Since I'll be leaving in a little over a month, I'm already getting everything ready so that the process of going home is easier. For 54€, I purchased a one-way ticket out of Lyon on the high-speed TGV, the last high-speed train I'll experience for a while. The trip should take approximately 6 hours.
Conclusion
It seems like only yesterday that I was at the study abroad orientation, and now the program is halfway over. I've already improved massively at French, had many chances to explore by myself, and taken great leaps with my friends to places like Paris for fun. But I'm more of a "study abroad program half full" person than a "study abroad program half empty" person, and sickness be damned, I plan to enjoy the rest of my time here. See you next week, hopefully with something a little more interesting.
