One thing I was not prepared for living in Chile is getting sick more frequently and for longer periods of time. When I moved here, suddenly my immune system was exposed to a totally foreign set of bugs. Plus, I’m living in a densely populated city and every acquaintance greets me with kisses, even when they are sick. In general, there isn’t the same obsession with sanitation. For all the bad things the US has inherited from its puritanical roots, “cleanliness is godliness” is not the worst.
This year I had 30+ straight days of terrible diarrhea and I lost 15 pounds, which antibiotics eventually cleared up. And for most of my months here, I’ve been sick at least 5 days out of 30, usually with colds, but most recently with flu-like symptoms. I get more sleep compared to when I was simultaneously teaching, researching, and taking classes in the US and my stress is generally lower. Yet, here I am, congested and nauseous.
Carlos has also been sick with greater intensity and more frequently this year, which makes me think that it’s not just the fault of my untrained immune system (unless I’m sort of an incubator and subsequently contaminate him, like a kindergartener). Perhaps his became untrained in those cushy years abroad. Or we’ve just been unlucky this year.
We’ve both lost weight, but I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily healthier. In general, our energy levels are lower in a way too drastic to attribute to being just another year older. Either way, we’ve been more susceptible to illness and it has made for a lot of The West Wing episodes on the couch, ibuprofen, and missing parties. Ugh.
Pelo de choclo 