Sick day :(

Despite the title, I do have wonderful stories about this weekend to tell, but first I want to tell about my horrible day today.  Last night, we went with a friend to a restaurant called Pizza Pino thinking that it would be a (what else?) pizza restaurant.  However, there were only two pizzas on the entire menu.  I wanted to try Japanese pizza (it’s VERY different), so I ordered one.  What I wasn’t expecting to see on my pizza was shrimp, which is a fairly common topping here.  I didn’t even think to ask for no shrimp!  Luckily, the shrimp was only on three pieces, so I just didn’t eat those pieces.  I didn’t even touch them.  Whenever we got home, I carried on a normal night and went to bed.  I remember waking up sometime last night and thinking that my stomach was a little upset.  It wasn’t to the point of being sick but more along the lines of being uncomfortable. 

When I woke up this morning, I had……….problems.  I felt like crap, and I had three…….problems even before I left the house.  I could have called in and taken a sick day, but today was the day that I was giving my Halloween lessons for the 3rd graders, so my participation in class was crucial.  I drove to work, and when I got to work, I had another….problem.  I had one free period before class, and one of my English teachers came over to me and asked if I was okay.  I told her that my stomach hurt.  The school nurse was handing out green peppers from the vice principal’s garden, and she, too, asked if I was okay.  I told her the same thing, and she said I looked very pale.  I went back to the bathroom two more times before class began, and one of those times I met the school nurse on the way out.  She gave me a very concerned look and gestured throwing up.  I told her that no I hadn’t but didn’t go into details about my sickness. 

I went to the first class and suffered through.  There are ten minute breaks between classes, and it was back to the bathroom.  I think my English teacher was looking for me, and I ran into my other English teacher on the way out of the bathroom.  She said it was time for class, so I grabbed my book and went.  She asked me if I had thrown up, and I said, “No.  I …….um……..er……..um……” to which she responded, “I see.  I think I understand.”  Awkward.    Not even halfway through the class period, my English teacher left the classroom.  The students were doing group work, so they probably didn’t even notice, but I did.  He was only gone a few minutes, and when he returned, he walked me down to the nurse’s room.  They told me I could rest there.  For the remainder of the class period, I laid down on a bed.  Everyone kept asking if I needed to go to the hospital.  (They don’t have doctors’ offices here.  Everyone goes to the hospital regardless of how large or small your condition is.)  I said no.  I think they thought that I was afraid to go due to the cost.  They tried to reassure me that going to the doctor in Japan was very cheap and that I could get some medicine.  I wasn’t sure how to explain that I was pretty sure I ate shrimp and that’s what was causing this.  I knew what my condition was, and the only medicine for me was time and a toilet.    They told me to just go home and rest, so by noon, I was back at home.

I’m feeling MUCH better now.  I think whatever it was has passed, thank God!  I felt really back about leaving my English teacher high and dry this afternoon with the Halloween lesson.  I was really excited about it!  I’m not sure if I’ll get to do it sometime later or not at all now.