My Little Christmas Story

The day before Christmas Eve I woke up with a sore throat (not unlike many of my mornings here in Cuenca, Ecuador) but I thought it was nothing and went off to work. After a full day of working at orphanages I sat shivering at a restaurant where we were having a farewell party for some of my fellow volunteers. It became very apparent that I was getting sick again. After a day and a half of raging fever, my throat being swollen to the size of Rhode Island, and a couple of shots in the bee-hind (along with some pretty powerful antibiotics) I'm recovering from my bout with strep throat. What have I learned from this experience? Well, still trying to nail that one down . . . but here's what I've got so far.

1- I don't like being away from my family over the holidays. Yeah, yeah, I know. I was well aware that I'd be gone for the holidays when I signed up to come down here. But it was harder than I thought it would be. I got 3 phone calls from my fam over Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and with each phone call I kept thinking about what I'd be doing if I was home . . . passing out the gifts to everyone and hoarding mine so I can save them till last . . . watching my niece (the cutest little thing on the planet) and just chilling with the fam. I have a huge family (7 siblings, 17 nieces and nephews) so my favorite part of the holidays is just hanging out with them.

2-It still feels like Christmas, even if you happen to be thousands of miles away from home, and even if you come down with an inflammatory throat disease. There was still that somewhat magical, excited feeling that I got.

3-It sucks to have strep throat, no matter the country or the day of the year. This past case of strep throat was probably the sickest I've ever been. Granted, I don't get sick very often, but for me it was like I was on my deathbed. Moral here, avoid strep throat like it's the bubonic plague.

So, those are the lessons learned for now. I'll let you know if I come up with anything else, but as we all know, I'm a pretty slow learner. Keep checking back for updates from sunny Ecuador, and for the witty prose of my awesomest twin sister.