Dos Semanas y Gastrointrítis

I can’t believe I’ve been here two weeks! Two weeks is longer than any vacation I’ve ever taken…which means this is real. I’m LIVING here. I’m doing life here. In a foreign country. Which unfortunately also means that I’ve had enough time to get sick. María, who is being so sweet and wonderful in trying to care of me, taught me a new word for kids who want their moms when they’re sad or sick. If only I could remember...

Here's what happened:

I had a sore throat at the beginning of this week/end of last week. That went away and I started not being able to sleep at night. I was really exhausted all this week to the point where I didn't have enough energy to go out with my friends. Friday and Saturday I'm pretty sure I had a fever...and maybe Sunday too. Sunday and Monday my stomach was hurting really badly. After trying to stomach calamari at dinner I started crying and María freaked out and asked me if I needed to go the hospital (clearly what I been trying to avoid by pretending I was fine). Bailey called our professor, she called the school, and the school sent a couple doctors to the house to see what the deal was. I was expecting some sort of old man with a wiry mustache and white lab coat to come in with a leather briefcase. Or maybe a cowboy doctor who would give me a shot of whiskey and cut off my leg by lamplight. But these guys were intense. They ran in with their giant vests and duffel bags and got to work. So after lots of gabbering in Spanish, concerns about me being pregnant (really???), and me describing things in Spanish I never thought I would have to, I was diagnosed with "gastrointrítis" and told to drink massive amounts of this gatorade-like stuff with salt.

Needless to say, it was one of the most entertaining and strange experiences of my life. I came to Spain with very few expectations but this...this was very unexpected.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been seeing:

A beautiful "little" church in the city

These are street markers for what are called "peregrinos." Peregrinos are people who take the "Camino de Santiago" which is a a walk to a Cathedral in the northwestern part of Spain that houses the tomb of "Santiago Compostella"or St. James (aka James the disciple of Jesus). Many people used to take the walk for religious purposes but now it's more of a cool journey people take to see the country and meet people from all over the world. When the peregrinos reach the cathedral they get a shell to put on their packs, signifying that they have completed the journey...hence the shell on the street marker.

Catedral de Santander

Catedral de Santander