Haven't posted in a while - I actually managed to get pretty sick this week. I had a fever of over 102, a headache for 2 days, and wasn't able to eat solid food for almost 2 days because my stomach hated me. Not fun. I went to the student health services, where they took my temperature, blanched, and gave me one of those masks (yes I see people wearing them everywhere) and a bottle of water. The doctor didn't speak any English, I was with a friend who speaks quite good Japanese, although she was struggling with the medical terms. He was not very helpful... Said the stomach was probably due to allergies and the postnasal drip irritating it, but didn't really say anything about the fever and headache. Which was what I was more concerned with, since I have never had a fever that high... He prescribed me a bunch of medications, which at least got the fever down, thank goodness. My stomach is still an issue, although I'm able to eat - just not very happy afterwards.

Being sick in a far-away country is no fun.

Oh, this is fun. I just came across a mention of a Japanese giant hornet. It's the size of your thumb and has flesh-melting poison that can kill you if the wound goes untreated. About 40 people die from it each year. .... WHAT. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1025_021025_GiantHornets.html

*does a frantic flaily dance* Okay, I tend to overreact to wasps, bees, and the like in general. This is just... so not cool. At all. ... And of course it's Japan. In mountain villages, they are often eaten deep fried or as a kind of "hornet sashimi."

Australia and its giant spiders, now Japan and its giant hornets.