Saturday, November 6, 2010

School in Sumgayit brings on a nasty cold

It was cold and rainy last week and I started 2 weeks of practicum, i.e. student teaching and lots of contact with  children. I began getting a cold Friday (Oct. 29) and I'm still coughing and blowing my nose. The sinus decongestants and lozenges just aren't working. (I'm not one for taking OTC, but thought about Tylenol Cold something - daytime, night-time, whatever, I could use some.) 

I called the PC doctor so yesterday he arranged to have a car pick me up and take me to Baku 45 minutes away for a physical exam. My complaint is that it has become painful for me to cough - lower left side hurts. Yes, they sent a car to pick me up and drive me to Baku to see Dr. Fuad. He was very thorough. Health and safety of PCTrainees is utmost.

My lungs are clear and it seems I just coughed too hard and that is why my left side is now tender. He gave me some Mucinex, but thinks it really will be several days before it starts to taper off.  I also got vitamin/mineral supplement since recent meals have been mostly potatoes and rice and bread.

IMHO, I really need some rest. We start at 8 in the morning for classes, bring a lunch from home, have 2 hours language class, then go home to study and prepare lesson plans for the next day. It is a grind and I'm not the only one to think so. So I skipped Thursday's afternoon language session and went home and slept. That's when I started feeling better.

My host mom really looks after me and actually counts the layers of clothes I'm wearing before I leave the house. She also kisses my forehead to see if I have a fever! Glad there is always tea on, but the soups can be oily. The host dad delivered a "petch" which is a small natural gas heater and that seems to take the chill out of the house.

I will add that teaching is quite the learning experience. The classes are 45 minutes long and I was assigned to prepare and co-teach 12 - 7th and 8th grade English classes for the past 2 weeks. There are never more than 12 students in a class. One PC teaching objective is to get children to think their own thoughts even if it's just saying their favorite color. 

No photos to add this week. Too bleary-eyed to bother. But I'm working on a blog about the business of weddings in Azerbaijan! Next week - Inshallah!

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