Flu or Cold?

The past week have been tough. My body was in pretty bad shape. Thank God my student exams were over. Just had a few performances but those were more routine so it didn't cause me a hectic schedule.

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Ok. So back to this body. I've been known to have a weak immune system. I sleep with my thick comforter even if the air con isn't turned on. If I don't get enough sleep, I wake up with a terrible sinus. No idea how the science is behind all that but somehow I got accustomed to that. Now that I'm seriously aging, and with a son that needs to be at school by half-past 7, I seriously needed to discipline myself and get to bed by midnight.

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That was exactly what didn't happen last Monday night, and I woke up with the worst running nose (I guess I got the flu as I didn't have a high fever) that I've ever had this year. After 3 weeks of never showing up late for school, my son gladly skipped school. My parents happened to drop by the very next day for a few days as an extended layover before proceeding to their own agendas.

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Now a bit about myself. I don't really like doctors. Sorry to the doctors out there, and my doctor friends as well, I'm just bad at swallowing pills or drinking bitter tasting liquid (perhaps I've got a small, tiny throat). Don't worry, I dislike dentists even more! Actually, I'm just scared. Hahaha! So usually when I get sick, I pray and hope and believe that the body will heal itself. Lots of water and lots of sleep and the body will recuperate, right?

Now with my loving mom in town. She did not hesitate to show me some good TLC (tender loving care). Amongst those were 2 that I grew up with but stopped practicing when I left home, more than 10 years ago.

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First one was Vicks. Growing up, my mom would often rub it on my back and it gives a very warm sensation. It worked very well this time as well because I often felt cold, even when I'm in my comforter. Oh, and another thing my mom made me do to keep myself warm when I was young, was to wear singlets under our clothes. I thought it was really uncool as I only saw uncles wear singlets, those pagoda type. Of course, I know my mom meant well. :)

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The other was ginger soup. My mom loves it. I still remember drinking it with egg when I was young. She preaches about ginger with her lifestyle, especially when it comes to confinement and female. I tried to Google and searched for a photo of 'ginger soup', the results were nothing like what my mom prepared for me. Her recipe was more of the essence of ginger and onion. The first day, it was sweet and all. Then my mom gradually added the ginger, and on the last day she took out much of the onion ingredient. My body became so 'heaty' that I had a nosebleed (I shall save the 'heaty' joke/story for another day).

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My sister studied medicine and is practicing medicine in the United States. I'm sure a lot of traditional medicine that Chinese practices contradict Western medicine. I do find a lot of traditional medicine intriguing though; such as acupuncture, cupping, 鐵打/跌打 (I tried finding the English translation, it yielded very funny results such as 'iron hit' or 'beat doctor') and the usage of herbs and natural remedies. Now it'll be interesting to see if I can perhaps, at the very least, pass down Vicks and ginger soup to my own children. ;)