chicken skin

MJ: Chicken skin  = goose bumps. The direct translation of the goosebumps sensation in Japanese.

You know those people that are always sick with something, with some cold? That's not me. But since I've been working here, I seem to always be catching some cold! Literally at least one per month. And I'm not sure if it is the different germs in Japan, or the fact that at least one of my kids is always snotty!

I'm also not one really for cough and cold medicines either - knowing they don't actually FIX your cold, just hide the symptoms a little bit my preferred method for colds is buying a large box of tissues, and a few packets of Butter Menthols.

I don't really get that option here.

One, working with kids it isn't a good idea to be spluttering and snotting over them (I call it payback!), and two, Japanese people are huge on medicines. So each month I find myself on a regime of cough and flu tablets, natural propolis spray and 'hana ugai'. The best way I can describe that is gargling for your nose. You pour what I think is saline up your nostrils, and wait for all the gross stuff to come out your mouth. ewwwwwwww

This time around I'm adding in gargling medicine that looks like betadine for a sore throat. WIth Christmas in Tokyo, and New Year's Eve in Miyako-jima I'm not taking any chances.

And it is Nico I feel sorry for - I give her all of my colds, and she gets much sicker than I do each time.