Home!

Thank God I'm home! Seriously thank God because the doctors told me after the surgery I went through I was supposed to be in hospital for another couple of weeks but through the grace of God I'm OUT!!!! Had my first sleep at home and it felt good. I forgot how comfy my bed is. Oh and Flufferson likes it too.

My lamb that Eddie got me

Anyway, sorry if the last post freaked people out. I will be back updating about March soon-ish. Ish.

The sick saga

Being sick sucks. (warning gruesome photo ahead)

I started out last week with what I thought was period cramps. The next day I started yelling and screaming in excruciating pain. Meghan thought it was the contraceptive cramps and reminded me of how bad hers were. It made sense. So I told myself to suck it up and take it. But it seriously felt like dengue but concentrated in my abdomen. It was like stabbing and wrenching altogether in my body. Oh and also that my body decided to reject all my organs. That was fun.

The next day (30/03/2011) wasn’t much better…. I stayed in bed and  realized that I may in fact have appendicitis. So, I texted the trusty flatmate and she said “Hospital?” And thank the Lord we went because it turned out that my appendix actually burst. And there was pus around it and other organs. Good times. That was one of the most excruciating cab rides of my life AND I walked to it. I’m not one to brag but I was a soldier that day. They pretty much admitted me right away and put me in the plaster room at the time because there was no space but then they ended up putting me in an actual room. Doctor after doctor after nurse after nurse kept coming in and telling me “soon… soon… soon” and also the timeline. I was getting a bed first and THEN going into surgery… but thank GOD again that a theatre opened up and I was wheeled straight to surgery.

In the anesthetist’s room I was sooooo discombobulated. So many things were going on and I didn’t know where to place my concentration. It didn’t help that I couldn’t see so that was out. Eventually they got everything together and then they had me hold the mask on my face and the next thing I remember is being in recovery! No, “okay countdown” or “we’re going to start now…” just BAM! Gone.

Then I was wheeled up to a room of 6 people and I was the youngest by at least 20 years. Well, four out of us are 69 and above. One woman was around early 40s I’d say. But in any case, there was this one woman, who was excruciatingly annoying. Like she was all in everyone’s business all the time. Such a gossip. It was almost like God’s way of saying, “See? This is what happens when you’re a gossip.” Oh and I ended up looking like this:

Hospital fashion

The next day I felt pretty okay but then the horror began. It felt again as if my (now non existent) appendix blew. Every time I moved it was painful. I had been vomiting like crazy and so I had an NG tube put in… That was so not fun! They started sucking everything I had in my stomach out because nothing was going the other way. Good times. It took a few days but I got an x-ray and then a CT and it was confirmed that I had an obstruction. I had an open surgery and this time I made sure to take more notice of when I was going to sleep. In the anesthetic room, the doors broke so for a while it looked like we wouldn’t be able to get out. It was pretty funny actually. They had me hold the mask again and I tried to really take notice of what was going on but it was not happening. OUT super fast again. Haha.

(At the end of this paragraph is the promised gruesome photo... I just know some people like this stuff that's all... Haha) Since the surgery, I’ve been in a lot of pain again but honestly more than anything, it’s been more like I just want to get out of here. I was on a self-administering morphine drip but it kept making me sick. So then they put me on Demerol but that made me dizzy. So then I was on basically nothing much for a day and that was like the most excruciating day of my life. I was in so much pain. It felt like I was dying all over again. But I think that was an important turning point. Since then, I’ve been on oxynorm and oxycontin but I try to not use it very much because of the constipation factor. But I definitely feel SO much better! Even though I look like this: 

March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lion?

To try to fit a month in one blog post is seemingly ridiculous and impossible but I'm going to do it. And I will try to do it as concisely as possible.

The beginning of the month started of absolutely swell. It was the second to last week of class AND the week of gigs. The first of the month started off with one of my favourite bands, Yellowcard. They are back and with a FORCE. Their new songs are not only reminiscent of their old stuff but shows a maturity as well. I may have been the oldest there, save the parents of the children, by like 10 years but it was still a great show. Then the fifth, the flatmate and I cashed in on my Christmas/birthday gift to her... Ray LaMontagne! Although we were the only non-couple there, it was a great time. He is absolutely phenomenal live and we were both in tears at one point or another.

Then it was the last week of lectures for our programme, which went really well. It was nutrition and global health and while I knew a lot of the stuff they were talking about, it was cool to see/hear a lot of the articles that I've read materialised. But enough about the boring stuff...

Now March... and Ireland... what could possibly go on in March, in Ireland? Oh that's right ST. PATRICK'S DAY! Celebrating this day in Ireland was on my bucket list and I am so happy that I got to strike it off! My friend Esther and I went to watch the parade and froze our heinies off but it was a very interesting parade.

The theme of the parade was based on a short story called, "Brilliant!"  Hence, the weird craziness of a parade.

See? Super weird parade things

Pinkified version of the Fluffy from Harry Potter

Then the flatmate and I went and started the evening off around 5pm with a pint of Guinness! I told myself that I'd last until 10pm and I did! Just barely. Our friends were having a little too much fun with me being a lightweight so much so that I called it quits right around 10:02pm.

Ah but the day after St. Paddy's was a glorious one indeed! We started off with brunch at a fantastic little place called Elephant & Castle and then we went to St. Stephen's Green (not a pub here like in Mountain View, a beautiful city park) armed with Club Orange (poor man's version of Orangina) and champagne. The flatmate and a new friend insisted on the champagne mostly because they said that if they didn't start drinking again, they'd have the worst hangovers. I believed them and wasn't going to let a thing like a hangover ruin that beautiful day.

St. Stephen's Green

Cheers!

Yes we robbed that Care Bear from a chipper...

After a weekend of recuperation, it was time to start the assignments. And I tried, I really did. I got my ethics in and everything. I was getting geared up for my Kenya trip and was getting more and more stoked for it. God had a different plan. On the 29th of March, I started having severe abdomnial pains which I attributed to lady cramps. The next day did not get much better... and if you want to know the rest of the story read the "The Sick Saga" post.

Fin. (of March)

Andi's fantasmic whirlwind

How thankful am I for friends? Words can never come close to describing the magnitude of thankfulness in me (especially since I am so NOT good with words anyway.)

So Andi arrived a day later than we thought but no matter because class was canceled on Friday! HUZZAH! So we got started a bit earlier on our road trip up to Northern Ireland. I drove... yes on the wrong side (mahahahaha). Every time I went through a roundabout I cheered (on the inside after the first like 8 but still aloud for the first 8). Yes I'm that lame. We drove up to Belfast and put the car in the car park and just walked around in the rain. Andi got her Starbucks mugs and we just soaked in the UK/Northern Irish spirit! It was hilarious watching/hearing Andi get accustomed to the Northern accent. In fairness, she didn't really get to hear the Republic of Ireland accent all that much but it was still cute nonetheless.

But then the scariest night of driving in my LIFE occurred. So Andi and I wanted to make it up to the Causeway Hotel at the Giant's Causeway so we could wake up and just hike and then work our way back towards Dublin via the North Coast and cut back through the north part of the Republic of Ireland. The weather had a completely different idea. We were driving and it was fine. We stopped to take loads of photos which was fantastic but then as we got further north and it got darker, it started getting foggier. Now I have driven through fog before, the city, San Mateo, Tulle but this fog was incredible. In the strictest sense of the word. It was absolutely the thickest fog I have EVER seen in my life and ever care to see in my life to tell the truth. You know those little divider light thingies? Yeah you could only see ONE. Oh wait... but people WERE PASSING ME. Crazy, crazy northerners (haha). So of course we decided to stop at some random little town. BUT because it's sooooo off season, nothing was open. But thank God we found some random B&B which was actually pretty cute. (The BF was telling me that I should go have a cuppa with the "old pair"... there's no way I was about to make conversation with anyone).

In the morning we left early for the Giant's Causeway. I'll let the photos do the talking.

Sunday we slept in (kind of) and then made our way to Glendalough. Again so pretty! And only like an hour or so south of me. If I lived here it could be my Rancho San Antonio Park!

Andi being little and taking her millions of photos :)

The oldest graveyard I have ever been in

Beautiful Celtic cross

Happy Valentine's Day! (Or Red Day to my Korean folks)

Happy Valentine's Day! Even though I have a boyfriend (who I am very thankful for) I still do not enjoy this holiday. Expectations are so unnecessarily high for everything and it's just so dumb. BUT one of my best friends is here and we were each other's valentines (the boyfriend is okay with it... haha). I will take this time to say thank you to all of my friends and family (and that's actually kind of redundant because my friends are an extension of my family) for being a part of my life and I love you all. I may be thousands of miles away from you all (except Andi) but I always feel like you all are so encouraging with all your emails and snail mail. So from the land of the green I wish you the best and most loving Valentine's Day!

And to the boyfriend (who I don't think reads this): thank you for putting up with the crazy American-ness and being so sweet. I definitely got lucky finding you... Thanks for putting a smile on my face when I try so hard not to. Can't wait for Galway!

End of the first month of the new year!

Cello again faithful readers (of which there are about 5 methinks)! I come to you with more photos and an update about school and my second adventure to Cork!

First week of college was "key skills." Bunch of different “key skills” that we need for the future. What future? Mostly research based. Second week was Environmental Health. A lot do with hygiene, sanitation and water (HSW). Actually everything to do with those things. My classmates want to start a campaign called, “Shit Happens: Don’t let it hit the fan.” Now all we need is money and celebrity power to make sure that everyone in the world knows and understands how important HSW is! Who wants to help?!

Then Cork with Meghan and Frank for delicious sausages (I honestly think I need to bring some home they're so good) and  a beautiful walk in Gougan Barra! I freaking love Ireland. (Sorry for the not top quality photos... all were taken by iPhone.)

Why did I take a photo of this? BECAUSE IT'S A TRAIN TROLLEY LIKE IN HARRY POTTER

Seriously Cork? Get prettier.

Love the icicle formation :)

More cool ice formations

The loverly Gougan Barra

Holy Well #11 BUT NO MONEY IN IT!

The lake is ICE!

Berrrrrr-lin...

The title is the title because it was REALLY cold in Berlin (so I'm hoping that one of my best friends appreciates it... You know who you are :) haha)

Stayed in a crappy mc crap crap hostel (David's Cosy Little Hostel... Not cosy at all. Little.. kind of and more like David's Crappy Little Hostel. Man I'm mean) the first night but then moved to a WAY better one (which the name escapes me and I feel bad). Went to the TV Tower and treated myself to a great dinner at the rotating restaurant, which was my first rotating restaurant ever! Then I did a walking tour of Berlin where I saw pretty much everything.. Including Dunkin’ Donuts. 

Pretty no?

Duck something. Doesn't matter what it was. It was duck and delicious.

Really sobering Jewish Memorial. Completely open air and subject to your own interpretation. 

What's left of the Berlin Wall

 The next day I want to Sansoucci Palace, the summer palace of Frederick the Great. And yes, it was great. (Bahaha I’m so lame). Everything was so elaborate and ornate!

Ceiling of just one of the rooms!

The guy played the flute. King of Prussia and he chooses to play the flute.

I have dreams of getting married in this thing.

Crazy beautiful chandelier. 

 On my way back to the hostel I stopped by the Olympic Stadium. 

And so ends my first Germany adventure!