Job Discussion Forums

[contented]

I've come down with a chest cold and this is the third time this fall/winter I have been sick. Last school year, I was plagued with some affliction almost every month of the school year. Flu, colds, bronchitis, conjuctivitis, tonsilitis and so on. Now, I've always been a healthy person, but at my latest school I seem to come down with everything. I think it is school specific because at all the schools I have ever worked at I have never been sick so many times in a row (btw, I'm perfectly fine in the summertime). The school is in the countryside and one teacher says the farmers don't use pesticides so that's the reason for the high fly population. They buzz around in the offices and classrooms landing on everything and everyone. I wipe down my table and my laptop, but despite my efforts to keep my area clean and decrease the population of flies in the office with my fly swatter; they still are there. Also, so many of the kids; both primary and middle schoolers, don't wash their hands after using the toilets. I think it's so disgusting! I'm always telling the kids to wash their hands and the reasons why. Health and hygiene aren't high on the list here. Did I mention they only clean the foreign language office once a week or every two weeks?

So, what is your health like abroad? Do you find you come down with more things than you did back home? Or, has your health improved while living abroad? Did you find yourself the picture of health in one country and then move to another and find the opposite occur? Are you eating better or eating more fast food and junk?

I'm interested in hearing from fellow TEFLers their stories of general health abroad.

Thanks.

[spiral78]

I can eat food in Europe. I get sick from many, many of the foods in North America. It's related to the supply of genetically-modified stuff; as much as 75% of the foods in a North American supermarket contain something that's been genetically modified. Many people have known sensitivities to this stuff - that's one reason for all the prolific advertisements for stomach-upset remedies!!!

Thank god I don't live/work where there are hordes of flies or unwashed kids. That's awful! You're must be extremely tolerant to be contented, contented!

[contented]

GM-food! We had a reader that we read with the 7th graders about genetically modified food. The kids could care less about that, but the love triangle in the story got their attention. I'm fortunate that where I'm at the produce is really great and cheap. I eat a ton of veggies and fruit.

I live in the city, but travel to the countryside to teach. So, I'm contented in the city, not so much in the country!

[wailing_imam]

Leave China.

Food is filthy and contaminated. People have poor hygiene and pass their germs on to you.

Asian flu strains always knock me for six, though I only get them once every year or two.

[Glenski]

Here in Japan, I lost about 7-8 kg because I was walking much more than in the U.S. (and didn't own a car here for quite a while). My health has pretty much not changed beyond that, as measured by my annual physical, anyway. My diet includes more fish, soy sauce, and tofu (and a few other Japanese foods) than before, but because the pizza tastes so bad here, I have cut that out almost completely. Snacks are pretty much a mix of the Japanese and U.S. variety.

I don't get sick any more or less often, either.

[Shroob]

I agree with the sentiments about China's conditions being less than sanitary. Not washing hands after using the bathroom is a major issue, I've been to many places where there's no soap/hand wash, though I've always carried my own, it annoys me to see people just walk out. I admit this is an issue in the UK, but not on such a scale.

The communal sharing of food also sits uneasy with me. I avoid restaurants/food vendors who look unhygienic (common sense really).

Pollution is also worse in China, I know a few people who've given up jogging or other sports simply because the weather didn't allow them to do it.

I was personally bitten by some kind of tropical insect/spider. My arm swelled up and I had to go to hospital. Apart from that I haven't noticed any change in my health.

[contented]

I'm walking just a little less than what I used to do in the States. But, I'm still active and exercise.

At the school cafeteria everyone can grab bread from the same bin and so all the slices are touched by kids, teachers, janitors and admin. They even put back bread that they didn't eat in the bin. YUCK! So, I don't eat bread at school for this reason. I hate communal sharing of food.

My health was fine until I started working at this school, so I think the school is the culprit (darn flies and nasty kids ). I'm always washing my hands, covering my cup so the flies don't go in it, and using paper towel to touch door handles, but it isnt' preventing illness. I'm even taking omega-3 and other vitamins to help ward off germs. I might have to change to a different school.

[Sashadroogie]

No sickness of any kind in the Workers' Paradise. All germs and bacteria are killed instantly by regular doses of strong medicinal spirits, hic!

[contented]

I know someone who spent a little time working in Russia and now on each and every cold, wintry night he downs a shot of Russian vodka. And he is never sick! I might have to adopt that habit.

[johnslat]

Dear contented,

A shot?? A shot??? Just think how much healthier your friend would be if he followed Sasha's example and downed LOTS of shots.

Regards,
John

[microbabe]

[contented]

Dear johnslat,
My neighbor has a bottle of Nemiroff Vodka and some other one, it's in Russian and I can't read it. The Nemiroff vodka is imported from the Ukraine and it reads, "The pure and bright taste of this premium vodka is complimented by fragant thyme, which creates a full and rewarding flavour." I think I'll give it a try tonight!

Regards,
contented

[spiral78]

[Sashadroogie]

Urgh! Clearly bourgeois scum with God knows what microbial infections. I propose 'liquidating' the problem thoroughly, hic! But not with just two bottles! Remember the phrase that I live by: Бог любит троицу!

[artemisia]

Contented:

If you're constantly getting sick and eating in a school cafeteria, that's probably the source. The hygiene in the kitchen; plates, handling of food etc. probably leaves a lot to be desired. Kids themselves become the source. When I first worked in a high school I was told to expect to be sick a lot for the first year. I wasn't actually - think the problem is more with little kids.
Could you stop eating there for a while to see if it makes a difference? Could you wear those surgical gloves sometimes and try and make sure you don't touch your face, with or without gloves?

I was sick on and off for the first 6 months in Germany, I recall. It was cold then but I think it had more to do with me - the stress of the move and adjusting. There are obvious environmental issues in some places but a lot also has to do with your own well-being when it comes to health and how resilient you are.