Premeds

I woke up freezing at 4 am when I had set my space heater to 19 Celsius (66 Farenheit). I jumped out of bed and ran into the hall, so I could throw up in a trash can without making a mess. Since Egyptians college kids are literally nocturnal, 4 guys came running out of their rooms and asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital. No, I didn't. I finally felt good after throwing up from the food poisoning. Food poisoning is not something new. But, one of the guys in his last year at the college of medicine insisted that I take 2 pills to of streptoquin to kill the settle my stomach by killing the bacteria inside. I refused for five minutes, but I finally took it because I figured if he keeps it with him in his room, so this must be a pretty common cure. I figured it wouldn't do any harm if I just appeased him and there was no harm done. In the morning when the internet was back up and I looked what I had taken, well see for yourself... Google entries 4-8

The next morning, I explained to my friend that he really shouldn't use that medicine. What kind of generic pill only returns 820 results? (The answer: a drug only used in a country that has yet to fully embrace the internet).  The google sites (nothing official) claimed the drug normally costs 1.5 Egyptian Pounds (30 cents) and it is usually misprescribed to unsuspecting foreigners. I told him. He responded, "That's because it treats a special stomach bacteria that only lives in Egypt. They don't have this disease anywhere else in the world, so they don't need this pill anywhere else in the world. You need to keep taking the pills."

Later that day, he told me, "By the way, I have never been sick in my life. I can't get sick. I am very, very strong physically. But, I am very weak emotionally, and I get down on myself really easily, that's why I always have to talk to people about my feelings."

Anyways, here's an insight into one of the many characters whom I've met here.

Dr. Mom

The day before I left for Egypt I had everything packed, but I didn't pack any Sudafed, Advil, or Tylenol. I don't really get sick, so I thought I'd be fine. A couple hours before we left for the airport, Dr. Mom forced me to put these in my suitcase. Well, I was sick all of last weekend and it was nice to be able to take medicine that I could trust! 

Word to the wise: Consult Dr. Mom before going abroad.