"Tu as refait une bronchite"

Spring is officially in the air here in Montpellier!  However, despite the mild temps, I somehow managed to get sick AGAIN for the second time in about a month.  I guess between sleeping in hostels and just not sleeping at all in Italy, I was exposed to one too many germs?  In any case, less than a week after my return to France, I found myself with a fever of 102°F (39°C for the curious) and a cough so severe, it brought tears to my eyes.  Minus the fever, I recognized the symptoms from about a month earlier, when I finally gave into Michèle’s constant insistence that I go see the doctor…  Reluctantly, I had dialed the first number listed in my little program handbook under “Generalistes.”  To my surprise, the doctor himself answered, because apparently the number is his actual cellphone.  I made an appointment for that same day, and later went to his “office”, which seemed to be in an ordinary apartment building in a residential area.  There was nothing to indicate that this was a doctor’s office, and not just some random, nondescript door in the back of a building somewhere.  My experience the second time around was much the same as the first, and as it turns out, the diagnosis was the same too.  I couldn’t help but smile when the doctor announced I had bronchitis for the second time around, not because I was happy about having bronchitis, but because of the way he said it.  His announcement, “Tu as refait une bronchite”, is funny because it doesn’t really make sense directly translated into English—“You remade a bronchitis.”  What he meant of course was that I had somehow managed to develop another case of bronchitis in the span of about a month—now that takes talent!  So he rewrote me a prescription for some cough syrup that would help me to actually sleep through the night, and I was on my way. 

What I found interesting about this whole experience, aside from the doctor’s visit itself, is how easily people go to the doctor in France.  I was raised with the understanding that you only go to the doctor if you’re practically on your death bed, but here the exact opposite is true…The way the French health system works is obviously completely different than in the U.S., and because of that so is the attitude people have toward their health.  Without getting into the minute details of each country’s heathcare systems, it suffices to say that the average French person is somewhat of a hypochondriac, running off to the doctor at least once a week for a new prescription for this or that.  Medical expenses are essentially reimbursed by the government, and the French definitely don’t hesitate to take advantage of this fact of life here. 

Health issues aside, I am enjoying a little downtime in Montpellier between spring breaks (yes, I have two).  While I realize plenty of people would be happy traveling every spare second abroad, I am content to just be here, at home in my French host family, going to school, living every day life.  My host mom actually puts me to shame with how many activities she stays busy with! In addition to her day job, she also does tai-chi, goes swimming at the local pool, and most recently has taken up beekeeping!!!

Just another night at the Combes residence...Michèle showing
off her new bee-keeping suit (child-sized, I might add)!