The residents of the girls’ apartment have been dropping like flies. I thought that I could avoid it, regardless of the fact that my roommate Miryam and co-teacher Alyssa had both fallen victim to vicious colds. Extra emphasis on the vicious.

I thought I was safe, but I was wrong.

The cold caught up to me yesterday afternoon, so today I had to go to the first full day of class battling a cough. I thought I was holding my own pretty well, but Britney remarked a minute into class, “Teacher, it seems like you have cold.” She was right, but I didn’t let my cold hold me back. When I got feedback on index cards from the students at the end of class, most seemed to think I was very happy, and one girl suggested that I drink honey tea. I was a little surprised, and very touched, with how concerned they seemed about me, regardless of the fact we haven’t known each other that long.

Several students and I had planned on seeing each other at yoga club this afternoon, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to go to yoga at four today. Instead of getting all of the students sick as well, I stayed home in the afternoon and took a well needed nap. Right after class, Alyssa and I went to get some fried rice from a shop close to our apartment. On the way there, I ran into Britney, who gave me a cup of rice porridge. She told me it would help my throat, and said that I should make sure to rest this afternoon.

The surprises, and acts of kindness, didn’t stop there. After eating our fried rice, and on our way to another shop, Alyssa and I ran into Diana and Dada, two of our students. Diana handed me a bag containing what looked like two giant, brown eggs. (They turned out to be dried kiwis.) She and Dada looked at each other for a minute, then tried to explain using only English how I was supposed to cut the kiwi in half and put the inside in boiled water to make a tea. Drinking the tea should make my throat better, they said.

Needless to say, I have never had tea made from a dried kiwi before. I was a little apprehensive when making my tea earlier tonight, but I figured it was worth a try. The kiwi looked more than a little scary when cut open, and turned the boiled water brown. The tea also smelled a little strange. I’m not quite sure how to describe it…the tea tastes like it smells, but has a slightly sweet aftertaste.

Anyway, I’m excited for day two, ready for class, and armed with a pitcher of kiwi tea. In the words of my student Alisa, “that’s all (:”

Kelsey