Submitted by Jules Scott the 2024 Spring program in Paris, France…
My google searches this week have looked a lot like this:
Sore throat medication Paris
Where are cough drops Paris
Why does air in Paris have a taste
Why do Parisian pharmacies have no medicine???
I am aware that healthcare in Paris is cheaper and more accessible than in the good ol’ US of A. However, my lack of proficiency in the French language has made me a bit of a hermit, so when I missed a week of classes and continued to hack up things that look like Mucinex booger people I waved my white flag and resorted to rest. Ah, what I had been avoiding for so long! My constant movement from class to class, covering my ears with big headphones while blasting music on my way to CEA, every night being with my friends, and not wasting a single moment on being alone with myself. What did Newton say? I don’t know, but I knew that if I stopped moving I may not get back up. Before coming to Paris I was working myself to the bone, because to pay for this trip I had to do it entirely on my own – I had zero savings, and I spent this summer working as a waitress. What little money I did scrounge up went to a plane ticket to go across the country for a funeral; I am well known at square one, I have a punch card. To get to Paris I dropped out of my fall semester and worked the night shift full-time at Trader Joe’s. Lifting boxes, moving displays, pushing carts, I have not stopped working my butt off for probably a year straight. I knew I was working hard, I just had no idea how much pressure had built up and one bad cold knocked me down for about a week and a half. As my roommate so graciously made me mint tea to soothe my throat, he confronted me with the truth: I do not take care of myself. Self care when you are not familiar is awkward and uncomfortable, and in another country is alien. I just wanted to do what I had been doing: pushing through. But the body kept score, and it kept me down until I stopped fighting the rest I needed. Drink hot tea, talk to your friend on the phone and when you’re well enough, walk for miles and do nothing of objective value. Paris is such a charming and stunning place, and I knew when I got back up again I had something to fight for. (Submitted on February 20, 2024)