11 June 2008

cursory

Here's a cursory summary of recent life:

Monday I took the lower school student council (I'm too tired to link. Do a blog search on "political corruption" if you're interested.) To deliver donations to the orphanage where my 3.10 girls are. Yes, more corruption. It let me check in on them. Four were there. L is with the foster family (no news on that--drat!), N and P are at camp, and I don't know where Ks is. I didn't get to spend much time with the girls, but was very happy to see them. AND I met the director and was given permission to continue my visits to my girls. I told her, "I love group five. They are my girls." She seemed happy with that.

My students were awed that the girls there knew me. They learned a lot from the visit. The most important lesson I wanted them to learn was that these were just children--like them. And, from their responses, they did learn that. Maybe I'll share their writings about the trip later. It did backfire on me a little because my students don't see them as needing as much as they did when they were picturing them living in the movie Annie.

School's out next Friday! Today was Sports Day, Friday grades are due and we're walking to the Summer Garden (which is reportedly going to be closed for the next three years), Monday is Peterhoff, Tuesday is International Day...It's busy.

It's been six weeks since I got my nasty cold and I'm better but still not well. (I know I declared my sick posts tedious, but this has a little interest in the daily-life-in-Russia category...) I went back to the doctor (the cuteish one is on vacation so I saw an ent to actually examined me in such a way that I'd call him an nte...but didn't bother to mention that to him.) who has Rx'd....peach oil. I am to put ten drops in each side of my nose (the word nostril gives me the heebies) twice daily and do an inhalation treatment with it nightly. I was willing to give it a try (That's how rotten I feel. And, after two courses of antibiotics in six months--after none for seven years--I was only open to more herbal remedies anyway.). It's not helping. And even the school secretary (firm believer in things like drink vodka for bee stings) laughed at this Rx. Will go back Friday if not well. (NTE doc said I'd be well in three days with peach treatment. I even put some in my bath last night...to no avail.)


I'm making turkey noodle soup.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sorry that you are not feeling well yet...the lingering sucks...

the lesson that you are teaching the kids about orphans is good...they will remember it for sure...

hey, do you have watermelon in Russia? I have a bet going with DH

kate said...

Yes, Debi, we do have watermelon in Russia. It's "arbooz".

Who won the bet?

Holly said...

Hope you feel better soon. Herbal remedies...I swear by 100% uncooked, unfiltered, raw honey. Clover if possible. It has antibiotic properties. I'm not a nut, honestly! That and hot steam baths, it's the only thing that works for me.

kate said...

Carrie, I've been eating unprocessed clover honey by the spoonful for weeks now. A friend's father is a beekeeper in Estonia and she brings it to me. I've been doing it on toast, in tea, and straight.

Good to know I'm not a nut. ;>

Heidi said...

Hey! I've been doing the honey thing too. When I wasn't so good about taking it... I got sick for 3-4 weeks. Now, I'm back on it.
Other than that, all I can say is... it's the price you pay for wearing that short skirt too early in the season my dear (LOL). ;)

Tami said...

I wish I had a great holistic idea for you, but alas, I tend to stick to traditional meds. (not because I don't believe in them...I'm just too chicken to try things like spraying apricot stuff in my nose. ;) Here's hoping the cute doc is back soon. ;>)

Anonymous said...

I do think that Annie has given real orphans a tough standard to meet! My 8yr old plays "orphan" everytime she has to clean the bathrooms. A normally clothed, clean child without dishpan hands wouldn't make the grade in her world.

Tina in CT said...

I've heard that you have to have honey that is gathered from the area you live in and not from elsewhere.

kate said...

Tina, you need local honey for allergies (so that you're ingesting local pollens), but not for other reasons.

Anonymous said...

PEACH OIL?!?! Is he serious? I hope it kicks in for you. But mostly I hope you get to see a non-nutty doctor next time you go in.

Feel better soon.

Deb said...

Glad you got to see your girls even if it wasn't all of them.

Hope you start feeling better soon. Stinks to be sick so long.

Unknown said...

I just had about 9 million flashbacks when you were naming the holidays upcoming. Not that I actually know for sure any of those were when we were there...but I guess they have to be...anyhow, my point is that two years ago tomorrow I was in Chuvash adopting sweet, crazy J. There had just been some festival (Children's Day? Didn't you just talk about this holiday?) and something else (or more) happened in the five add'l days we were in Moscow following tomorrow's court date. This makes no sense. Just wanted to tell you that my head is in Russia this week. Ooooobviously. Anyhow, feel better fast. Perhaps this is SomeOne's plan to get you back to see that single cute doc...

kate said...

Katie--the cute doctor went on vacation right after I saw him the first time. He's still gone!

Hard to check for a ring b/c here they wear them on their right hand...left hands are for "Catholics".

We did just have Children's Day on June 1. Today is Day of Russia! And, there have been holidays in between.

Happy anniversary to you and J!

Janine said...

I saw your post on another blog I read and stopped by. How exciting to be living in St Pete. We just brought our little girl home from there this past April. We had a blast in St Pete and I'm going through withdrawls. Wish I had known about you then...it would have been great to see the city from your perspective.

Jennefer said...

Congrats on the end of the school year! I have been having a cold too. It sucks. This is the time of year we are supposed to be all healthy and running outside. Not indoors with a sniffly cold! It might be your new flat. Do you have a new air filter? We just had ours replaced and it really helped. Get better!

Jenni said...

Peach oil? That's a new one to me! I hope you are able to kick this cold soon.