I'm sure most of you know by now that there was a massive dust storm here in Sydney. We woke up yesterday morning thinking it was the apocalypse, the end of days had finally come. It was a deep blood red, the entire room was tinted that really creepy color. It was incredibly unsettling - all the pictures you've seen are spot on, they're not Photoshopped, I promise.
I was supposed to go on a filed trip with my Aboriginal Studies class to the Botanical Gardens and then out to one of the smaller islands in Sydney Harbor. Unfortunately, with my allergies and asthma I got a call that I was not permitted out of the building until at least 5pm when the dust would settle. So, I was quarantined in my room all day, watching Gilmore Girls DVDs and starting to study for our exam. It was not fun and really frustrating to be cooped up. But, the winds were pretty terrible - sometimes up to 60 km/per hour and it was way too risky for me to go traipsing around Sydney with that kind of air quality. I was coughing and sneezing all day, but I didn't think much of it. Man, was I wrong.
This morning, I woke up skwaking a bit with a sore, dry throat. I've been fighting a cough for about a week so I didn't really think much of it, nothing exciting, that's for sure. But as the morning wore on and almost immediately as I stepped outside I realized I had little if any voice. I sounded awful by the time I walked to BUSC, not realizing that the air quality was still terrible. Our program director told me that while the "safe" level of dust particles in the air is 200, the air in Sydney today is still 1200, making it six times the appropriate level for good air quality. My voice just got worse and it still is hard to talk beyond a raspy whisper. I have my really low register voice but it hurts to talk that low. So, I decided to head to the doctor with one of our program managers - Caroline. A nice physician saw me and immediately (and obviously) diagnosed me with laryngitis exacerbated by my dust allergy. I got an inhaler and an antibiotic, though I'm not advised to take it unless I start coughing up stuff because of my history of sensitivity to antibiotics. I got a bunch of cough drops and am on complete vocal rest - perfect because today I'm supposed to be giving a presentation on the Aboriginal Creation stories. Fantastic. Thankfully, I have a note from the doctor saying I'm not allowed to speak and my wonderful friend Natan is going to be giving my part of the presentation. I'm upset I won't be able to vocalize my part of our group's presentation, but I did do the research and prepare some slides for it, so hopefully our wonderful professor will understand. I'm sure she will. Especially because I'm going to be continuing to work with her on an independent study on Aboriginal religion for the rest of the semester, I think she knows I do my work, voice or not!
To be slightly political for a second: the health care system here is so far superior to ours it's not even funny. I never really thought about it that much, but then having to experience it, universal health care, is not what people think. I waited for five minutes. I saw the doctor for as long as I needed to. They didn't rush, I wasn't pushed to the end of any line, and even though I'm not a member of their system, even being a foreigner, I was only charged $50 for my entire visit. How is that possible? It was a great experience and really helped me to continue forming my opinion on this health care debate. I was taken care of like a human being, treated with compassion and kindness, and given what I needed right when I needed it, no questions asked. Just something to think about.
The rest of the week is pretty hectic again. Today I have class in the evening and then tomorrow I will be spending all day holed up in my room writing my research paper. Saturday it's due and we're seeing a play, then Sunday we leave for Melbourne! I will definitely be blogging about that as it's going to be a great experience. But for now, send good vibes my way and hopefully I'll be able to speak well in the next couple days. :)
G'day from down under!
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