Health

Obviously, health is a super big issue. Going abroad is a huge experience and you don't want to spend all of it feeling icky. So, if you plan to travel to the southern hemisphere, remember that it will always be the opposite season of the northern hemisphere. For example, I came down here about a month ago, obviously it was the middle of summer when I left the U.S. That means that it was the middle of winter when I got to Chile. Now, their winter is nothing like what I'm used to in Michigan. Most days are at least 50°F and the sun is out all day. The only problem is, when the sun goes down, the temperature drops dramatically. If you're not fully ready for it, you could get sick very quickly from such a temperature change. So if you plan on staying out all day or going out at night, use layers. For my sake and for yours.
Of course there is a reason as to why I'm posting about health. There's a reason to everything, right? The reason is, I have been super sick since Monday afternoon. I have lost my voice a few times over the course of the week, I've been unable to eat and I've been pretty darn nauseous. Just yesterday was I able to eat three full meals and not feel sick afterwards. I just started coughing and fully getting this out of my system Thursday afternoon. It is very hard to attend classes and function fully when you are feeling this terrible, so take care of yourself. If you start feeling any kind of illness coming on, whether its just allergies or something as big the the stomach flu (or bigger), just take it easy. If the icky continues, ask your host family or a local Chilean what kind of medicine you should take or if you should go see a doctor. They are all very willing to help. If you cannot seem to find someone to ask, find a pharmacy, they are literally everywhere, and ask at the counter what they think you should take. If you still don't feel better after a few days, be sure to go to a doctor if you didn't go before. It's very inexpensive here, so you may as well go. Just in case.