1) These past two days, I've started retaking my cough mixture. Actually, since the Europe trip with my parents, I've been coughing. After seeing the doctor in Mercer Medical Centre, she gave me two types of medicine (an antibiotic and cough mixture) which was supposedly really good at relieving chesty coughs. Immediately after taking the cough mixture I felt totally different. My body felt incredibly lethargic - I could not takeaway food from the shopping centre barely 10 minutes' walk away; instead I had to eat there and recover my energy before coming back. In addition, I began to get chills in my fingers and toes, and would wear jackets in what was really quite hot summer weather. My head was heavy, and I slept for around 10 hours a day, only to wake up feeling sleepy as well.
2) I decided I could not go on like this, and only finished the antibiotics (which is a prerequisite). So I stopped the cough mixture completely, and have done so until today. I was still coughing a little on my way to Suzhou and in Suzhou, and today was especially bad. I woke up in the middle of the night with a coughing fit, and decided I would just finish the bottle of cough mixture (NOT in one go; that would be crazy!). So I took the medicine, went to sleep, and braced myself the next day for the horrible side effects. To my surprise, while I still felt more lethargic and sleepy, none of the other symptoms were there, suggesting that a) I had become more tolerant to the side effects; or b) since I was only on one medication (I have long finished the antibiotics), the effects were markedly less.
3) Either way, I'm now on the cough mixture, and it does work well. It essentially breaks down the viscous (thick) phlegm in my lungs so I can get rid of it more easily. I should finish the bottle in the next couple of days, and if really the cough does not go off, I'll be making an appointment to see a doctor. All that aside, these past two days were really fun too, as I met and made friends with the lab mates in Niamh's lab (on Level 3 of the building). I've gotten around to trying out the Chinese version of a hamburger, called rou jia mo (肉夹馍); and also a very popular dessert (in Malaysia and in China) called red bean soup (紅豆汤). The flavours are absolutely incredible - diverse and complex.
4) That is basically the update of the past two days. Thanks very much for tuning in, and see you soon in the next edition of my blog. Have a nice weekend, cheers! :D
Group photo with Niamh and her lab mates!
(sorry I haven't learnt each of their names yet)
Having lunch with my lab mates ^^
Spicy sour noodles with minced meat and long beans
Chinese hamburger - rou jia mo (肉夹馍)
Red bean soup (紅豆汤)
Their fried rice is very similar to ours, and tastes great too ^^
Niamh's plate of rice with meat and veggies :)
Simple vegetable fried noodles (served with a bowl of mung bean soup)
