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Take me to the pharmacy

Take me to the pharmacy

Written by Andrea Silvers, The Shorthorn staff

Monday, 08 February 2010 03:53 PM

Are we there yet? I think I'm going to be sick... (The Shorthorn: Andrea Silvers)

I’m sitting on the tube clutching the pole to my left for dear life as the train sways and rocks gently on the tracks.

It hit me last night, the overwhelming feeling that every muscle in my body was slowly trying to escape through my skin.

At the time I thought maybe it was just some sort of weird delayed jet-lag but today when it was accompanied by intense nausea I realized that wasn’t the case, I’m sick.

In some sort of mistaken attempt at toughness I have agreed to come into Central with Josh, Yuta and Eva so Josh can show us all around and be a proper tour guide.

Now that we’re officially out of his flat and I find myself with no bag to puke in, I’m reconsidering my macho stance on this whole thing. After we’ve walked around for an hour and a half, with me stopping to throw up in the bathroom of three very welcoming and understanding restaurants, we stop to have lunch with Nick, another friend of Josh and Yuta’s.

They’ve all decided on Japanese for lunch and when we walk in the sight and smell of raw fish makes my stomach turn. Thankfully I know for a fact there’s nothing left in it so I don’t rush to the bathroom, instead slowly lowering myself to my seat like a geriatric.

Trip Breakdown

Arrival Date: December 26, 2009

Current Date: January 6, 2010

When everyone else’s food comes I’m reminded of something my grandma used to give me when I sick as a kid, ginger. She always used to say it helped with nausea.

I ask Yuta if I can have a piece of the ginger that’s come on his sushi plate.

Everyone watches in silence as I pick it up and put it in my mouth, chewing so very slowly, and hesitating before I swallow.

After that the conversation is stilted, waiting for me to suddenly run out of the room, after 10 minutes we’ve all relaxed, after 20 I’ve ordered rice and a bowl of Miso soup.

By the time we get home that evening I’m exhausted but I feel remarkably better.

London Vocab Lesson 2

Central: they don’t call it downtown here, I think because the city is set up in concentric rings, with central being where they get the smallest.

A&E: It’s not a TV network, it’s what they call their emergency rooms here, short for Accident and Emergency, which makes sense when you really think about it.

We all settle in to various parts of the L-shaped couch to watch a movie and within 5 minutes I’m asleep. Just as the credits were rolling I’m awaken by my stomachs attempt to hit the eject button.

I jump up, startling Yuta as I slam into him on my way to the bathroom.

After getting violently ill in the bathroom for half an hour I decide it’s time to take matters into my own hands.

“Take me to a pharmacy.” I announce to the room as I steady myself on the wall with my hands.

“Um, I don’t know if there’s one still open.” Josh says looking more than a little concerned.

“Are you serious, what is it, 8:30?” I lean my head against the wall doing my best to stay vertical.

“It’s just after nine, everything around here closes by then, I mean, I can look it up, but I’m 90 percent sure it’s closed.”

“Ok, well maybe a grocery store will have something, we can try there.” I’ve slumped a little down the wall at this point.

Josh squints at his screen. “There’s nothing in Canary Wharf that’s open. There is a pharmacy back in Central that closes at 10, but it’s probably a 35 or 40 minute tube ride so there’s no way we can make it. I did find one here that opens at 6 a.m. though, can you wait that long?”

As he’s speaking another wave of nausea hits and I turn back toward the bathroom.

The door closes behind me and I can hear Josh saying “So that’s a no then?”

London 13—Andrea 0

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