Influenza Weirdness in Japan

It’s an interesting thing getting sick in another country. I’ve been getting sick in other countries for years and each time, it’s an experience. Obviously, things are simply done differently in other places. Sometimes they seem normal and sometimes they don’t.

Earlier this week I unfortunately got my butt whopped by a bad case of the seasonal flu. Yup, it was my turn. Not sure how much it helps, but normally my wife and I get our seasonal flu shots in late autumn. Last year for one reason or another, we simply forgot. I know many out there will argue that the seasonal flu shot offers at best, minimal protection, but at least it is something. This year we didn’t get our shots and we both got sick.

Now of course there is nothing out of the normal about getting the flu, but what seems odd to me and many other non-Japanese living in Japan is how seriously it is taken here. People talk about getting the flu like we might talk about getting Ebola. Here, the news and citizens in general really talk it up as if it is a life-altering event.

Tapping into the far recesses of my brain, I seem to remember being diagnosed with the flu in Canada very quickly. The doctor would quickly name a list of flu symptoms and ask me if I had them. If I answered “yes”, he would make a prescription for 10-12 days of antibiotics and send me on my way.

The other day here it was quite a different story. Upon arriving at my family doctor’s office they asked me to take my temperature (standard practice for any visit to a doctor’s office in Japan). I handed the thermometer back to the nurse and once she saw my temperature was 38.5C, she gave me a mask to wear and made me sit in a back room away from the main waiting room.

The doctor then gave me an “Influenza test.” With a special kit, he took a cotton swab about three inches long and shoved it deep into my sinus cavity and swabbed. This by no means was a pleasant experience. After that, the swab was placed in a solution and within 5 minutes we had the results. He said, “I’m afraid you have Type A Hong Kong Influenza.” He made it seem so serious and dire. I was starting to get worried.

While waiting for my prescription to be filled, I Googled that strain of influenza and was quickly relieved to find out that all of that very dramatic talk meant I simply had caught a seasonal flu virus.

Amazing how dramatic people can be about something in Canada, we are so casual about.

Yup….being sick in another country can be a strange experience!

Beaten By My Wife's Common Sense

This weekend was supposed to involve two really great runs. I have been lazy throughout the week and simply haven't been getting out there early in the morning and putting the kilometres I should be under my feet. I could make many excuses, but laziness is the only true reason.

The plan was to go for a run this afternoon while my son was taking a nap. There's a little problem though. I woke up several times throughout the night coughing and hacking. by 5:00 am this morning I was pretty much completely awake and laying in bed coughing up a lung. I can't remember if it was the right or left one, but it felt like one of those rascally lungs was trying to crawl out of my mouth and scamper away under the bed.

My wife and I took my son to Kobe Women's University later on in the morning. I want him to start chasing women early, so I thought that would be the perfect location! Ok….maybe I lie. We actually took him to the university because they have an early child care program there and once a month they have an open house. They have a great mock classroom facility with tons of cool toys. the student teachers have a chance to interact with children and I had a chance to take a load of cute pictures!

Soon after that we were back home and I continued to cough up a lung. There is a chance I may have been coughing up two lungs.....but definitely not three!

My planned run was snuffed when my wife, using her common sense told me I probably shouldn't. "Kevin, last time you went running with a chest cold, you made it worse." I lowered my head and admitted that her common sense beat my need to run.

So, here I sit, making worksheets for my students for next week's classes and writing a blog post. The coughing is getting worse and I'm wearing a little sad face.

:(

Here are some scenes from Sannomiya in downtown Kobe, Japan. I took these last night on my way home from work.

This is my favourite Starbucks location in downtown Kobe.

This is the Nescafe Cafe close to my favorite Starbucks.

A pile of sad looking teddies. Took this picture of a crane game close to Sannomiya Station.

I'm Always Sick in Japan

Is it easier for a foreigner to get sick while living in Japan? I suppose there are a lot of factors. Where do you work? Are you a teacher? If so, what age groups are you dealing with? Are there allergens in the air that you might not have to contend with in your native country? What are the pollution levels like where you live? Do you take care of your own health?

I think about this a lot because of the fact that in the past few years, since coming to Japan, I have been constantly sick. I am really tired of it, literally and figuratively.

I suppose I can point the finger of blame in many directions. I can also probably point it at myself.

First of all, I am a teacher. I am in direct contact with a large number of children everyday. That’s nothing new though. I’ve been a teacher for about ten years now and have worked with thousands of kids, but have never been so consistently under the weather. A factor may be their age. I have been teaching very young children who have yet to fully develop their immune systems. That means they are sick a lot more than their older counterparts. Long story short, there are a lot more sick little boys and girls hacking and sneezing away in my presence.

In 2002, when I first moved to Asia to teach, I had a job at a kindergarten in Korea. Most new teachers, including myself were sick for most of our first year there. Many veteran teachers referred to it as the “Korean Cruds” and said most new people to the country got it. Basically, due to environmental reasons as well as new food, illnesses, etc., newbie’s were sick a lot!

I think geography has a lot to do with being sick a lot as well. With living far away from where you grew up, you are now being introduced to an entire new set of viruses and illnesses. For example, right now, there is something called “hand, mouth, foot disease” (it’s not very serious) sweeping through kindergartens and day cares in Hyogo Prefecture where I live. Even my son had it last week. It is an illness that is rare and almost unheard of in Canada and America, while quite common here in Japan.



Now I’ll turn my finger of blame towards myself. I simply do too much and don’t rest enough. I work six days a week, run, blog, video blog, am writing a book and of course am married and have a one year old son. I honestly sleep no more than five hours a night. My schedule has definitely led towards my immune system not being what it should.

Time to slow down a bit and get rest.

Problem is, I don’t want to slow down!

5 things to do when you're sick

I am sick. It’s official. It came out of nowhere. Some coworkers couldn’t make it into work today because of illness, but I felt great. I suppose I did have some minor “blahs” to the heavy rain all day, but aside from that, was ready to teach and excited about hitting the road early in the morning for my first training run in several days (looks doubtful that run will happen).

I am feeling worse with every passing minute and will crawl into my cocoon (aka…bed) soon. I was however able to construct one piece of (out of 2) IKEA furniture that was delivered to our place this evening.

I decided to come up with a list of things to do when you suddenly become sick, but definitely have to go to the work in the morning:



1. Drink boat loads of water, herb tea and other hydrating fluids.

2. Take some over the counter cold medicine (not sick enough to necessitate a trip to the emergency room). Unfortuantely, cold medecine in Japan is pretty weak compared to what I am used to in Canada and really doesn’t help much. I suppose the placebo affect might be worth something.

3. Build IKEA furniture (but then realize you are too weak to finish the second book shelf).

4. Feel sorry for yourself (I’m really good at this one)!

5. Go to bed….night folks….


DOWN with being sick....especially on cold rainy nights!

You can follow me and my sick self on Twiter: @jlandkev

Hummingbird Hawk Moth スズメガ

Down for the count with a chest infection. I am home for the day and on antibiotics. As a teacher, I often get sick here in Japan. I suppose it is a job risk when teaching young children. Kids have weak immune systems and when you get large groups of them together, its a virus/bacterial party! They normally pass on their sickly goodness to faculty and staff. It's the same everywhere you go. The older the children are though, the stronger their immune systems (and hopefully sense of hygiene) and the smaller chance of you getting sick.

On my way to the doctor's office this morning I came across a cool little Hummingbird Hawk Moth スズメガ . I quickly took a little video with my iPhone.


With my chest infection am on meds and home, sleeping most of the day. No running for a couple of days. I will be biting at the chomp to get back on the road on Wednesday evening!

Yesterday I was in Akashi and as I walked through Akashi Park I saw this guy painting Akashi Castle. I thought it was a nice little moment.

Running, Sundays and Fevers

I had a great run yesterday afternoon. It was a sunny and warm day here in Kobe and I went for about 12 km. I was supposed to run again this evening, but the rain, fog and cold were telling me not to go. I was also really tired. It wasn't a normal tired. Sure, I have been running 6 nights a week as well as going to Japanese class twice a week, but this tired felt a little weird. As the afternoon and evening have gone on, I have felt stranger and sure enough, I now have a fever. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning. I really have to get on the road and pound out some kilometers. As of tomorrow it will officially be 28 days until the Tokyo Marathon and I still have a lot of work to do.

Yesterday was a cool day because after my run, my wife checked the mail and I received to very cool running related packages. One was my bib number exchange certificate for the Tokyo Marathon. I will bring that to the race expo the day before the race and get my race number and timing chip. I also received a very cool package from the United States. My friend and fellow runner/You Tuber, John Pham (Phampants) sent me some running gels. I mentioned in a recent You Tube video that I use Power Bar gels and another kind called Carbo Shotz. many commenters recommended using Cliff Shots or GU, but I can't get either of those brands here in japan.


Here is the treasure trove of running goodness sent to me from Chicago. If you are reading this John, you can expect something cool coming your way in the mail later in the week!

I almost forgot to mention that in two weeks from today I will be running in a half-marathon. I did the same one last year and loved it due to the convenience factor. Although not a very scenic run, the Kobe Love Run Valentine's Half Marathon (now there is a mouthful) goes on right outside y door. The start line is literally a 10 minute walk from my apartment. This should be a nice motivator before Tokyo!

Cold Combat and Ankle biter Damage

Yep! I'm not feeling well. I've been fighting a cold all week. Not so much a cold as a tease of a cold. I've been on the cusp of a full blown cold for days now. I've been self medicating (not a fan of medical systems anywhere when an ailment is minor) and I think it's almost licked. The complete lack of energy I have makes work hard though. Contending with little ankle biters is demanding enough when you are in top fighting form. When you are weakened, they sense the opportunity to pounce...and they doTo tell you the truth, one of the main reasons I've gotten back into my old hobby of serious weightlifting has been to make my job easier. I've found that if you are in good shape, being an elementary school teacher is much easier to do.


I came across a picture I wanted to share with the world. Since I've come to Japan, I've become a huge fan of ramen noodles. Not the instant Cup Noodle shite! I hate that stuff. It always leaves me with a serious case of gut-rot. I mean the good stuff from a restaurant. A few weeks ago, I dragged my wife to yet "another" ramen joint and had some REALLY spicy stuff. Check it out:


Note the mound of red chili pepperon top of it. The reason why the broth is red is due to all the hot peppers as well. it actually reminded me of Korean food. Good stuff indeed!