In sickness and in health

I popped over to the campus medical centre this morning for a flu vaccination because I really don't want to get sick for our upcoming holiday. There is a very nasty strain of influenza A going around at the moment and I hope that I haven't left it too late.

It's no fun being sick on a holiday. Last year we flew up to the Gold Coast during which time I was suffering an awful cold. I'm sure splashing around in the cold of Wet'n'Wild probably didn't help either.

I'm always getting the sniffles prior to trips to Japan. It is an especially bad country to have a cold in due to their customs relating to respiratory illness. Blowing your nose and coughing in public is frowned upon and the wearing of masks is encouraged. Not silly at all, although sniffling away without using a hanky is really quite difficult. I had to make many trips to the restrooms to blow my nose in private.

The Japanese customs were a very nice change from those of the Chinese during our last trip. They don't like to keep anything and we were always hearing the sound of locals harking up phlegm everywhere. Even placing a hand in front of the mouth when coughing did not appear to be a common practice. This attitude to hygiene, the general squalor, air and water pollution and the proximity of people to live animals are probably reasons why China has such problems with epidemics.

So here's hoping that I can take a holiday in Japan disease free!

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