The Swine Flu?!?!

So about 2 weeks ago, everyone in the office began catching colds. I refused to get sick so I stocked up on Vitamin C and stayed away from coughy and sneezy germs. Of course, I teach 4 and 5-year-olds so staying germ free is really not an option. The school stocked up on hand sanitizer, so I began marching my class down the hallways to sanitize their hands about 5 times everyday.
Then Wednesday came and I felt great in the morning. Worked most of the day without an issue...until about 4pm. All of a sudden I felt really run down. I took my temp and it was bit above normal, but nothing serious. I went home and went to bed. Woke up Thursday, and again, I felt great. Got through my day without an issue. As soon as I got home (at 645pm), I crashed. I slept straight through the night and woke up at 8am feeling like hell invaded my body. It took me 1/2 an hour to get out of bed and another 1/2 an hour to shower and get dressed. I knew I wasn't going to make it through the day, but calling out of work in Korea isn't an option.
I got to work and everyone could see I wasn't well. My temp was 38.8 C, or about 102 degrees Fahrenheit. My supervisor started freaking out and tells me that I need to go to the hospital, but first I need to show my face to the kids and tell them I have food poisoning. I do this then I sit in our cafeteria waiting to leave, face mask in hand. I'm told not to put the mask on until I'm in the car. God forbid a parent see on my way down the elevator.
I get to the hospital and check in. I'm then told I need to wait 2 hours to be seen. The last thing I wanted to do was eat, but I was forced to order Burger King for lunch by Jason, who was probably given orders to make sure I ate. He then left me alone...the only Westerner in the hospital. Yay! I waited my 2 hours and was finally called in. My blood pressure and temp were taken. I was then told that because I didn't have insurance, the hospital was "vely, vely, expensive." I then went in to see the doctor, who in broken English, asked me what my symptoms were. He then told me I had swine flu. He refused to give me the test though, because apparently I had sooooooo many of the symptoms. Ya know, I had a cough and was tired. Yup, must be the flu!
I then had to wait another 40 minutes for my meds. I decided to go pay my bill. Yeah, this place was "vely, vely expensive" alright. An emergency room visit and 8 prescriptions cost me...you ready for this???? 66,000 won, which is about $60 give or take. This same visit would have easily cost me $600 at home without insurance. The American medical system is ridiculous!
So anyway, I went home, took my meds and rested. What a way to spend a weekend! I felt much better by Sunday but was forced to stay home another day by my school. And just a cute little tidbit for ya...my parents were all told I had a bad case of "blah blah blah-itis". I'm sorry, what was that??? "You know, blah blah blah-itis. Like you have to run to the bathroom a lot!" Oh, that's lovely!
I got back to work on Tuesday only to be told that the school was closing the rest of the week. Wonderful! A week without pay! woot!
Anyway, I am feeling much better now.
So yeah...love you all!