Sleeping Abroad

When I was little my mom used to make me get the flu shot every year. And every year I got that fake day-flu. Sure, it wasn't as bad as the real flu, but it was awful.

So, every year I would beg and whine until eventually my mom stopped making me get the flu shot. And you know what? I stopped getting sick.

When I got to college my teachers started putting me through the same flu talk. They would try and guilt me into getting the flu shot saying that if I didn't get it I was condemning the entire school to the flu. But still I refused to get the shot.

Last November I had to go visit the campus nurse before I was allowed to study abroad. But I was coming to France, so it was a pretty easy visit. The only thing she warned me about was ticks in the mountains. She also made me get three shots. THREE.

She didn't have record of my last tetanus shot (it was seven years ago) so she suggested I get that. I think the tetanus shot is fun, plus then I'm good for another ten years, so I was like that's fine.

She also didn't have record that I had the measles/mumps/rubella shot. You know, that one EVERYONE has to get before their allowed into kindergarten? So she suggested I get the booster for that. I was fine with that too because then I could have a real record that I actually was allowed to be in school for the past sixteen years.

But then she said I should also get the flu shot and that's when I put my foot down. I told her I don't do flu shots because they make me sick and sans flu shot I'm healthy. She tried to convince me with the same logic as everyone else - Do it for your fellow classmates! - but I wasn't sold.

Then she pulled out the big guns. You really don't want to get the flu in France, right?

Crap. She had me. I really didn't want to get the flu in France. That would be awful! Plus she promised me it wouldn't make me sick because the vaccine is a shot of the inactivated virus. So I said okay. And I got the stupid flu shot for the first time in eleven years.

You know what happened? I got the flu. IN FRANCE.

I think I finally figured it out. Without the flu shot, my body recognizes the flu virus for what it is - a virus. When it comes my immune system is like, heck to the no! We don't want you here! And I don't get sick.

However, when I do get the flu shot my immune system is confused. The inactivated virus comes in and does no harm. When the real virus comes around my immune system is like, we like you guys! Why don't you come and hang out for a while. We're not doing anything this weekend.

But then the weekend passes and the virus is still hanging out and my immune system is like, oh crap, we're sick.

Which brings me to a piece of wisdom from Miss Manner's:

Fun Manners Lesson #6: Anyone ought to be able to be a good houseguest for that three-day period, which is why they invented the weekend.

Viruses, apparently, do not follow the rules of manners. Which is why I spent not only my entire weekend asleep, but most of this week as well. And according to the doctor, I can look forward to spending the next two weeks doing pretty much the same thing.

My trip to France has gone from Studying Abroad to Traveling Abroad to Sleeping Abroad.

All because of a flu shot.