Being Crook

I would have to say that Australian slang is one of the most interesting, unique, and utterly nonsensical vernaculars in the world. Some make minor sense, “bring a plate” (bring a plate of food- similar to a pot luck) or “how you going” (how are you doing) but then there are phrases such as “fair dinkum” (true, honest) or “been crook” (been sick). I have never considered myself a skeptic but I have no idea how one gets from crook to sick. Crook almost sounds like crick which makes me think of a crick in your neck which could kill you I guess so if you follow that convoluted thought process you can ascertain that crook= sick. Hmmm……. I promise I will follow up on more Aussie slang. It really is quite unique but ties into their culture quite well. And the whole point of that brief language lesson is that I have not been writing for the past week because of my poor crook self.

Last Tuesday Todd had to drive into Brisbane for a work related errand and so he offered to drive Tellu and I into the city that way we could have a fun day of exploring. Although I was starting to get the sniffilies and we had to get up at the crack of dawn I still tagged along for the adventure. Unfortunately, by 10am I felt weak and exhausted although I did manage to get some good pictures! :-D Griffith (my uni) have several different branches and pictured here is the south bank branch in Brisbane.

By the end of my brief and slightly pathetic exploration of the city I was completely beat. I tiredly made it to the train station and slept through the hour and ten minute ride home (those of you who really know me would know that this would be a HUGE sign of my crook-ness… does that work? Crook-ness? Don’t know… but yah, me napping in the middle of the day? In public?)

In short, the next few days were pretty shaky. I was tired all the time and a little nervous seeing as both of my housemates had swine flu when I first moved in. By Friday morning I was a mess and decided that skipping my two favorite classes already for the good of my health was definitely worth it. Swine flu has become so common in Australia that they have run out of the medication at the dr. and according to the news it is best to stay at home and rest unless the sickness progresses to the chest. Well although my virus may have been animal related it was nice enough to stay away from my lungs and so I have yet to step foot in an Australian medical facility.

Incidentally I soon discovered that I had no need for fancy prescription medication. I had all the herbal remedies Australia can provide as supplied through the generous hands of Guy and Todd. Guy’s mom is very interested in nutrition and the natural healing power of herbs and Todd experienced a similar upbringing. No they are not crazy. They would both go to a doctor if things got out of hand which is very comforting because if they got sick I don’t think I would be very successful at herbal concoctions.

What are these mystery herbs you ask? Oh don’t worry for the sake of full disclosure they are listed bellow with alongside their claim to healing fame.

1) Olive Leaf Extract + Zinc + Vitamin C- (definitely one of the grossest) contains Oleuropein which is an antioxidant that helps maintain a healthy immune system

2) Collodial Minerals- basically A LOT of different minerals… “actually more important than vitamins which most people don’t realize”- Todd

3) Zinc- this was a really interesting one; when you have zinc imbalance it helps illustrate that you are ill. If you have an imbalance you cant taste the zinc when mixed with water. Thus, I would put 1 ml of zinc in 100ml of water and drank that once a day until I could taste the zinc (meaning I was well again). Still cant taste it, ha ha

4) Apple Cider, Vinegar, Honey and Hot Water – Todd’s “paps” (grandpa) has it every day and swears that it cures everything from cancer to the common cold… nuff said. (it actually was very helpful and soothing on my achy throat)

5) Detox Liver Plex- I think the name summarizes the use and the catchline is just an added bonus “pre-party and post-party recovery tonic”

6) Barley Grass – I drank it dissolved in water and barely gulped it down a few times a day. The label on the container says it can be sprinkled into cereal, mixed in smoothies and salad dressings; needless to say I did not try that. Todd had a fairly small bottle in comparison to Guy’s barrel of the stuff. It was seriously COSTCO sized… HUGE!!! And he drinks it all the time…

- it is supposed to help you shift from an acid state to an alkaline state to result in improved wellness… when I researched this further (Todd had pamphlets in his apartment… ha ha :-D) I discovered that it is basically a fancy way of saying that it helps you maintain a balanced diet… the end!

Last but not least….

7) Lemsip- this actually isn’t an herbal remedy but something I purchased at the grocery store. (kind of like Theraflu) but the best part was that it had paracetamol in it (painkiller) so it helped me a ton! This one was probably my favorite, and the best tasting by far!

Well after taking that laundry list of herbal medicines several times a day (not all of them) over the past week my body had no choice but to get better. I honestly think it was just tired of ingesting such foul tasting and smelling concoctions. :-D (no offense Todd, ha ha) I am still not totally out of the dark but definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (the non-scary metaphorical version) and I have managed to drag my sorry, tired self to school today. Countdown: Jan arrives in 4 days!!!!! YEEEEHAWW!

So excited for Jan to come!