Helen FieldsScience Writer

Yeah, I haven’t really blogged this week. You know why? I’ve been sick. You know the only thing worse than being sick? Being sick in a foreign country. My fellow Berlin-based Burns Fellows turn out to be princes among men and women, and they’ve been taking turns coming to my apartment with bananas, white bread, ginger ale, and other essentials to the life of a person whose digestive system is running completely freaking amok.

I finally went to the doctor today – perky, ponytail, jeans – and she told me it’s probably a virus and to avoid meat, milk, and “Hülsenfrüchte.” That last one stumped me, so she made me write it down, and I just looked it up: legumes. In case you were wondering how to say “legumes” in German. And surely someone was.

So, there’s hope. It’s probably not appendicitis. That was one of the few times I lapsed into English during the appointment. Doctor: [poking at the lower right side of my belly] [in german] “You still have your appendix.” Me: “Ja. I don’t want appendicitis.” Her: [in german] “Then we won’t talk about it anymore.”