"I'm going to get a duck, you know, like a baby duck..." "OHHHHH, you mean a chicken?!"

Okay
Right
You ready for this?
Yeah?
Yeah!
Let’s go!
Let’s do this!

Aaaaaiiiiiightttt my lovelies?

So, needless to say the weekly updates went about as well as attempts at being pleasant when I get up in the morning.

This month really has been a crazy month, in so many senses of the word! Gosh to have a boring life eh?...

So Paul had just went home, and it was 2 weeks of really hard studying (I of course mean the alcohol lists at various pubs and clubs) until the lovely mother came to visit. It was great having her around, and she’d booked a room in her hotel with 2 beds which meant there was much giggling until 2am in the morning… Yes, like a 13 year olds sleepover. I found myself at the top of the Schlossberg again, and also with a mass load of new clothes. Always a success! It was an a really good visit and I had masses of fun :)

2 days later for some unknown reason my hand had blown up really big and painful (not quite as big as Paul McGowan’s head though ;-) ) and was making me very unwell. I was so ill for a good week or so, and couldn’t do anything but lie in my bed. I went to the doctors, pidgin german at the ready, had some blood tests and started taking antibiotics. After they kicked in, luckily, my hand went back down to its normal size (aka childlike) and I slowly but surely managed to feel better again. So I tried to pick myself a bit, get myself going again over the weekend. Then it was Monday again, and all of a sudden I started to go backwards, illness wise. A few days later I found myself in my bed again. I was boiling hot, really nauseous, had been sick a few times, was aching all over, had an awful cough, and had absolute no energy at all. I couldn’t do anything and it was making me feel so sad. It was so scary, I just had no idea why my body had just given up.

I went back to the doctors (for the third time in a few weeks) and she explained that I had contracted a very big infection. Whilst it had only shown itself in my hand swelling, it had gotten into my blood stream. She said that after the antibiotics, it will have been cleared up, but because it was such a big infection my body will be very exhausted from fighting it and I would be typically experiencing all the symptoms I had been. She prescribed me tablets for when you body is under intense strain, and just told me I will just have to rest and wait until it goes.

After hearing it was going to take a good while to feel better, and that I was going to have to be stuck in bed 24/7, I contacted Heriot-Watt, and all of my lecturers here in Graz to arrange time off due to medical conditions, and came home. That week at home was what I needed. I slept for most of it, and really started to build myself back up again.

At the doctors back home I explained what had happened and had more blood tests, just to make sure there wasn’t something serious underlying. He said that everything came back okay, nothing serious, but were still traces that showed I’d had a big infection. This was a month after I’d first gotten ill, so I can only imagine how bad it must have been to begin with. I was told it would probably take a while for me to fully regain my strength, and then there was the question of whether I should drop out and try my placements again the next academic year.
But I didn’t want what had happened to taint my feelings towards Graz and Austria. I could have gotten ill like that anywhere, and because I’d felt so unwell and low out there for a few weeks I was worried that dropping out would make me associate Graz with all of those feelings.

So I got back on the horse and flew back to Graz. My dad was there with me for a few days, and we did all sorts of cool stuff to try and ease me back in. We stayed in a fantastic hotel, went to the casino, the Christmas market, and once again I found myself at the top of the Schlossberg (but this time via the lift, thank god).
When my dad left, I literally felt like I was falling apart. I was so overwhelmed at first, and scared of being back on my own after everything that had happened. But gradually things started to get better. I met with my friends here, started classes again, and got back into speaking German.

Here I am, a week into getting back again, and I can reeeaaally honestly say I’m happy :D I’m still getting quite tired easily, but I can go out, do work, go to classes and suchlike. Things can only keep getting better now, and I’ve no doubt that they will. I feel much happier again, and I’m enjoying being back. I’ve remembered what it was I loved so much about Graz and the people here. :D <3

It hasn't been easy getting here though. This month has been so tough, but here I am - feeling much better physically, and much cheerier again. It’s always worth seeing things through and trying to be strong when everything gets difficult… and you should never walk away from something you love, just because it's not as easy as you'd like. Everything works out worthwhile in the end, just takes a bit of determination.
“Tough times never last, but tough people do”

Over and out

Lauren x