"Spring Fatigue"

I've been feeling a little under the weather the last several days, and incredibly tired. Normally, I love sleeping in on the weekend (usually after staying up really late watching movies, though) but lately I can't seem to muster the energy I normally have, even with ten hours of sleep. Apparently this tiredness might be attributed to something called "spring fatigue" (in Bulgarian, пролетна умора) and is totally normal and very common at this time of year. But I've also developed a cough that sounds a little suspicious, which I shrugged off as a minor annoyance, but my boyfriend suggested that I start taking some vitamins and immunity-boosters just in case. 

By the way, this is Kiril. He's pretty wonderful. And the reason I'm pumping my system full of vitamin C, echinacea and various syrups (including propolis and ivy leaves). Although I was skeptical about the bee stuff, I have to say that after only two days I am feeling much better. It's nice to have someone taking care of you when you're sick!

We had a little argument the other day about American medicine vs. Bulgarian medicine. I had been taking some generic over-the-counter cough syrup that wasn't working, and he said that of course the Bulgarian kind would be better, because they only sell products here that actually work. I'm still not sure this is true, but I have definitely noticed an improvement over my Walgreens brand Dayquil substitute. In general, health care and medicines are far cheaper here than they would be in the States, which is sad to think about because I know there are lots of people back home who avoid going to the doctor to avoid the financial burden. In Bulgaria, although the quality of most public hospitals leaves much to be desired, at least you can get basic care for very little money. There are lots of differences between medical care here and in the U.S, which are too many to put into one post. I'm just happy that the more "natural remedies" seem to be working, at least for now.