Hablo-ing the old espanol

So I've been a bit under the weather. As I sat in Spanish class this morning, hacking up a lung and trying to answer questions with a frog-like almost non-existant voice, Sonia turned to me and said, "go home, sleep, don't work, just rest. And get some medicine from the pharmacy." I'm not big on taking medication, but I figured she may have a point there. So after class I walked to the pharmacy just down the street and braced myself. Ok, I can use some of the espanol I've been learning and mime the rest, right?

I walked in, the pharmacist smiled and said "dime" (tell me). Deep breath. "Tengo" I began (tengo = I have), pause. Um. Right. Tengo.....I pointed to my throat and made coughing sounds. She nodded. Then I pointed to my head and made a sad face. She nodded again. Then I thought, how on earth do I describe being congested and having a facet for a nose all at the same time? I pointed to my forehead, then ran my finger down my nose and made a motion like water splashing. She nodded again. Once she realized my charades were done, she turned around, grabbed a box that I could see the Spanish word for "flu" on, and turned back to me.

"Take this three times a day, every eight hours, but no more than three times each day." She said in perfect English. No one in this town seems to speak English, so of course I would make a fool of myself pantomiming my symptoms to the one person who does. I paid, she smiled, and I said goodbye in Spanish. Well, that was fun. At least I have some meds. I've been told the meds here are quite strong. I think I'll take some before my lessons tonight. Might make things more interesting.