In Her Own Words

We got an email from Emily this morning. Here is what she has to say about her stay at the Hippocrates Institute so far.

Things are going well. We had a ton of rain yesterday but today is blue sky and sunny. It is probably the calm before the storm, though. Next week is supposed to get nasty. They expect Ike to hit here on Tuesday... but who knows what will happen between now and then. Things can always change. The institute is well equipped for hurricanes so they have told us not to worry. They have generators and everything so we keep going, business as usual, regardless of the weather.

Physically & emotionally I am doing great, aside from the mosquito bites (I had 53 upon last count) and the lovely detox rash I am sporting. I had the doctor look at my rash to make sure it wasn't West Nile Virus. He laughed and told me I watch too much TV. Detox rashes are common because your skin is your body's largest organ and you release a lot of toxins through your pores. Everybody else has had bad detox symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, extreme fatigue... but I have been fine except for the rash, which they assure me will go away by next week.

The food is growing on me. They are 98% raw here, which at first was hard to get used to. They said after a week or so your palette changes and you start to really enjoy the food. The first couple days I was like "yeah right... give me some cooked stuff!", but last night they served cooked asparagus and I couldn't eat it. It looked floppy and weird and tasted gross and I actually missed the raw asparagus we usually have. We had 100% raw, vegan pizza last night, too and it was delicious! I got the recipe so I will make it for us when I get home. The one thing that is NOT growing on me so far is the juice. We have green juice 3 times a day, and wheatgrass juice twice a day. The wheatgrass juice is good, and I fully intend to continue that at home. The green juice on the other hand.... yuck. I literally have to choke it down. I'm not sure what veggies they put in it, but I can't stand it. We'll see if that changes over the next two weeks, but somehow I doubt it.

My little group of friends and I took our first trip off campus yesterday and went to the beach. We managed to hit it just right in between rain storms, so it was perfect because it wasn't so bloody hot and the storms have stirred up some good waves. After the beach we stopped at KMart to pick up a few things, and holy cow... temptation galore! Everywhere we looked there were chips and candy and cookies.... the real world is a scary place!! We were all starving because it was right before dinner but we managed to make it out without any indiscretions. It really made us realize how much of a challenge it is going to be to maintain this lifestyle once we are away from the cocoon of the institute.

We are glad to hear that you are safe and sound, Em. Keep us updated when you can!