Practicing patients... uh patience!!

So I went to the doctor today!! The place was OVERRUN with old folks!! I mean they were everywhere, doddering here and there, coughing, sneezing, sniffling... hunched over and sad-looking! It was like some kind of retreat... I think they go there for a little attention and a nice massage, the poor things!

It takes a LOT for me to bow to the inevitable and head for the doc's over here!! Especially after the time I had a sore throat and that doctor wanted to shove some weird, whiplike appendage-type THING down my nostril to have a look-see at my throat (blech)... I will never forget that day... I looked at Nuria (who was along for moral support) and immediately burst into tears and told her "I'm NOT doing this, no WAY!" I still believe that the doctor was just dying to try out his new, fancy throat-camera and saw the perfect opportunity to test drive it on the distraught foreigner! I will never forget the horror I felt when I hesitantly asked him "so... you're going to put that thing down my throat and..." only to have him patiently shake his head and say "oh nooo, this goes down your nose!"... YUCK YUCK YUCK!

Anyway, I digress... today's visit was no less... interesting! I was on my own this time, no hand-holding Nuria, just me and my less than great Japanese speaking ability! The doctor was a nice enough little bloke, quite cool actually, he wore a JEANS under his white coat... he spoke a little English and we muddled along quite nicely until he asked me to open my mouth so he could look down my throat!! I have to tell you, I was TOTALLY freaked out when he used a metal tongue-depressor (I shudder, even now, to think of all the other sick people he'd used it on before!!)... what on earth he saw in the 10 seconds he looked down my throat, I don't know.. I barely had time to say "aaah". Then, without warning, and with the help of the nice nurse, he dragged my top up to my jaw and whipped out his stethoscope to listen to my breathing! My GOD, I was SO happy I was wearing a bra (yes okay, I nearly went without this morning - the clinic is two minutes down the road from me. I didn't see the point in putting one on, whenI would just take it back off when I got home!)... still he must've gotten quite an eyeful though! He then asked me to jump up onto the cot, where he palpated my stomach and what-not... I must tell you, the entire examination was conducted in under two minutes!! It flew by at the speed of light!! I've never had a doctor rush through an examination like that before! By the end of it, he told me that I had a "mixed caught a cold"... like I told various folks today, I'm assuming he meant that I had a stomach bug... he then smiled benevolently and wrote out my prescription!

So off to the pharmacy I went, where I encountered the same old folk as before... man, it was nice being the youngest in the room for a change (although, my moment of glory ended when a mum brought her four year old in after me!! Curses!!)... so then I waited and waited and waited!! And I missed home keenly, cos all you have to do is hand them your prescription and they'll have everything ready for you in minutes! Never waited 30 minutes to have a prescription filled before!! I think (and this is no joke) that they actually MAKE the drugs there man! I mean... there was a lot of grinding and shaking and measuring going on! Anyway, I came out of there with three different types of tablets, throat gargle, some capsules and a stream of sachets containing a suspicious looking white powder!! I don't know what half of it is for! And am I supposed to SNORT the white powder or drink it down with water?! Would smoking it help?!

Anyway... yeah... I hope I won't have to go back again (ever)...