Something fairly important about my life that may have some influence on yours down the road!
.... in a fairly tangential and roundabout way, I admit, but hey.
Anyway.
On Friday, I had my first experience (this time around, anyway; I went a few times in Kyoto, recall) with a Japanese "hospital" (better translated as clinic, despite what textbooks and poor dictionaries will have you believe), or 病院 (byouin).
And it was very nice, actually.
Especially considering the fact that, regardless of the country, I usually dread the doctor, and try to avoid visits at any cost.
Because. Yech. And other adult-like words.
Anyway.
Why was I going to the clinic, you ask? Why, oh paragon of health and happiness that is our beloved blog writer?
Oh ho ho, you flatter me.
Actually, there was the possibility of me having a minor infection (of which I will not give you further details, because I'm not quite that comfortable with this whole personal-info-on-the-net thing yet), and once my head teacher caught word of it, she ordered me to visit the doctor before it got any worse, as she has experiences with the same infection, and knows how it can go from bad to worse shockingly quickly.
And thus, work schedules were shifted, and I was bustled off to the nearby clinic Friday morning.
...and when I say bustled off, I mean that chief gave me a name and a map, and I didn't argue. Who am I to go off, gallivanting on my own to find a doctor? Pfft.
And it's a good thing I got the map, too, because the clinic moved in the beginning of September, and google maps had not yet been updated.
Of course, google maps is rather lacking in general when it comes to Matsusaka-type-info.
Anyway.
I walked in, looking a little lost, but eventually walked up to the front desk to address my concerns to a nice looking administrative lady. I informed her that I did not have an appointment, but that I would like to see the doctor...
And of course forgot to mention why.
Luckily she asked, and luckily chief had given me the common word for my supposed infection the day before (apparently the one I had looked up was very odd).
And let me tell you, once they knew the problem, things moved quick-like.
They took my health insurance card, told me what to do, gave me a form, and had me in to see the doctor all in under twenty minutes.
Mind you, this is the first time I have ever been to this clinic.
Take that, naysayers of national health insurance.
Once I was with the doctor, I was informed that yes, I did have an infection (drat) and that it could often be brought on by these rapid fluctuations in temperature we've been having, among other things. I was told I was going to be given five days of antibiotics, and to properly finish taking them even if I felt better after two days (ok, fine, I guess everyone gets that schpeel...). I then got a regular sort of check-up to make sure nothing else was wrong, chatted with the doctor for a bit, and then was sent along my merry way, pills in hand and a cure in my future.
And here's the best part.
All for 1590 yen.
Oh, and did I mention it all happened within forty-five minutes?
Beat that.
So, not only did I have a good experience on my own in a clinic (I admit I have never had to go on my own before), but I got my treatment and proved millions of right-wing nuts wrong in the process.
A good day, all told.
And as an interesting side note, my doctor knew exactly where I worked based on my address (company housing). Apparently, everyone knows my boss.
In other news, went back to the 銭湯 (sentou, bath-house) with a co-worker yesterday as a little bit of post-work stress relief. fun times, and we got chatted up by a random Japanese lady who wanted to practice a bit of English (but luckily reverted back to Japanese once she discovered we both spoke it.)
So, a tiring week, and a lonely one, but ultimately? Good.
And that's all we can really ask for.
This is Edo, signing off with a long list of things to do today, and insufficient energy to get started.
1 comment:
We live in Tateyama and had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. Nobody from our company answered our cries for help and so we went to the 7/11 and they helped us get a cab there.
The hospital itself was really old and not that nice and the rooms where my partner had to get the drip for 4 hours was really cluttered but they were very efficient and even let me have a nap in one of the spare beds while I waited. We have also been to a different hospital to have anual work health checks and they were also very good. In Australia (where I'm from) we generally wait about 3 hours, 1 if your really lucky or 5 on a bad day. I love Japans health care.
Post a Comment