Saturday, November 1, 2008

The doctor

I was late for my first class today. I was late because I went to the doctor. I'm not sick, but in order to get your work permit you have to have a note from the doctor. So, I went to the guy the school recommended. They told me that he spoke english, so I wasn't too worried about it. Elizabeth and I showed up around 9:30, but I didn't have my passport. So, while she waited in line, I ran about two Kilometers to my apartment and back to grab my passport. (yes, I said kilometers, you do the math) On the way back, I decided that I should tell the doc about my knee. I've been trying to run some and have really messed it up, It hurts when I walk .

    Anyway, I get back to the doc and elizabeth is still sitting and waiting, they haven't even taken her passport yet. I settle into the cramped wiating room full of sick looking eastern European men and wait. Eventually, the lady takes my passport and a while later tells me to come back. She points to a key and a cup saying something is czech the whole time. The cup was on the back of a sink and had obviously just been rinsed out (I've really admired the way the europeans recycle but this is too far). I peed in the cup and got sent back to the waiting room. I didn't actually see it but I've been told that the pee test is done purely on smell. Have fun little miss nurse. 

    When I finally got called to the doctor, it was the sketchiest room I had ever seen. The doctor was old, greasy, and fat, and spoke very little english. I sat down and answered a list of questions like. "Do you feel good?" "Are you sick?" and "Do your joints feel good?" All of witch I answered with a sound yes despite the fact that I want to cut my leg off everytime I take a step. Then, I took my shirt off while he pressed on my abdomen and that was it. So, I made a contract with my friends that if I get a disease that isn't currable with WebMD.com then they will shoot me. 

    By the time I got out of there it was 12:30 and I still hadn't planned my lesson. So, I was late. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, just discovered your blog. Thanks for keeping us updated!

Charlie

Anonymous said...

Alex! I'm so glad to find this! (It's Fergie, by the way.) Keep updating and letting us know how things are, we're all praying for you and thinking of you every day. Try to stay healthy, and I can't wait to hear more from Prauge. Talk to you later, buddy!

PS- The bone castle thing looked amazing!

Anonymous said...

Hey Alex,
I enjoy keeping up with you and Katherine through your blogs! How funny an experience with the doctor. Reminds me of when I got bitten by a dog in Germany and had to get shots in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland...it was really interesting with the language barrier and considering my German Doctor was a shock therapist...
Anyways...hope all is well! Joy
p.s. crazy tea guy sounds hilarious!

Katherine said...

I agree with you about the doctor thing. I'm trying to avoid getting sick at all costs. I heard a story about one Language Link teacher whose friends had to bust her out of the hospital because the doctors just stopped treating her. But the private clinics are apparently okay here.
I hope you have fun learning Czech. My Russian isn't going so well, but at least it is going.