The Doctor's Office

 

I needed to see the doctor and used google to picked one with a good review-by-star index. I didn't want to call the office because I still struggle to be understood, so I sent a text message through WhatsApp. I quickly engaged with a helpful receptionist who used a lot of energetic emojis and scheduled an appointment for the following Monday. I said that I had insurance but was told that it's mostly hospitals that take insurance, I would need to pay at the time of my appointment. It was 80 bucks. When I got to the office it was like I had stepped into a spa. The receptionist greeted me by name, inquired about my drive, and would I like an expresso or some cookies. I waited in a comfortable chair in a polished lobby and noted two enormous glass vases, very pretty, filled to their brims with used syringes and empty vials (pictured). My appointment started exactly on time. The doctor was delightful, she held my hand, looked me in the eye, wrote out a treatment plan, laughed at my jokes and hugged me when I left. The whole experience was both very similar to and very different from health care experiences I have had in the US. The similarities, I think, are western medicine; the differences, I think, are culture.