two thorns and a rose

after getting home from the hospital today, i didn't want to move at all, so i laid down and fell asleep (naturally!) i woke up throughout the afternoon to 4 incoming text messages and a phone call. i went days last week with nothing, and the 3 hours i sleep on a random thursday afternoon and everyone's on their phones. weird. (of course i'm sure the number of texts you get is related to the number you send out, so i guess it's understandable - i didn't send any while in okinawa but have been contacting people left and right for this that and the other thing since getting back).


first things first, the hospital. after a week of being suspicious something was up, i finally made myself go to the doctor (the urologist, in case you're curious) after i woke up this morning with serious side/back pain and needing to go to the bathroom every (painful) 5 minutes. it was mild up until last night, when i was casually looking for an english speaking doctor in the area, but when i woke up this morning, i was willing to go anywhere as long as i could get in and get seen today. i worried about managing the whole thing in japanese, with a male doctor, but it went fine. i waited for quite a bit, but once my name was called, he didn't waste any time, asked me my symptoms, looked at my urine sample and said, "yep, you've got yourself one nice urinary tract infection." yes, he really used the word 立派 (rippa) to describe my uti. then he handed over a prescription for antibiotics and sent me on my way.

sigh.

it was my first experience in a japanese hospital (which is amazing since i've been to japan several times, 5 years in total and never been to the hospital. knock on wood it doesn't become a regular thing.) and i don't think that place would have been possible without SOME japanese knowledge. i got sent from desk to desk, with (the usual) paperwork to fill out. i got the name of the hospital off a list of "with english speaking staff" hospitals, but i can't imagine they've got an english speaker at check in, insurance, each individual medical department (orthopedics, ear/nose/throat, cardiac, etc etc) and not to mention the doctor on duty in that department that day. i was thankful i took my dictionary, but i only needed it for the paper work part.

oh, and they had this CRAZY rail system on the ceiling that constantly had boxes moving back and forth. the minute i walked in the front door there were tracks and boxes and annoucements over the loud speaker - total sensory overload. anyway, i sat in the waiting room watching the orthopedics department next door send out box after box. when they came back, the fancy rail moved to change the track and sent the contents right through the doorway and into the nurse's station. i giggled to myself wondering if they sent out pee in the boxes and what would happen when the box went from horizontal (in the nurse's station) to vertical (hanging from the ceiling and moving along the track). alas, they seem to do it right there in the urology department. makes sense, really.


and second, the phone call. yesterday, i called the vice principal of my old school because he was the go between with Mr. W, travel agent who offered me an interview when i got back from mt. fuji, to arrange a time to get together and chat about the possible job opportunity. Mr. VP called me back today, and while i feigned to be alert and awake, told me that one of the travel agent reps was at school today and he talked to them. with the whole swine flu scare and everything, the travel agent business (into japan, from japan, school trips, the whole kit and caboodle) is hurting BIG time right now. things are drastically different from what the situation was back in july when i was offered the interview. they've moved people around within the company and, from the sounds of it, even let some people go. so, it's not exactly like they're looking for new faces. i tried to put on a "brave face" and pretend it was no big deal, but after hanging up, i let out a few tears before falling right back to sleep.

double sigh.

on a good note, i went to the gynecologist yesterday. i went to a place with a female doctor who spoke english. she was professional (good english as well) and the appointment was quick and efficient and way less uncomfortable than people make it out to be. phew. at the end of the appointment, i said "thank you" in japanese and she looked really surprised and said, "wait a minute! you can speak japanese!?" and i laughed and mumbled some self-depreciating thing like, "uh, yeah, i can speak a bit. people are usually really surprised..." and she just sat there, completely shocked and said, "oh my gosh, you are totally fluent! why didn't you say so?! i'm so embarrassed!." and i said that if we had started off speaking japanese, it would have made it hard to go into speaking english, which she got. so she said, "alright, next time though, only japanese!" and i laughed and said, "no no, english PLEASE!" and made my way back into the waiting room to pay. as i was standing at the counter, i could hear her in the back telling the nurse, "oh my gosh, i'm so embarrassed!! her japanese was so good!"

always a confidence booster to genuinely impress people. :)