Japanese don't get sick on Wednesday...

Of course many of you probably know that the Japanese medical system is socialized. Which, if you listen to the Anti-Socialist Americans means looong lines to fix a broken bone and X-rays from the 1950's...

Of course, none of that is true here in Japan.

So far, I've gone to the doctor four times, twice for routine health checks and twice because of random illnesses that have gripped me for whatever reason (Well, not for whatever reason, I'm a teacher... kids are germ-generators... it DOES make some sense).

The Health checks are routine and I don't need to do anything more than say "Hi, I'm Me" and they load me into a room, take my blood pressure (Which has been falling every single time... yeah!), blood, etc... make me pee in a cup, then haul me off to be nuked (X-rayed). Then, (As you may remember from my last little excursion), they tell me my kidneys are failing... wait... no, you just excersized? Oh, then there is no problem.

Well, I have had a very persistant cold, It started last Monday and by last Wednesday I had lost my voice. My voice came back on Thursday, but the stupid cold stayed on... By Wednesday, my Vice Principal was threatening to carry me to the hospital himself.

The problem is this: we have no IC's (People who help us with Japanese-English interface) here in MyCity anymore. Our wonderful IC whom I really adored, quit about 5 months ago... meaning that the teachers out here are completely on their own.

Now, I had discovered that a doctor at the hospital near me spoke English, so I figured I was set.

Nope.

You see, the only Hospital open on Wednesday in my town is the ER hospital. And it's only open until 5.

I'm guessing the ER part of the ER hospital stays open... Strike that: I'm hoping the ER part of the ER hospital stays open... But I'm not sure.

Anyway, That's one of the most frustrating things about being an American on Japanese soil... In the beginning I used to think the Japanese were simply crazy, but now I am starting to see Mal's point of view with Americans just expecting everything instantly.

Gas stations close at 9, ATMs close at 8, Hospitals close at 5 or 6, Pharmacies close at 4... if you need these things, you need to be there before these times. You MUST plan ahead here.

Some things don't make any sense, of course... how do you plan your car accident ahead of time? "Oh wait, it's 7:30, I do believe I'll postpone my salmonella poisioning until tomorrow morning..."

I guess those would be ER things... provided the ER stays open (It should be noted that the ER is brand-new... built after I came here... so even if it does stay open... what did they do before it was here?)

And it is a small crack in the vision of the ceaslessly working Japanese... because no matter how hard you work, you have to leave before these times to pull money out, go get aspirin (Which you can only get in a Phamacy here... so if you have a headache, please have it before 4PM), get gasoline, or even go to the supermarket (Only convinience stores are open 24 hours, and not even all of them are at that). So even though they'd like you to think they never leave their desks and are tireless workers... it cannot possibly be true... I have no desire to project that image and it is a full time job scheduling things so that I never run out of gas, always have at least $300 on me at all times, and am properly fed... Add a cold and man I'm overloaded.

Erm... I don't have much else to add to this story except that: Without my IC I had to go to the Hospital by myself, explain my symptoms in Japanese, respond to questions in Japanese, and get instructions in Japanese... Which, I'll tell you now, was a real... pain. :) It's bad enough to be sick... it's worse to be sick and alone in a foreign hospital and having to rely on your broken foreign language skills... It's even harder if you are someone like me who understands that Doctors are people too and feel compelled, even through all of these drawbacks, to crack jokes and smile at the doctors and nurses... I hope you appreciate me, Mal!!!!!! ;D

Oh, Mal, Dad: My blood pressure was 120 over 60 (Or 60 over 120... I never remember which one is the top number). Which has fallen steadily from 200 over 90 when I arrived in Japan two years ago. Since my first health check upon my arrival (Where the nurse looked at my 200/90 and nearly panicked right there and then), my blood pressure has never ventured even near there...

---Still sick, coughing (That cough that you love so much, Mal... and my kids run in sheer terror from), and sniffling... and just generally wishing that they had NyQuil here...