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I went to the doctor a few days ago. I told my supervisor that I needed to go to a jibi-ka (ear, nose, throat doctor), but he insisted I go to a general doctor first. The general doctor told me to come back in 2 days to the jibi-ka doctor. Thus, I will be back tomorrow. I am not sure if I have mentioned what a hospital is like. In Japan, when you need to see a doctor, you just go. You cannot make an appointment. So, you go to either a clinic or one of the many hospitals. This time, I went to the hospital. We went to a desk to check in. This is done by filling out a form explaining your symptoms, and another card to handed in with your national insurance card. After your insurance card has been processed, they give it back, and you wait. We were then given a card and told to wait outside room 3. There were several rooms in this section, and many couches outside of the rooms where people can wait. It wasn't long before we were called. We went in and I sat on a stool next to the doctor's desk. My supervisor was with me to translate. He explained this to doctor, apologizing over and over again in my behalf for not knowing Japanese. So then the doctor proceeded to ask me questions in English! Turns out that my supervisor didn't even need to be there. The doctor asked me my symptoms and how long I'd had them. He checked my eyes and told me that they shake a little when I look to the right, but that it probably had nothing to do with my dizziness. So he referred me to the jibi-ka specialist, because my dizziness was either a cause of "ear or cerebral problems." After the consultation was finished, we went back to the main desk and waited once again while my paperwork was processed. I paid a total of 630 yen, and I think that might have been only for medicine, not the examination. I love this country!!!! One side comment that I need to make is about the doctors. Maybe it is just this hospital or the particular doctors I saw, but none of the doctors wore socks. Everyone had on the indoor slipper-like shoes, and no socks. Strange. Valerie Straayer |