Let me tell you a little bit about setting up your medical care in another country.
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| “La Chascona” |
Meanwhile, I will pepper this post with picks of Pablo Neruda’s house in the Bellavista neighborhood, where I took visitors last week. While I have seen the Santiago house, “La Chascona,” (one of the three homes he kept in Chile) from the outside and had my curiosity satiated by the stunning murals that surround it, I had yet to step inside and take the tour. Cameras weren’t allowed, but oh, what a bounty of watermelon paintings, colored glassware, seashells, stuffed animals, books, watchful eyes, and spoons we found. I had no idea the poet was a flea market wanderer and collector after my own heart! I think these photos are apropos for an experience where what looked to be one thing on the outside was anything but on the inside.
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| Neruda designed the house so it is comprised of stand-alone sections. |
Yesterday, I had a doctor’s appointment… across the street. I figured 15 minutes was sufficient time to locate the suite number in the building… across the street. Well, chilejenn, you never cease to surprise me. I did manage to find the building (my sense of direction isn’t that bad). So I strode in, confident, winning, and looked for 106, the suite number I needed. I located 104, 105, and 107, which were all on the first floor. It would only be logical that 106 would also be on the first floor since we’re not talking about TWO-06, right?
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| It’s as if he’s trying to tell me… “It’s right over there!” |
Wrong. The patient man at the information desk on the first floor directed me upstairs and my confidence returned. The bounce in my step was short-lived however, as one second-floor help desk sent me across the floor to radiology, where I needed to take a number and wait my turn before I could even ask if I was in the right place. So as the 15 minutes ticked down to five, I finally got to ask my question before being directed right back across the hall to the aforementioned help desk.
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| I knew if I looked hard enough, my destination had to be right in front of me. |
I suppose I had “I’m a lost gringa and I apologize about the sorry state of my Spanish” written all over my face, as some kind soul directed me through a set of double doors next to the second help desk. Ohhhhh… Upon parting the doors, with a mere two minutes to spare, I only saw a long hallway. A nurse directed me through yet another set of double-doors until I officially arrived at my new doctor’s office. While I felt like I had crossed into another dimension, my destination was still just across the street.
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| I just can’t get enough of the nearby street art… |
Once there, the experience couldn’t have been better. My doctora, a Brit with an enviable air of calm, proceeded to spend nearly an hour with me (imagine!), getting to know my medical history, sure, but also taking the time to find out what I’m doing here in Chile, what I have done professionally, etc. It didn’t take her long to suss out that I’m an “organized” person who likes to be “in control.” Ha! Who knew the family doctor could moonlight as a therapist?!
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| …or the evidence that despite the heat, it is still technically Spring. |
When I mentioned the minor ailments I’ve noticed since my arrival–a random fever here or there as well as those migraines that put a haze over a considerable number of smoggy winter days–she had the same answer: “Well, you did move to a foreign country.”
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| Statue, tribute, poetry. |
She went on to explain that people don’t always realize what a major thing that is or necessarily think about everything that has to adjust accordingly. We don’t just find new jobs and learn new languages. Our bodies have to fight off new viruses and allergies. The lack of light in the wintertime can spark more migraines than we’re used to. What’s more, we need friends, people around us to understand and who can understand us. In short, friendship is important, too, when it comes to overall health and general well-being. Thankfully, I could answer in the affirmative, that I was making good girlfriends, an effort I had prioritized when it came to moving to this other country.
Now, if I could just get all my California and New York and St. Louis and Connecticut and Boston and Australia girlfriends to visit, I know I’d feel even better.