trip to the doctor

Today, Wednesday, I had my first appointment with my doctor in Spain. His name is Xavier, a name which I like. When Carme called for me, she asked specifically for a doctor who spoke English. he speaks as much english as Jackie Chan but hey, I need to work on my Spanish anyhow.

Oh quick note, here in Spain, they do not refer to their language as Spanish. I guess it´s like going to China and asking for Chinese food. Here they call it Castellano (Castilian). It´s debated what is truly Castelellon but to me, it´s means Spain´s Spanish as opposed to the South American or Canarian Island Spanish. The difference is the pronunciation of the letter z or c before a vowel i and e. Like the word cita (meeting or date) is pronounced "thee tah" rather than "see tah". So it sounds like i have a lisp or something when I speak it.

Back to the story...

So I went to my doctor with my medical history about my high blood pressure and my prescription. To my suprise I found that I did not need a prescription for my medicines. In America, if it comes over the counter, you need a prescription. But the better note to that is that there are more varieties of medicine you can buy on the shelves of a drug store than you can shake a stick at. When you walk into a pharmacy here, most items are behind the counter in a larger store room. But, to me, it seems easier to get my meds for my blood pressure simply by walking up and asking for them by name. The only meds that are highly controlled are narcotics (for obvious reasons) and antibiotics (obvious reason to some).

The sheer immensity of this trip was the fact that I had to drive to Girona (45 minutes north) which is a much larger city than Tossa and a fourth the size of Barcelona. The old and narrow strrets of old blend seamlessly with the newer streets and cause for some confusing navigating. I have been in Girona a few million tomes but not on solo missions deep into the city. I drove confidently to the outskirt of the city, passing the usual 2 prostitute locations with the same Romanian girls on point. Sad fact but even the Spaniards are too proud to work outdoors when they decide to be call girls. Armed with a cell phone and folding chair, these weekday warriors are always available when I go flying by at 120 km/h.

I make my way into the city but like I stated before, the street signs are just unreadable at anything more than walking speed. So I cross my finger and turn down a one way street in hopes I run tino a underground parking deck. I do find one in no time with 45 minutes to spare. I pull out my makeshift map and follow my instincts to find this hidden medical office. The building all blend together as older offices are revamped into new clothing stores, restaurants and new offices. By the time i found the office, I had pretty much got turned around and walked a full 10 extra blocks. When I finished my appointment, I was so turned around from my initial hunt that I thought I would never find the car. As funny as it sounds, I took a chance and went right. I took another chance at the end of that street and went left. then I stopped. The parking deck was just across the street! 2 blocks instead of the original 10. I will master my way around Girona one day.