Another Monday
on When I'm 64 (Sri Lanka), 21/Dec/2009 12:06, 34 days ago
By the label of this can you tell I am eager to go to my posting in Badulla? Today I was shown pictures of my apartment and I was beside myself with excitement. It is painted a pale yellow and has 2 bedrooms, one with a double bed and one with a single so there is lot's of room. There is only a two burner stove so I unfortunately (ahem) will not be able to do a lot of cooking. I did buy a deep frying pan that I can cook many things in so that should be ok. Anyway, the living room has these lovely large glass windows and look out at trees and flowers and the mountains, very beautiful. I move on Dec. 30 and Dec 31 is the first holiday! It is a Poya day which is the full moon holiday every month. My first day of work is Jan. 1 but since that is sort of a holiday, the Social worker from the hospital is going to pick me up to go meet the staff and join them for some kind of celebration but no work! My first real day of work shall be January 4 which is, I think, when Ancy returns from her vacation and I finally get to meet her.I had an eye problem the other day and being afraid in a country I don't know well to ignore it, I went to the doctor. It is a very interesting system. First the secretary at VSO called the doctor to make the app't. He suggested seeing the eye specialist and I thought made an appointment for 2:30pm. I was told to go a bit early to meet our doc. and talk about my medication needs. So I got there and they called the doctor and he is lovely and we chatted about this and that and then he said, do you want to see the eye doctor and I said I thought I had an appointment for 2:30 and he said no, VSO was supposed to send the money over so I couldn't make the appointment. So I paid the money and got an appointment but by now I am about #7 and the doctor it turns out hadn't arrived yet because something happened to his car. So I suggest I go back to my guest house and get my medication for the GP to see what I am on and if he is able to order it (I shall talk about all this stuff another time!). So he said to go get my meds and come back at 3pm when it is time for the eye doctor so I go home and come back, getting lot's of walking in and the eye doctor is not in yet; so I see the GP again and then because he is sitting with me which he sees as his job, I suggest I go around the corner to my Barista place and have coffee. He takes down my cell phone and will call me when he get's word that the doctor has arrived. Meanwhile the GP has not decided if he will charge VSO for my visit because I have yet to see the eye doctor! So, I go and order coffee, drink a mouthful and of course my cell phone goes off, the doctor has arrived. I run back to the hospital and have to now first pay for the GP and hospital costs. Then I am taken to some other section of the hospital where I am seen pretty quickly by the doctor. He says I have Uveitis and is wondering about various chronic illnesses which I fortunately don't have. So he puts me on steroids for the eye and antibiotics for the eye and tells me I need to see him again on Wednesday morning. I say good because then I am going to Galle and the beach and he says no going in the water for 2 weeks and I had a temper tantrum...just kidding. Anyway, he gave me 2 prescriptions and I go out to make an appointment for the next visit which is at some other hospital, far away from this one. In order to make the appointment, I have to pay!  Then I go to the hospital pharmacy to get the eye drops and they don't carry them. I am told to go the a pharmacy somewhere else in the city. I then leave the clinic area and get totally lost and come out someplace I was totally unfamiliar with. I walked for a long time, found a trishaw (tuk,tuk) bargained for the price which is a necessity here but difficult since I had no idea where the pharmacy was and go off...I shall stop boring you with all this but I was so proud that In a matter of about 3 or so hours I actually was back at the guest house with everything I needed! The cost of all this including 2 different doctors, hospital charges, medications, tuk tuk ride to and fro and my next doctor's visit, a grand total of under $45.Have I talked about the trishaws, buses, taxis? Have I talked about the language lessons? Have I talked about the upcoming elections? or the weather or the shopping or how I have to prepare the drinking water or...well I shall save it all for future blogs. I don't want you to be bored or for me to run out of things to say