Since I have been in Taiwan I have gotten sick much more often than normal. I think the combination of the air pollution, the really humid weather, and the masses of germy little children I come into contact with every day work together to infect my body. Despite my love of food I have learned to say no when a student comes up to me at break offering me a cookie from their dirty hands, but this does not seem to be enough, and I just recently got over a 3 week long bout with the Taiwanese ick. After a week of a rough cough and sleeping about 16 hours a day, I first tried to stop into a pharmacy. I was hoping to leave with nyquil or a similar product, but instead left with a strip of over 70 unlabeled pills. As tempting as it was to shove the mystery medicine down my throat, I decided to make my first trip to see a doctor the next day. There is one close by that all the Gloria teachers go to, but I think this is mostly based on the fact that she speaks very good English. I went to the clinic, paid my 150NT ($5 US), and headed straight back into her office. After grilling me with questions about Pennsylvania and my church going habits, she shoved an unsterile tube up my nose and ushered me out of her office. I was given yet another strip of unlabeled pills and sent on my way. After taking these for a few days I was getting worse instead of better, so I thought I should try once more. This time I had my friend Clare, who is Taiwanese and an excellent translator, take me to a doctor who is known for more than just English skills. I again paid my150NT, was examined by the doctor, and given a third strip of unlabeled pills. This time I got an antibiotic and after another week of some serious sleep I have finally recovered. So all in all for 2 doctors visits and probably over 200 pills I ended up paying about $15 US. Not a bad deal.
Even my unidentified medicine is Hello Kitty themed
Two of the strips of pills
No comments:
Post a Comment