Worth the wait?

Well, after spending two hours at the dentist on Monday, I had to spend two hours at the doctor yesterday... and that was just in the waiting room!  Going to the ambulatorio here in Spain can be a real drag; first you have to queue for nearly an hour until they call your number and you can actually make an appointment to see the doctor in the first place.

The cats used to look down at the
ambulatorio (health centre) when we
lived in that street

Then you come back again at the date on your paper, and you know that you won't actually see the doctor at the time of your scheduled appointment, but will probably wait for at least an hour and perhaps longer. When I arrived for my appointment last night, eight or nine people were already sitting outside the doctor's room, and so I knew I was settling down for a long wait. Fortunately, I'd been expecting that and had brought my computer with me so that I could work on some curriculum writing while I waited. It was two hours later before I could finally go in to see the doctor.

But I'm not complaining - not at all. Yes, it's a drag to have to wait such a long time to see the doctor, but the other side of the coin is that it's an incredible blessing to live in a country where medical care isn't oppressively expensive. After the doctor had written my prescription and I made my way to the pharmacy, I only had to pay €4.20 (instead of €44.20) for each box of my malaria tablets. As my prescription was for four boxes, that meant I only paid €16.80 - making a total saving of 160 euros. With that kind of saving, I guess I can put up with the two hour wait!!