Monday

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January 15

Well today I got to experience being an actual patient in one of the private hospitals here in Chiang Mai. I haven't eaten in about 5 days and my body keeps spitting things out (I honestly don't know how there's stuff in there, but there is), so they thought it would be best for me to go to the doctor. I was really nervous to go because I hate the doctor even in America. Imagine me in a whole different country. They don't have doctor's offices here, just hospitals, so you have you have to go to the hospital and wait until the doctor is able to see you. Some people wait all day! I didn't have to wait that long because we went to a private hospital, which meant you have to have insurance or money. I got my vital signs taken and then waited some more. They asked me my symptoms and then referred me to a GI specialist and I got in to see him right away. This is super different that America--sometimes you have to wait like 4 months to see specialist doctors, so that was really nice. I told him my symptoms and we had a laugh together. I think there was a bit of an English barrier, too because I started talking about Imodium and I'm pretty sure he thought I said I took at least 12 pills a day and that is just way wrong. Overall, he was super nice and just like any other doctor I've encountered. He prescribed me some medicine (including peppermint oil) so we headed downstairs to pay and pick up the prescriptions. The visit and prescriptions was only 940 baht (about $29) and I am still in shock with this price. I mean, I saw a GI specialist AND got three medications! Pretty crazy. After the hospital, I met the rest of me classmates at another private hospital called Bangkok Hospital of Chiangmai. This did not look like a hospital at all, it looked and felt like a hotel. I'm not kidding, there was an escalator inside. It reminded me of an upscale airport or something. Mainly foreigners get care there since it is so expensive. We got a tour of the building and saw the different units. The units are pretty small, but they are all private compared to the hospital we worked in last week where there were 40 beds in one room. It was a beautiful hospital, but I liked the one I went to earlier in the day (I guess I'm a bit biased).

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