Oh the Joys of Malaysian Healthcare!

Well, it sure has been a while, but alas- I am back to blogging. As I am sure you read below, I got super sick! I missed the entire first week a school (a first in my life) because I was at home with strep throat, a tropical throat infection on top of that, and some major sinus/ear issues. It was NOT fun. I have been told that living in a tropical climate makes all sicknesses worse, and after what I have been through, I believe it! However, I did thoroughly enjoy the visit to the doctor- what an experience!!!!!!!!! After the second day of being sick, I realized that I would need to see a doctor (a rare thought for me to have). So, we asked around and got the name of a great doctor down the road from our school. We drove to the given location only to find that the doctor's office was located on the second story of a strip center in the middle of a very "Malaysian" village- full of food stalls, markets, tiny stores, etc. There were animals walking around, trash everywhere, and people staring at us as though we were aliens. Walking up the stairs I was beginning to think that perhaps I didn't need to see a doctor after all. But, once we reached the top of the stairs- a totally legit doctor's office was discovered. And, here's where it gets good.......... We saw the doctor within 2 minutes of walking in the door, had a consultation, two throat cultures, an antibiotics shot, were given 3 medicines (no prescriptions here), and was out the door with-in 25 minutes. How amazing is that!?! Even when I have an appointment with my doctor at home, I have to wait a freaking hour before I even go back into the room, just to wait for another 20 minutes to actually see the doctor. Now, the speedy visit is not even the best part. The whole thing- visit, throat cultures, shot, 3 different meds, and 2 follow-up visits only cost......get ready for it.................150 American dollars!!! And this is before insurance!!! I nearly fell on the floor when I was told the price. I don't think I could even get a doctor to look in my general direction for $150 in America! Plus, the kind doctor followed up the week with regular calls to my house to check up on me and to keep me up to date on what my test results were. So, to sum things up- I'll take a doctor's office in a strip center, surrounded by chickens, any day! Oh the joys of Asia! :)