I love the doctor at the eye clinic near my house. He is very kind and friendly. But when I had a serious eye problem, he sent me to a big hospital.
The atmosphere (雰囲気) at the big hospital was very different than my usual small eye clinic. At the big hospital, I was identified by a number, with a barcode. Many, many people sat waiting for a long time. Doctors and nurses and other hospital staff walked through the hallway very quickly, as if they had very important work that they were rushing to.
After a pretty long wait, my number finally came up on a big screen, and I was called in to...ANOTHER waiting room! There were a lot of doors. Each had a sign with a doctor's name on it. There were many people sitting and waiting for their turn to be called into one of the rooms. This was my first time, so I didn't know who my doctor would be. Which room would I be called to?
After another wait, a voice on a microphone called me to Dr. ____ 's room.
( "_______ " in English is said "blank".)
Yay! Finally! When I walked in, a doctor about the same age as me looked up and told me, "Oh no! I saw a foreigner waiting outside, and I prayed, Please don't send her to me!" I told him in Japanese, "おはようございます。よろしくお願いします。" He was relieved that I could speak and understand Japanese.
I was surprised at his honesty about his misgivings (危惧?) about treating a foreign patient (患者), but he ended up (結果的に）being a friendly and funny doctor with a very casual style.
I have many, many more eye doctor stories. I'll save them for another day...
Have you ever had any interesting doctors