A Doctor's Visit

My first doctor's visit was a little strange. I had never been in a hospital in Europe before, and they do things differently in America. Because I was in a formerly Communist country, the buildings were quite dark inside and not as clean as I'm used to. I also needed a friend to come with me, because I did not speak the language. We had to pay in cash because we were not part of the socialized health care system. After the physical examination, we stood in a long line in order to get x-rays taken. Everyone waited to quietly and patiently, not at all like a waiting room in an American hospital! My second visit was to a neurologist - a doctor of the head and nervous system. He spoke some English, which was very nice. However, it was still hard for him to communicate about such things in a second language! That time, they could not figure out how to enter me in the computer, so I finally paid about $7 U.S. for the visit. I had never paid so little for a doctor's visit!