An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away??

I feel like I have to apologize once again for such a big gap of time between my last blog and this one.  After getting back from Ireland things got a bit chaotic; midterms started and I was sick for a bit.  Now that things have calmed down a bit I can pick up the blogs again, and I am going to do my best to not forget anything.   The weekend after Ireland we had a day trip with our program to the Alpujarras.  Las Alpujarras is a mountainous region in Spain with small pueblos (towns).  The excursion was a hiking trip, and the bus drove us up to Capileira, where we started the hike.  The itinerary for the day was to hike down from Capileira to another town called Bubion, and from Bubion to Pompeneira, where the bus would pick us up.

The pueblos on the hike were very, very small.  They all had a few restaurants, and a couple of gift shops and that was about it.  The fun part of the trip was the hike to get to the pueblos, not exploring the pueblos themselves (there really wasn’t much to explore).  When we set off from Capileira we followed a well worn path, but after a bit, the path became less obvious.  The director of our program turned to us a couple of times and said “Nothing is ever fun without a bit of doubt.  We never are really sure where we are going when we do this excursion”.  I think I would have preferred it if she hadn’t said that.  It was a great day, and the scenery was amazing.  There were huge gorges and we were completely surrounded by mountains.  There was also a lot of farm land, and animals.  Towards the beginning of the hike we came across a horse with a one month old horse.  We also saw chickens and roosters and learned that in Spanish, the roosters don’t say cock-a- doodle- doo, they say “quiquiriquí”. 

The hike to the first town took about two hours, with a fifteen or so minute break by a waterfall.  Once we arrived in Bubion we sat in the sun, ate some snacks, and drank a lot of water from the fountain in the middle of the town square.  There are water fountains everywhere in Andulusia, and the water is always amazing.  I don’t know why but I love them.  After half an hour in Bubion we hiked another 45 minutes or so to Pampeneira.  In Pampeneira we saw a “washing machine”, which I believe we were told was from the 10^th or 11^th Century.  Afterwards we found a restaurant, and I had a traditional Alpujarran lunch, which consisted of a fried egg, Serrano ham, a couple different kinds of sausages, and fried potatoes.  It was… interesting.  I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t think it’s something I will ever try to make for myself.  After lunch we just looked in a couple gift shops.  The people of Alpujarra make a specific kind of rug, and so they were everywhere and in many different shapes, sizes and colors.  It was fun, but I was ready to get on the bus and relax the rest of the day.  The hike was exhausting, especially since the sun was so strong that day. 

I also was exhausted because at that point I had been sick for about a week.  I started getting sick the day we flew back from Dublin, and the next morning I woke up with an awful cough.  I decided to let it go for a bit, hoping it was just a cold.  Last Monday after nights of not sleeping and a couple days with a fever, I decided I needed to get over my fear of going to a Spanish doctor. My host mom had been feeding me honey by the spoonful to try and help with the cough, but it wasn’t helping that much and I decided I needed some medicine.  The program I am in uses a doctor who speaks some English, so I made an appointment to get checked out.  Although she advertises herself as an English speaking doctor, she spoke to me almost completely in Spanish.  I was surprised by the fact that I was able to tell her all of my symptoms in Spanish, and we barely used any English in the appointment.  I learned a lot of vocabulary that day.  It took her about five minutes to diagnose me with bronchitis and she wrote out four prescriptions for me.  She also wrote me a note to give to my teachers excusing me from class for three days.  I only skipped one and a half days, but I loved that I had the note just in case. 

I was dreading going to fill my prescriptions at the pharmacy, thinking that I would have to pay an arm and a leg for them.  Insurance here is very different from at home.  At the appointment, I paid 50 euros upfront.  After the appointment you fill out a form and send it in with the receipt to the insurance company who pays you back.  I hated having to pay 50 euros, and I was sure I would have to pay at least that amount for the prescriptions.  I was shocked when the pharmacists rang me out and asked me for fourteen euros.  I asked her to repeat herself, and I think she thought I didn’t understand her Spanish, because in English she said very slowly and loudly “FOUR TEEN EUROS AND FORTY CENTS”.  I was thrilled.  After antibiotics and a week of cough syrup and a decongestant, I am feeling much better.  I’m glad I finally decided to go to the doctors.  It made me feel better, and it was just another chance to practice my Spanish.