The doctor

Well, I made my first trip to the doctor yesterday. I've been getting sick almost every week since I've arrived (maybe it's because kids wipe their snot on me...hmmmm), and this time it felt like a sinus infection. I decided to kick this thing once and for all and get some antibiotics. I went to a doctor across the street from my work building. You just go in, give them your insurance card and alien card. The receptionist didn't speak English, so that was fun. I got right in to see the doctor--there was no wait, and I hadn't made an appointment. He didn't speak English either, so I just sort of acted out what was wrong with me. I pushed on my face around my nose and under my eyes, and made a "blowing nose" motion. He looked in my throat, then shot some spray up my nose and looked in it. Then he said "nasal infection". Ok. fine. The doctor called the nurse in, and she ushered me into the next room, where she proceeded to pull out a needle. She motioned for me to PULL MY PANTS DOWN and bend over the table. Sweet. A shot in the ass. Haven't had one of those since I was 5. I had no idea what they gave me. Then I went back to the front desk. I had to pay 3,000 won ($3). Then, after noticing that I can't understand a word of Korean, the nurse took me by the hand and dragged me down the street with a piece of paper. She brought me to a pharmacy where luckily, the pharmacist spoke English. He gave me a 2 day supply of pills, which they neatly package into each dose (see photo). Evidently they usually only give you 2 or 3 days of drugs, and then they ask you to come back to see the doctor in 2 days (unlike the U.S. where they give you a whole bottle of pills). So I am supposed to go back tommorow. That's fine with me since the whole process took under 15 minutes.
The pills and the shot didn't really seem to help the first day. I went home after work and slept from 8pm until 7am the next day. Today at work my face hurt. There was a lot of pressure. Tonight I feel a little better.
The whole experience is funny, it just shows how much trust we put in doctors. I have no idea what I am taking (for drugs), but just because I acted out that I have a sinus infection I assumed that he understood. And I guess the shot in the butt is standard practice. Unfortunately, I didn't get a Snoopy band-aid.