My (almost) Win of the Week

A few days ago, I wanted to make appointments with a pediatrician for each of the boys—just an initial visit to bring their vaccine records and get to know one doctor before we have a real medical issue.

To apply for Chris’s visa, we had to purchase private health insurance for our whole family. In the U.S., I know how to compare policies, understand the difference between HMOs and PPOs, and find good pediatricians. Here? I had no idea how any of it worked.

I learned that our insurance company had an office within walking distance, so I stopped in. The woman at the desk spoke no English, and my Spanish is still very basic, but together we pieced things together. I explained that I already had insurance—I just needed to know which pediatricians accepted it.

She looked a little confused because… apparently that’s not how it works here. You can simply go to a doctor, show your insurance card, and be seen. She recommended two local pediatricians and even showed me how to book one online. The other one, which had better recommendations, required a phone call.

Since speaking on the phone sounded even more intimidating, I decided to walk over in person instead.

Before I left, I practiced with Google Translate:

“I already have medical insurance. Here are our cards. I’d like to make appointments for my sons. We moved here one week ago. I’m learning Spanish, and I’m sorry… do you have any doctors who speak a little English?”

I repeated those sentences to myself the entire walk over.

When I walked in, it took me a moment to remember how to say, “Hello, how are you today? I need help making an appointment.”

The conversation actually went really well! She took our insurance cards and asked for the boys’ birth dates. It took me a little longer to say them in Spanish—and to remember that the day comes before the month—but I did it.

The only thing I didn’t know how to say was “2014” and “2016,” so I awkwardly said “20-14” and “20-16.” She corrected me kindly: dos mil catorce and dos mil dieciséis.

I also do not have my Spanish phone number memorized, and it takes me time to find it in my phone, which probably seems odd.

I understood that they had an opening in two weeks, on Tuesday at 1:00.

“¡Perfecto!” I said.

Then I added, “Wow… that was very easy. In the U.S. it’s much more complicated.”

She had heard that about our healthcare system—that you can’t just walk in and make an appointment.

I thanked her and walked out feeling SO PROUD of myself.

I was absolutely floating on cloud nine.

A few hours later, I realized I had scheduled the appointment during the boys’ summer camp.

Oops.

I got so excited that I understood the conversation and I completely forgot to check our calendar.

But now I get to go back, armed with some new Spanish:

“Hello! I made a mistake. I need to change an appointment…”

*Photo: my first empanada