We always keep learning

Just a quick story before we take off on holiday tomorrow. Actually, we are on holiday already, but we seem to be using most of our time thus far catching up on chores... As you are probably aware, we will be taking the train to Dresden tomorrow, staying over the Easter weekend and then traveling to Kraków, Poland. We will be returning home in the wee hours of Sunday morning (probably between 0100-0200 depending on connections). While we are away, and this is the hardest part for Michael..., we will not have a computer, so we will be off the net for a bit. We will probably look for a couple of internet cafés along the way, but essentially, we will be out of contact.

Weather-wise, we couldn't be more pleased - it has been warm enough (in the high-teens to low-twenties) to go out for a "kugel" (ice cream) with friends, bask in the warmth of the sun and people-watch. We are really going to miss that slice of life here. We thank God for every day he gives us and the little pleasures that come our way.

One of our chores we had this week was refilling a prescription. Not a big deal you say - if you have a prescription, just go to the pharmacy, or better yet just call it in. Have them verify the prescription and voilá, Bob's your uncle. Well, welcome to Germany, as a soverign country, they have the right to do things a little differently here. Not wrong, just different - and in this case, it was rather amusing.

First, as far as we can tell, there is no such thing as a prescription refill, per se. Every prescription is a one-time fill and one has to return to the doctor to get the next one. When we first arrived with prescriptions from America, the Apotheke folks were very unsure whether or not to fill them. In the end, the owner, after finding out we were working for the school (he was a supporter of RIA) gave us permission to get the prescription filled - but he warned us sternly that future prescriptions must come from a German Physician (capitalized for emphasis). We thanked him profusely and went on our way.

So, we did find a German Physician (capitalized for emphasis). Actually, it is a physician's group that occupies the floor above our apartment, so it is most convenient. Dr. Lehmann speaks excellent english and has been a very kind doctor for both Delynn and I when we have had occasion to see him. Anyway, back to the prescription...

We went up to the office to see what steps we needed to get a new prescription. We didn't know if that would entail an office visit (in which case we would make an appointment) or what we would need to do. We walked in, talked to the nice assistant (you know, all of the office staff dress much more casually than they would in the states - for the most part, they wear jeans and blouses/shirts, but no white coats or anything even remotely resembling uniformity) and she looked us up on the computer. Since we are privately insured (i.e. we pay our own bills, thank you very much) and apparently okay people, she printed off the prescription right at the front desk, told us we needed a physician's signature, and asked us to step over to the waiting area.

OOOOkkkkaaaaaayyyy. Now what? We stepped over to the waiting area (all chairs taken, so we stood) and began a whispered converstation.

"Will they call us?"
"I don't know."

"What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know."

"Do you see a physician?"
"I don't know - wait, that one has a stethoscope..."

"What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know."

"Do you see Dr. Lehman?"
"No. Do you know any of the other doctors?"
"No."

"What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know."

"Should we go back and ask at the front desk?"
"Well, the line is kind of long..."

So, this went on for a few minutes until we saw someone leave an examination room, only to be swarmed by two or three people all holding out pieces of paper which the woman signed and gave back. We knew they weren't collecting autographs, so that must be it! By the time we made the connection, the woman (probably a doctor: she had a stethoscope) was back in another examining room and we were left still clutching our unsigned prescription. The line at the front desk had by this time dissipated, so I walked over to ask about correct procedure. The staffer said, no, we would not be called and confirmed our suspicion that we just simply need to mob the doctor whenever they come into the waiting area and get a signature. Never mind that they don't have the first clue of who we are!

I joined back up with Delynn and we found a couple of chairs together. We waited... Each time a door opened, we whispered: "Is that a doctor?" We had yet to see Dr. Lehmann, the only one we knew for sure was a physician - although we were pretty sure of stethoscope woman. Finally, after a few minutes, she reappeared out of a door in transit to another patient. An elderly lady raised up her hand holding a sheet of paper and we knew this was our chance. I jumped up out of my seat and thrust the paper in her general direction. She took it, signed it and handed it back without a word. We gave a quiet "Danke schön" and made our way back toward the entrance.

Afterwards, we had a good laugh together over our new learning experience. It really was quite amusing: our initial timidity, watching others to see the process and imitating what we saw all brought us to a successful conclusion. This is life in a different culture and we love it! Never stop learning.

We will post again sometime after we return from our Dresden-Kraków trip. Please be patient with us - we realize as our date of departure from Germany gets ever closer that we have LOTS of things to get accomplished (not just teaching and bookkeeping). Thank you for keeping up with our lives here in Germany - our friends here have asked us to keep blogging when we get back to the States so they too can keep up with our lives. We have made such good friends here, leaving them is the hardest part of returning.

Love all; serve all. Make good choices.