I think I know what aliens look like

I think I know what aliens look like because I'm pretty sure an alien came out of my nose this morning. 

Sick again. This time: sinus infection. 

My achy face and overall discomfort resulted in going to the student health center this morning. While I have heard horror stories of ineffectiveness and disorganization from my comrades back in Claremont about the much beloved student health center there, I must say that my experience this morning was not at all painful. The worst part was having to walk three blocks in the freezing wind. Once I got there, I sat in the waiting room with the other walk-ins, who were releasing their cooties into the room with every exhalation, until my name appeared on this little ticker telling me that it was my turn to see a doctor. 

Now, some of you may not know this, but I HATE going to the doctor. This sense of fear and anxiety comes over me that usually results in the nurse having to take my blood pressure three times in order to get a proper reading. So, needless to say, going to a doctor that is not at the Kaiser Lakeview medical office was a bit unnerving. 

I walked into Dr. Smith's office to meet a very small blonde lady with her hair in a messy ponytail. She invited me to sit down, and then asked me for the reason I came into the doctor. There was no freezing examining room. No white lab coat with stethoscope and cold handshake. Not even a tongue depressor in sight. We were in her office, she was sitting at her desk, and I was sitting in the chair opposite. She asked me a number of questions, told me that in the UK doctors don't generally prescribe antibiotics, and then told me that since I come from a healthcare system that generally does prescribe them (too often) that if I would like them, she would give them to me. So I asked for Amoxicillin. My antibiotic of choice. 

I don't want to make it sound like she didn't know what she was doing. She did the ear and nose thing and did produce a tongue depressor and told me to go "ahhh." But she was so nice. She actually talked to me and chatted about the time she spent studying abroad in New Zealand when she found out that I was studying abroad in the UK. And she commiserated with me about the confusion that can come with going into a new healthcare system. She was incredibly nice.

There was no charge to go to the doctor. No charge for the prescription. The only thing I had to pay for was to get the prescription filled at the pharmacy. It was incredible. 

Welcome to the world of national healthcare.

Now, to fight the aliens...