Some Things Never Change

Like me losing things, particularly umbrellas. In Japan, most buildings have an umbrella rack near the entryway, since it rains a lot. Also, people don't often use compact umbrellas, but the long ones. Anyway, when I leave my umbrella at the entryway, I forget it on the way out. This has happened twice. I currently have no umbrellas in my house. I have found ￥100 (about $1.08) umbrellas, though. I'm strongly considering buying about 10 of them.

And in yet another unsurprising turn of events, I have developed a minor skin problem. In the summer, I had a particularly itchy spot in the bend of my left elbow. I thought it was the heat, so I waited out the summer. Now that it's cooled down, the itching has gone away, leaving a mysterious white patch of skin. Time to visit the doctor. Oh boy.

So I asked Tomoko about setting up an appointment, hoping she might find time to come with me. I mean really, visiting a doctor who doesn't speak your language? Not something I wanted to do without a translator. But Tomoko was very busy, so she printed out a map for me, told me the name of the doctor and hospital, called them to let them know a foreigner was coming, and then I went by myself.

Let me just say that the whole process was surprisingly simple. I had a spot of trouble finding the place, since my kanji-recognition reflexes are still painfully slow, but when I walked into the wrong building, the lady there was nice enough to walk with me down the street to show me where to go. In the hospital, I went to the front desk, handed them my insurance card, and sat in the waiting room. After about 25 minutes, I was called into the dermatologist. They took a sample, looked at in under a microscope, called me in again and told me I had a melanin disfunction. Basically, pigment problems. Then they said they could start treating it that day. They're basically giving me 10 seconds of UV radiation on the patch of skin once a week and I have this cream I put on at night. The total cost and hassle of all this? About 2 hours the first day, 1 hour a week after that including driving time (I'm not sure how many weeks this will go...) and the initial visit cost me about $15, the cream cost $7, and each visit after that costs about $7. The process has been INCREDIBLY easy!! I don't have to make an appointment. I just walk in, hand the receptionist my patient card and wait about 15 minutes to be called in. I see the doctor, then I  pay my bill, then I leave. It's so easy! Now I just have to wait and hope that the treatments work. The spot is still there, but I can't tell if it's going back to normal. At any rate, it's cold here and I'm always wearing long sleeves, so I can't even see it 95% of the time.

Yep, some things never change. Even on the other side of the world, I still lose my umbrellas and I have minor, mysterious reasons to visit the doctor. I hope Zuma stays healthy and well. I haven't taken him to a vet yet, so who knows, there may well be something wrong with him that I can't see. People were asking me about him the other day, and it occurred to me how strange it was that he was lost. I mean, who loses a chihuahua or doesn't claim it? I saw one just like Zuma in a pet shop along with other small purebreds, and they cost from $600-1000!! I mean, you don't just lose a $1000 dog. Well, however it happened, I'm glad I have him now. It's so nice having a pet when you live by yourself, and Zuma's just the right size and I just happen to have a house with a yard, so keeping a dog is not much of a problem. And everybody loves Zuma and Zuma seems to love everyone, especially toddlers, who are much closer to his size. The way one friend put it, Someone was watching out for me, for this barking little lump of happiness to have shown up right when I got here. Thanks, Someone!