Chez-médecin...two thumbs up!

I woke up this morning feeling much worse than I did yesterday. I didn't sleep much at all because the pain in my throat was really bad, and no amount of Advil seemed to help.

Despite not having any of my Social Security paperwork (besides the visa), I tried to navigate my way through the French system. OK, I take that back, my awesome host family helped me out by calling everyone and their mom to find a solution.

Turns out I have to complete my registration at the University before I can even get the paperwork for my social security/medical card. BUT- like everything else in France- the people at the University are on vacation and won't be back until next week. We even tried to talk to someone at the Mayor's office in town, to see if they could help speed up the process, but they too were on vacation. Love it.

So, with social security a no go, my host family called their family doctor, explained my situation and she agreed to see me.

I walked in, didn't wait a minute and saw the doctor right away. She asked me some basic questions, looked at my throat, saw it was covered with nasty white spots, and diagnosed me with a bacterial infection. Then she went to her drawer, pulled out antibiotics, steroids, and pain medicine and sent me on my way. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes with no paperwork, no money exchanged, just some medicine and a "feel better soon."

Amazing! I still can't eat, so I'm feeling weak, but thankfully today is our day off from training so I can rest. We have practice again on Thursday night, but I'm hoping by that time I will be feeling much better.

What luck! Not even a week in France and I am already sick! The good news is that everyone from my host family to the doctor were all happy to help me out, and now I'm on my way to getting better quickly.

Also- gotta love French administration and how they just take 2-3 weeks vacation at a time. I also went by the bank today and they told me I can't open an account until the banker gets back on Sept 3. So basically, they just have a secretary working at the bank to tell you that you can't do any real banking for a few more weeks. Love it.

I'm off to sleep now, hoping that I will wake up tomorrow and be in much better shape!