the italian health system remains a mystery to me. like most things in italy, it is overly complicated.

a couple months ago my belly button was infected - dont ask me how, it's not pierced. but it was. i ignored it for awhile because i hate going to the doctor here. but when i started running a fever and it was really flamed up i decided i needed to get something. first stop, the pharmacy. here i was told that normally they could give me something, but since i had had a fever, i needed to see a doctor instead. great. so up i went to the imediate care at the hospital to wait five hours. when i finally saw a doctor her response was "strange, i dont know what it is. ive never seen this before" - not exactly what you want to hear. She then spent awhile looking through a book before giving me a prescription for creme - the same creme that the pharmacy would have sold me had it not been for the fever. she also told me that i shouldnt come there, that i needed to get a "regular" doctor.

"regular" doctors in italy dont exist at clinics like they do in america. oh no. instead there are hundreds of them - all with their own office. these offices often are located on the first floor of an apartment building. And the doctors arent there on a normal basis. only a couple hours a day. and from my experience in macerata, even if they say that they will be there on a certain day or at a certain time, it doesnt mean they will. you also dont make appointments, and there are no receptionists. instead you walk in and imediately find yourself in some kind of waiting room. here you ask who is last, and then take a seat. your turn is after who ever responded.

when living in macerata the school told us which doctor to go to - we didnt have a choice. here though you have to choose. but even that is a complicated process. first you have to go to an agency where you wait inline for while along with a bunch of other people, and they assign you a doctor. this was my journey today.

i've been sick for almost 2 months now - the infection and a series of colds and flus have left me missing half my classes, and pretty darn tired. two or three weeks ago i started feeling better, except i had developed a cough. not your ordinary run of the mill take some cough syrup cough mind you. no, this is a cough from deep in my lungs, which causes me to end up doubled over on the floor from convulsions hacking up hard little bits from my lungs. coughing attacks like this make it a bit hard to sleep through the night, so ive been a bit of a zombie. this in combination with the fact that in less than two months ive gone down three pants sizes - without dieting - has lead me to be a bit concerned.

wishing to avoid the dreaded doctor, i asked a friend back home to talk to his dad for me and tell him my symptoms (his dad is a doctor). his dad's advice, i need to go see a doctor and get it checked out. yesterday i was actually feeling a bit better, but today i woke up feeling horrible. and its just gotten worse over the course of the day. my lungs hurt, front back sides, all parts of them. i feel like there is a filter in my throat blocking half the air, even though my throat is clear. and taking anything but a shallow breath sends me into another coughing spree.

so after class today i found myself waiting to get assigned a doctor. when it finally came my turn to talk to someone, they told me that as a foreign student if i want to see a doctor i need to buy the health insurance. luckily i had bought it, and it was good for a year - unluckily that is a calender year, not a physical year. so i was told that if i want get a doctor i had to go spend another 90euros for the insurance. in the meantime though if i was sick, i could go to the imediate care at the hospital.

great i thought. another few hours waiting. so now im at home making a late lunch and debating whether or not i really want to go see a doctor. the answer is no. but with the pain in my chest and the thought of another sleepless night ahead of me, i think it's best of i go. so after i eat my pasta i get to take another journey to the hospital. oh joy.