Wake up!

Jason and I have a clock in our bedroom that gets its time from radio waves. So, it should always have the correct time. I have noticed at least once in the past, that the clock had an incorrect time. Our alarm is set for 6:35 am in order to get Jonah out the door at 7:05 and the other 2 students out at 7:30 am. I usually press snooze at least once.

This morning the alarm rang and I pressed snooze. It rang again 5 minutes later and again, snooze. I continued to press snooze till I looked at the ceiling (the clock beams the light onto the ceiling) and saw that it was 7:20! Agh!!! I yell at Jason and Jonah that they have to get up NOW. Jonah begins to cry out, I am going to be in so much trouble... I get up and go downstairs to wake up Caedon and Ashlyn so that they have 10-15 minutes to get ready. As I am trying to get the very tired kids up, Jason yells from downstairs to check a clock. I do and it reads, 3:35! Stupid clock was wrong and the alarm went off to boot! Thankfully, we all were able to go back to sleep but it gave us a good story to tell!

I have put in another clock that isn't radio controlled in our bedroom, just to keep this from happening again!

It has been a trying week. As most of you know, Ashlyn went to the hospital on last Saturday with a stomach ache. After 7 hours and three consultations from 3 different drs., she was rushed into emergency surgery to remove her appendix. During the 2 1/2 hour surgery, the Doctor had to dig around to find the large, infected appendix tucked under her liver. As she was trying to remove the nasty thing, it ruptured. They flushed it with saline and antibiotics and inserted a tube to allow for drainage. After midnight on Sunday morning, she was wheeled from the OR in one building, outside in freezing weather to the intensive station on the other side of the hospital. She was in a very small room till 2-3 hours later, when she began to wake up and then vomit. The vomiting lasted off and on for 2 days, I think in reaction to the anesthesia. She was put into a room with a 6 year old girl who had her finger operated on shortly after Ashlyn's surgery was done. The doctor said she was very glad that she did the surgery when she did and was glad that Ashlyn's appendix hadn't ruptured before she got her into surgery. Ashlyn had 5 days of antibiotics and pain medicine. After Tuesday, she was able to begin to eat and drink a little, things such as jello and soup. By Thursday, she was feeling much better and we thought she might get to go home by Friday. We were prepared to make a defense for letting her go home (doctors tend to keep patients longer here), but the doctor said she thought she could go by then. By Thursday afternoon, the doctor went ahead and released her and we were happily bringing her home by 4 pm. By just 8 pm Ashlyn had spiked a 102 fever. I was concerned that her infection wasn't gone so we called the hospital and they recommended we bring her back in. So, just 5 short hours at home and she was back in her same bed at the hospital. They tested her blood but gave her nothing for her fever. They just observed her for 36 hours during which her fever went down to normal and they never gave her any antibiotics, fever reducer or IV fluids. Finally, Saturday afternoon she was back at home. TO STAY. The doctor said it was a virus she must have picked up from one of her brothers, but i find that a little strange.

She is doing really well and will have just 2 small scars. She goes back to the doctor tomorrow to check on everything. She must stay out of school for another week and no PE for 4 weeks, which she likes!

I tell this story for several reasons. The main one was to tell about how sweet the boys were to her while she was at the hospital. When they talked to her they were so concerned and asked how she was feeling and doing and would always say, I love you. (they don't say this). Caedon has continued to ask her if she feels okay and told her he keeps asking because he thinks she looks sad. He keeps asking if she has another stomach ache, ....? It was a good time for the kids to think of their sister rather than themselves. Jason and I are glad that everything is better now and we get to sleep in the same house and bed again. My family is intact again. And Ashlyn wouldn't show the doctors how much pain she was having and was very shy. She had to stay a couple nights alone and by the end was saying how she was okay because she knew the doctors and nurses now.

Thanks for reading, if you got this far and thanks for your prayers, if you got updated. October was crazy busy and now that November has been rather eventful, I am hoping that the rest of the month and December will slow down!

Chaos

Just a couple pics from an apple pie I made the other day for house church. Amy said it looked like it came from a magazine, so I thought I would put it on here so this blog would have a picture!

Germans have nothing really like pie, so it was fun to take it to the house church and introduce them to an american favorite!

Speaking of chaos, October is about to begin, and it will be a crazy one. (Can you believe it is already October? This year has flown by! )

The first few days of October will be filled with 4 boys whom we are taking care of for 4 days while their parents take a romantic trip to Paris! Jason drives down Friday to Prague to pick them up. On Saturday, we have the 2nd annual Bible Fest and so we will be dragging all 8 children to a church in another area of the city. Our children will be the interpreters because it will all be in German! Jason will take the boys back home on Monday.
On the next Saturday, my parents arrive for a two week visit. We will get to take a trip to Paris to celebrate our 15th anniversary while my parents watch the kids. Since the kids will be out of school for those two weeks, we may head up to Berlin and the Saxon Switzerland park just 30 minutes from here.
Just a few days after my parents leave, we will host a family for a few days so they can see our beautiful city and get to know the work going on around here.
Then it is Halloween (thankfully, they don't do that much here) and on to November.
Whew!!!!!!!!!

School Days

Going back to school is a crazy time here. Especially this year with three beginning school and one having a new school and schedule. Jonah started Gymnasium this year (5-12th grades). Here is a picture of him walking to school on his first day. His school begins at 7:30 and he is out most days by 1:15. (on really hot days he gets out by 11am because the school gets too hot and the teachers and kids can't get work done!)

Ashlyn and Caedon go up to the grade school around the corner. They begin at 7:50 (which I wish was the earlier beginning time since it takes just 5 minutes to walk and not 20, like Jonah) Here is a picture of Caedon at his desk on his first day.

We had to buy new notebooks and folders and workbooks for the big kids, but Caedon had to buy everything. Here is picture of his backpack. It is about the same size as a normal backpack, but hard and boxy. They also cost anywhere from $50 to over $200. The cheap ones probably wouldn't last the whole 4 years he will probably use it. We paid a whopping 89 euros for Caedon's. I am not sure what that is in dollars now but at least $120. (I am not above letting my child be different from the other children to be more economically frugal), but even a decent, normal backpack would be 50 euros and just wouldn't really work for his needs. The Germans want their kids to have the extra support and padding and they carry a lot in the backpacks. Caedon's backpack also came with a gym bag for his gym class and the "federtasche" for his pens, pencils and markers, and a bottle for drinks and a little container for his "second breakfast".


Here is a comparison shot of the various backpacks the kids carry. The first (left) is a cheap backpack that Jason or I would use (or the kids on a field trip), the middle is Caedon's new one and the third is Ashlyn's. We bought hers and Jonah's when they moved to the new school around the corner 3 years ago. I thought I was doing good buying them (1/2 price-88euros) but they are really more like what 4th-7th graders carry. Thankfully, Jonah and Ashlyn didn't care enough to complain or be upset. Ashlyn is finally carrying an "appropriate" backpack and Caedon has at least three classmates with the same backpack!

Jonah is going to have to rent a locker this year because his backpack is just too heavy for him to carry. He has small books, but also workbooks and folders and spiral notebooks and he is complaining how heavy it is.

Random Pics

Just a few pics to help illustrate the busy month I have had. Here are 3 bicycles, two of which are new from the flea market on the river. Logan has been asking for a bicycle for a long time, but they are too expensive to buy for the short time he could use it, so we lucked out and found 2 bikes in good condition for Logan and Caedon.

I bought new dishes to match the kitchen.

A bill we received from UPS for a whopping 1 cent. Apparently when one of our volunteer girls paid UPS to deliver her camera she under payed by 1 whole cent. Do I send the penny in the mail or make a 1 cent bank transfer?

This outlet fried just shortly before Jonah and Jason left at the end of May for Jonah's class trip. We hadn't yet gotten around to calling someone but the husband of the couple we had coffee with yesterday, came over last night and fixed it for free,yea!

The 1500 piece puzzle I finished about a month ago. I had to document the accomplishment before I broke it to pieces and put it up to do again later.

The kids just finished up school for the year (see Dindresden blog) and so we are about to enjoy our 6 weeks of summer before 3 kids begin school on August 10th.

Correction

Just a note to add to the swimming blog a few weeks ago. The child that entered my area was in fact a boy, and that would explain the staring. I found out that the school kids all go to the "women's" side to change. Oh well, I don't think he saw more than what his mom has exposed!

The Five List

Here is a top 5 list of the things about Germany:

Top 5 things I dislike: (in no particular order, not all inclusive)

1. No bulk items. I can only get large quantities occasionally and that of toilet paper, paper towels, and detergent.

2. No yellow squash. I really want a good squash casserole and some garlic sauteed squash.

3. Almost all bottles (coke, water, etc.) have to be returned to the store for money. One usually payes .15 to .25 cents for each and then given a receipt for the sum that is then redeemed at the checkout.

4. Recycling. I don't mind the plastic and food recycling, but I have to recycle cardboard, newspaper and magazines, and glass down the street. It collects quickly and takes a lot of precious storage space, till I can get it to the dump.

5. That everything is difficult here. Nothing is very easy. One has to go to several places to get things. There is no one stop shopping. It is not just shopping either, but pretty much everything.

Honorable mention: Carts at the store have to be "paid for" with a coin and then the coin is returned when you put the cart back. Powder detergent for the washing machine has no scoop. I don't know what germans do. Most Germans don't use deoderant or bathe regularly, so there is a very strong smell, especially in the summer!

5 Things I love about Germany:

1. CHOCOLATE!

2. The old buildings, the history that is thousands of years old, the beauty of the city.

3. The climate, there are 4 distinct seasons! Snow in winter, green trees, grass and flowers in spring, mild summer temps., and reds and oranges in the fall.

4. Dürüms. They are like a gyro or kabob but in a tortilla. Delicious!

5. CHRISTMAS! Dresden has the oldest Christmas market in Germany (probably in Europe) and it is so beautiful and festive here then.

Honorable Mention: Public transportation. It is good here, albeit a little slow. But one can get to the entire city with a bus or tram. Dogs are beloved here. It is very easy to travel with your dog and they are allowed almost anywhere, especially if they fit in a bag. The german alphabet has 4 different letters that make it distinct, ö,ä,ü,ß.

Top Floor

Looking straight into what we call the Nook.

My scrapbooking area. All the cabinets are full of just my hobby stuff.

The Library part.

The school part. The kids have their art supplies and school books and workbooks,etc. under the desk.

Our Room:

Our bed

Looking straight into the room from the door with the blinds up. The roof outside these windows is a metal one and doesn't allow for the rollladen like the other rooms in the house. Therefore, a whole wall of windows facing west can be very hot!

Dresser sitting under the eaves to the right of the room.. The stairs are behind the quilt wall.

Straight in with the blinds down and the tri-fold up. It helps keep some of the light and heat out.

The bed again. The color isn't so good here, but the bed is two shades of khaki. At the foot of the bed is a trunk.

My American Hang-ups

I went swimming for the first time today. I have been avoiding it like the plague but I needed an exercise that was easy on the knees (too many stairs in the last 3 years) and relatively cheap and something I could do with someone (meaning Jason). So, I braved wearing a swimsuit and tried hard to not think about the public pool water. But what I still can't get over is the nudity! I only have to see naked women (and men in speedos, that doesn't count, right?) but it still is shocking. I was not prepared and I don't know if I can ever be prepared to see it.

Here is a little about the day:
I went into the women's changing area, so far so good! I walked around looking the locker room and once I found it, grabbed my swimsuit and towel, swimming cap and goggles and went searching for a private place to change. I look right and a skinny older woman is drying her naked body. Ok, so I find small rooms that have numbers on them but several have the door open. I guess I can just shut the door and have a little privacy. I change quickly and walk through the shower area, get wet and proceed to the swimming pool. (First naked lady to be seen, 9 months pregnant!) Swimming was fine, no problems except some of the older folk showing me up. Now, comes the challenge. I need to bathe and wash my hair. There are 2 shower rooms, both with about 6-8 shower heads. All one big room, no privacy. (Just an interesting note, the bathroom does have stalls, so I guess you won't get shy bladder. But there is nothing for shy naked people!) I peak into the one shower room and see a naked young women showering. Ack. I think,okay I will use the other room, but when you finish and need to grab your towel, you might be seen by anyone coming out of the swimming pool area! Back to the more private shower room. Three ladies are now in the room, all older wrinkly ladies. I use the restroom thinking that might give them a little time to finish. I return to find only one woman, yeah! I take my bathingsuit down to bathe, but just can't work up the courage to take it all off. I bathe as best as I can and hurry to dry myself. I return to the locker room to find another woman naked and drying herself off. Ack! I grab my clothes and keep my towelaround me and walk through the coed walkway to the little rooms again. I go into the same room and try very hard to dry off and dress as quickly as possible. About half done and a child comes into the room. It looked like a boy but I think it must have been a girl. I said excuse me but she continued to stare for what seemed like a long time. "She"? left and said loudly, "We're early". So, I walked back to the locker room and grabbed my things and left, but not before I got peeks at at least 2 other naked women.

I think I have hit my naked people quota for a while, at least till the next time I swim. Why did I take up swimming?

Family=3, maybe 4, no more than 5!

The parent coffee hour before our first aid training yesterday was a good opportunity to "see" into the thinking of the german mind. Germany has one of the lowest birthrates in the entire world. The German government is trying to give couples incentive to have babies. They receive a large amount of money every month and more for each additional child. Dresden has had a baby boom so to speak and has seen an increase in the birthrate, up to a little above 1%! There are also laws that allow women to keep their job for up to 3 years after the birth of the child so they can stay home until then. Many women will plan their children exactly 3 years apart.

As we were eating cookies and drinking coffee, the parents began to discuss how difficult it is to find cheap places to vacation with large families. The couple had 3 children I think. Jason volunteered that we have 4 kids. Everyone was surprised we had so many. It seems that 1 child is typical, 2 children is becoming more common, 3 children is pretty rare but not so bad, but apparently 4 children is too many, over the top! Someone made some comment about 5 but unfortunately I didn't hear it. We know several families with 3 kids in our neighborhood, and our neighbor actually has 4 daughters, and another family in our church has 4 but they are the only exception I know of! So, we were not exactly normal in the states but we are definitely just strange here in Germany!

Recipe, Schmecipe

Life in another country is often very similar to life in the United States. Or at least it is after one gets over culture shock and learns the language and how things work. I am very fortunate here in Germany to find many things or even the same things as in the US. I still buy Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet paper and the kids still get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (just with less sweet pb and no grape jelly). I can even buy some luxury items (like cake mixes and Pop Tarts) if I am willing to pay the astronomical prices! We bake and cook a lot of things from scratch and they usually are as good or better than what we would have had in Texas.
But, as I was preparing to bake a cake for a collegue, I ran into the problem that makes cooking and baking here in Germany a challenge. I first looked for a recipe for strawberry cake. (Sure was missing the cake mixes from the states!) I found a recipe that went a little like this:

One white cake mix (why do they do this?)
1 Package frozen strawberries (how much is that exactly? and can you switch that to metric?)
3/4 package powdered sugar (it has been over 3 years since I bought a package of anything and so I can't remember how much comes in a package.)
1/4 of said package strawberries hold back for icing (aghhhh!)
3 oz. strawberry jello (2 problems with this: one, no strawberry jello, two, jello packages here are different sizes and don't come with sugar, that must be added)

Well,my cake turned out okay even though I guestimated the amount of strawberries and used strawberry pudding mix instead of the jello. One must be flexible when baking here and open to failing when trying new recipes! I won't even go into the difficulty that arises when trying to make anything that calls for Cool Whip or cream cheese! And I haven't found anything comparable to Rotel and creamed corn, so a few recipes must be sacrificed.

Jonah is 11

Jonah turned 11 on the 20th and I now have a preteen. In Germany they call them Teenies! As a sunday school teacher and childcare worker through the years, this is the age for boys that I dread. The ages from 11-14 for boys, when they go through that awkward stage, puberty and just get goofy and annoying,I just find scary. I haven't started worrying about the teen years, which everyone is so keen on reminding me are TERRIBLE! I look forward to seeing my children go through young adulthood and mature into what I hope are polite, respectful, God-fearing adults.

So, Jonah is a trip. He is beginning to sound very much like Jason and me. That is the scary part. He is half Jason and half me in personality and he and I really clash sometimes. He loves to argue,just to argue. He has many desires/wishes that are quite outlandish and impossible and I just don't get it.It really upsets him when I tell him that he ought to focus on and create achievable goals and desires. He and Ashlyn are constantly arguing and fighting. Saturdays are not much fun when the kids are home the entire day. Ashlyn is another story but I will save her for another day. Jonah is a very talented kid, not just smart but clever too. Too clever for his own good. He loves to draw and draws the cartoon and illustrates the school newspaper. He also made me a birdfeeder for Christmas. He wants to be a film director after college. I haven't been able to find anything yet though to get him involved in directing for the summer or school year, but I hope I can find something. Maybe I can find an art class he might like.

Jonah, I love him and am proud of him and hope I can get through these next few years and maintain my sanity.

Children, what a blessing?!

Just wanted to relate a short story from yesterday's events. We have now had our time change (too) and so it stays lighter till close to 8:30 now. We also now allow Jonah (almost 11) and Ashlyn (9) to stay up past their brothers 7:45-8:00 pm bedtime. Jonah stays up till 9 and Ashlyn 8:30. I started a Bible study for them on Monday nights to go a little deeper with them than what they are getting at church (nothing, really) and house church (simplified for the younger boys). All that was bonus, ha!

Last evening, after dinner, Jason had to go to a revival service (of sorts) and so I had the kids alone (again!). I let them finish a movie they had started the night before till about 7 and then sent them to get pjs on. We would then clean rooms and put away the clean laundry. I was trying to take care of a few emails in the movie time, but noticed after I sent them downstairs, it was way too quiet. I heard children's voices outside, but knew that they weren't my kids' because they were downstairs changing! I peeked out of my 3rd story window, and didn't see anything. BUT it was too quiet. So I head downstairs to check on their progress and ended up finding them ALL outside in the back garden drawing with chalk! No one had shoes on, all were just wearing socks. And, Caedon had gotten ready for bed, because he was in only his undershirt and underwear!! And, it was pretty cool outside, probably in the 50s at the most. Needless to say, I was a little angry. Everyone was sent to change, brush their teeth and get in bed with a spanking to go with it! No one put up a fuss though, they knew they were caught.

Tough Times

I just got back from a training trip and 2 days later Jason is "gone" on a similar trip. I use " " because he is actually in the city but not at home or where we will see him much. BUT, this evening as I am eating dinner with the group that came in for this trip, I receive a call from the babysitter. I have a fear that I might get a call but I thought it might be that my parents had called. I am scared to hear the phone ring, that my parents are calling to say that my grandfather has died. He suffered a stroke on Tuesday and so we are waiting to make sure that he doesn't have any more hemorrahging or brain swelling. Well, thankfully it is not a call from my parents but the babysitter asking me if I could come home because Caedon had thrown up. I was afraid this might happen, so it didn't surprise me, just saddened me. Yesterday, Caedon's tablemate at Kindergarten threw up on his plate during afternoon snack. Unfortunately, Caedon was a recipient of a little of it and apparently the germs that caused it. So, my wonderful husband is going to come home and stay the night with me to keep vigil. To complicate matters, I have plans for tomorrow night for a craft night. It is going to be my language partner, her mother, and a friend. I want to do it but with all four kids by myself and one not well, I don't know if I should try to do it but with 3 coming I don't want to cancel. Why do things have to be so complicated sometimes. And, Jonah is upset that he doesn't get to stay up and watch cartoons on a school night like Caedon. Agh, children! Sorry this is so random and rambling but have a little time on my hands as Caedon falls asleep.

I haven't had much time to write here recently. Things are rather busy, even though I feel like I sometimes do nothing at all! I just got back from a week long training time in Switzerland. We learned some of the things that our husbands are taking 3 weeks to learn. Amazing that they can shorten the material so much when the one away is the one that runs the house!! Despite the brevity of the time, I felt like I have a better understanding of "our" role here in Dresden. This week Jason is hosting the 2nd week of the training here in Dresden for Jason's group. So, although he is technically not away from home, he will not be here with us. And so it goes...

Could you repeat that please, and in german?

Yesterday as I was leaving the children's event that our church hosts, a kid asked me what time it was. I answered in the Sachsen way, it is half past 5. The child looked at me with a quizzical expression and said, " could you say that in German?" I just laughed and Jason said it another way. Guess he wasn't a Sachsen or my German sounds too much like English! Halb sechs oder? I guess I better start at the beginning again! Hallo, Guten Tag, Ich bin Cheryl. Ich spreche kein Deutsch! O Boy!

Wo ich auch Stehe

Living overseas obviously has its pros and cons. I live in a beautiful and historically significant city in Europe. I also live in a city in which it is very difficult to share your faith and see others come to Christ. My country is a sowing place, not yet ripe for the harvest. The people are friendly in a European sense but not friends. I love my home but can become a little “homesick” for fellowship “American” style. All that to say, attending church is sometimes more of a chore than a desire. It can be very difficult to feel “fed” and I am just getting to the point where I can listen and understand the sermon. But as always, God blesses the time. As we were singing in the “praise” time, we sang a song I have sung only a couple of times before. The song translated says:

Wherever I am, you were already there.

Whenever I run, you are still near

Whatever I think, you already know

Whatever I feel, you understand.

And I thank you that you know me and nevertheless love me, that you know me by name and forgive me

You stand me up right and lift me to you, and I thank you that you know me and nevertheless still love me.

You know my heart, the longing in me

As fully God and Man, you lived here

Just like us but without sin

You are merciful, and full of patience

Chorus

This song always make me almost teary-eyed. I am not sure why but I become overwhelmed with God’s love and sacrifice for me. God’s infinite love, power and mercy are beyond comprehension. For me, the line in the chorus that says that God loves ME even though He knows ME. He loves me nevertheless, despite all of my sin, my faults, my thoughts, everything that is so “ugly” to Him. What an awesome God we serve! Never let me forget how much He loves me and how unworthy I am to receive that love.

He called you what?

Just another story of living cross-culturally. Driving here is always an adventure. We drive a standard so that always makes things interesting but then the traffic, cobblestone streets, narrow streets and cars parked everywhere just makes it crazy. Parking is even funner! Most of the time one has to parallel park. Jason and I were helping get our new team member settled and parking on the street can be hard to find. One has to watch for driveways, no parking zones and whatnot. Jason found a spot and we pulled in. I looked and didn't see any problem, there was a door but nothing obvious. We payed for 2 hours of parking and went up to her apartment. Two hours later, we send Amy (new team member) to pay for some more parking and she comes back saying someone wanted us to move our car. I grab Amy's shoes (I had only slippers on) and run outside thinking that someone just wanted us to move a little. When I got there I was very surprised.

The man sees me and asks if this was my car. I said "yes". He then goes into his tirade. Did you not see the no parking sign? Can you not read? This is total crude (he used a mild word). Are you stupid? I missed an appointment, I have been waiting for 30 minutes. Isn't it clearly marked? He also used a few other choice German curse words.

I quickly said first, that it was my car but I didn't park it. He asked if my husband was blind. I also got in a few "sorrys" and what else could I say. As parting shots after what seemed an eternity of being chewed out, he told me to lay off the alcohol!! I just laughed and told him I didn't drink! I think he would have been better off and gotten away faster if he had just said he was upset and let it go. I guess he felt better giving me my due and I felt pretty lucky to get off so easily. I am just glad I didn't cry!

Everything becomes an adventure! I will share about Amy's doctor visits later! Germany- good times! (and I really mean that, even though it can be difficult)

Teeth, Chins and Eyes, oh My!

Caedon has had an eventful couple of weeks. After weeks (literally) wiggling a loose tooth, Caedon accidentally wiggled a little too hard on January 3rd and out came his tooth. We happenend to be at our friends house and they "do" the tooth fairy. So, at 1 am Jason remembered that Caedon had put his tooth under his pillow and so he got out a euro and made the switch. After writing this sentance I realized that I don't know if it is an eyro or a euro. A euro just sounds right so I am sticking with it.

Today as Caedon was brushing his teeth he jumped around and busted his chin against the sink. He did a good job of opening the chin but we have just put a bandaid on it. Logan did this same thing a year ago Jan. 2nd or so and we took him to the ER where they glued and bandaged it. So, tonight it was Caedon's turn but with the temps being in the 0's (F) and lots of snow and slick roads, we are going to wait till morning and reassess then if we need to have it professionally glued and taped! We have had more injuries in the 2-and-a-half years in Germany than in the 7 years in Texas. Germany is a dangerous place with scary stairs, walls and sinks! Caedon and Logan will have matching scarred chins. Thankfully they add character on men, right? Or they can grow a beard to cover it!

I still need to have Caedon's eyes checked too. The doctors that checked him for school preparedness said he ought to have them checked. The doctor that came recommended wasn't taking new patients and the other doctor nearby has a wait of hours (they wouldn't give me an appt. so I just show up at 7am and wait till they get to me). This is the way the dr.s usually do it here. I can write about the cultural differences with dr.s in another blog.