Visiting the doctor in Ecuador

Since I have been experiencing intestinal problems and dehydration for over a week to no avail, I finally "put on my big girl pants" and went to the doctor. It took a while to get a recommendation for a doctor who spoke some English, but I found one. He even happens to be within walking distance. Thanks to a friend whose husband is a doctor, I ended up at a wonderful clinic that serves a wide range of needs. It took some time and many trips to the upstairs office of an English-speaking nurse, but eventually I took a parasite test (which I will tell you, at the risk of being gross, involves giving a stool sample). Thankfully, I am parasite-free. I do, however, have a bacterial infection which most likely came from eating fruit imported from the coast (which means it was washed using water from the coast which contains different bacteria...woops). The doctor gave me both a low-dose anti-biotic and a highly potent pro-biotic because he said it was better for my stomach to "start new in rejuvenation." He was a very patient, kind doctor and I would go to him again in a heartbeat. I had been dreading going to the doctor because I knew that if no one spoke English, I would likely struggle to get my needs met. This trip was relatively painless, although they first thought I wanted a pregnancy test instead of a parasite test. However, once I remembered that "embarazada" means pregnant and not embarrassed (For about thirty seconds I thought they were asking me if I was embarrassed to poop in a cup) I quickly corrected that notion. I actually left feeling more relieved than I've felt in a long time. Pun intended.