the appointment.

Today was significant. 

I had been memorizing medical spanish terminology and prepping myself to both explain and understand everything that might come up in the doctor's office.  After a week and a half of lingering pain in my knee, I decided it was time to get it checked out. 

Not long ago, a friend shared an article with me about living cross-culturally. It mentioned that the simple task of going to buy bananas can add so much extra stress and exhaustion to your day. I laughed because the truth of it so clearly resonated with me. 

And with this in mind, I set out to my appointment, knowing that it could potentially be more stressful than shopping for produce. 

In the end, 

I was thankful…

…I hardly had to wait long at all. 

…my doctor was so kind. 

She smiled a lot, spoke to me in slow, clear spanish and explained everything in a way that I could understand. 

…I was able to successfully fill out paperwork, pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy and schedule appointments with another medical office. 

All without a hitch. 

…I learned the source of my pain: a partially torn ACL and damaged meniscus. Not necessarily good news, but nonetheless, I found myself in a state of thankfulness and relief to have answers and a plan to go forward with. 

Even more than thankfulness, I walked home filled with a sense of joy. Joy because I accomplished something more than banana shopping and I'm still living to tell the tale. And joy because something like going to a Mexican doctor meant that today, this city became a little bit more of my home. So, as I walked back through my neighborhood, I stopped at a stand laden with soccer jerseys and World Cup paraphernalia and made a celebratory purchase. 

Now, with the green, white and red on my back, I'm headed out the door for tonight's fútbol game. 

¡Viva México!