I went to University Health & Wellness Centre (UHWC) this morning to have a doctor check my fingers (fingers: long story). A nurse at the reception desk entertained me with a smile and asked me some questions. She has strange accent (according to my ears) and I could not understand her well, or maybe at that moment I hold a lot of things in my hands: backpack, umbrella, "the Ridge" magazine and the queue number.

After reading half of "the Ridge", my Q number appeared on an electronic board informing me my turn and I went to a designated room. The doctor that I met I met him 3 years ago, in the same room. At that time I did a medical check up to register to the University. This time, I showed him my injured fingers and he did a thorough check of my ... blood pressure and heart rate. He asked me in details of my injury, including place and time. "Everything's fine. Don't worry." "How's about my fingers? Do I need a scan?" "No need, it will fully recover." Then he showed me a catalog that I believed he showed all the patients. There is a photo of a hand like mine, and a lot of description. He showed me some highlights in this catalog, and stopped at a line "fully recover in 9 to 12 months". So that's it.

At that time I thought I would stand up and quit the room, like I did in all hospitals in Vietnam, he started asking me about my leisure time, in details. He asked me whether I had other problems from head to toes. I said no. He kept asking as if I probably had some problems on my body, and I, in order not to discourage him, thought of something I had occasionally. Maybe he's happy to ask me about that or he thought that the sole prescription of injured fingers did not worth to pay a doctor visit and basing on this occasion, he did a full check for me. Anyway, I was happy about it because this was the first time I encountered such friendly care from a doctor. Fine! I told him everything about me that he asked. He let me go 20, 30 minutes later after giving me a name card and reminding me to call him if I have any problem. ANY problem as he emphasized it.

So, the doctor in Vietnam was right when he wondered why I needed to check my fingers (that story is here). But they treated me like an animal (maybe I exaggerate, as I deduce from the queue number of that hospital - will show that photo when I have time). Here in UHWC they treat me as a long-time friend.

When I went home in the evening, I was stunned when I didn't see my bicycle at my usual parking slot. After a while, my wife told me that we took the bus in the morning because it rained.