I know that I should include photos with my posts but unfortunately I'm not one to pull out my camara when I probably should. You'll have to close your eyes and imagine...
I was in Merida the first full week of May with mi hermano and cunada. They loved the house, warts and all and helped me tremendously getting a few basics together.
I had set up back to back appointments with contractors, architects, solar suppliers and landscapers early in the week but unfortunately many of those appointments had to be canceled. Instead of finding out my options on solar powred hot water heaters and what types of trees and plants I am dealing with in the courtyard, I found out how wonderful the medical profession is in Merida.
Prior to leaving, my brother banged his knee, aggravating a 40 year old surgery. Within 36 hours of arriving it was decided that he needed to see a doctor. My Broker was kind enough to contact her husband's orthopedic doctor and she drove him off the Centro Medico de la Americas. I was with an architect and couldn't go with him...and an hour later received a message telling me that it woukd be too difficult to find the hospital and he would meet me back at the hotel.
That wasn't going to happen. I took a taxi to CMA and went to the emergency room, politely addressing the receptionist. "Mi hermano es aqui y muy alta." She and everyone else working there smiled. Motioning me to follow her, we walked through a few hallways until we came to an atrium with a long hallway. About twenty-five local residents lined the long hallway and at the very end were two long legs stretched out across the hall. At 6'8" it's never been difficult to find my brother.
He was glad I came, and so was I. The doctor's waiting room was small and filled with extended families waiting for loved ones to be seen by the doctor. After about an hour we were able to find seats in the office.
The only other people waiting was a man about my age with a young girl. It never ceases to amaze me how well behaved children in Mexico are. The young girl was about 8 years old and busied herself thumbing through magazines that had nothing to offer a little girl. When she had gone through all the available reading material, she sat next to me. Not speaking Spanish as well as I should, I decided to communicate the best way I know how.
I asked the doctor's receptionist if she had paper and pen. Slowly, I started to draw the outline of an elephant... making sure my little friend could see. After the elephant was done I drew a tree and a few flowers and handed her the pen and paper. Without much hesitation, she started to complete the drawing with a happy sun, birds and a pond.
This lead to more paper and more drawing. Cats, dogs, rabbits, flowers.
Before she left, she started to write some letters...the kind I remember writing when I was her age. Outlined and bold with designs scribbled in each. She handed it to me and it simply said "SARA". We never exchanged a word, but we definetely enjoyed our short time together.
And my brother? He left with a diagnosis, x-rays in hand, a prescription and relieved of only $136.00 of his hard earned money. It ended up being a good day for both of us.
