You guessed it. GP means General Practioner, and that’s who I went to go and see yesterday. Unfortunately, I’ve had a cough and cold that has been hanging on for just about two weeks, and I thought it would be a good idea to see a doctor. Perhaps it was time to put some crazy drugs into my body.

So yesterday, I braved the icy chill and walked the 20 minutes to the NHS (National Health Clinic). To anyone that is a member of Kaiser Permanente in the United States (or other HMO’s), the setting looked quite familiar. To others with private doctors, it is probably a total culture shock. People were lined up at the reception desk with varied ailments. Some with a sore throat and cold like myself, others with a sprained ankle. The girl behind me in line had to sit down on the floor because she felt so faint and nauseous. Eek.

I went up and registered as a temporary patient (because I am here on a student visa), and went to take my seat in the waiting area, which was overcrowded and sparsely decorated (no magazines even!). In the corner of the room, there was a pharmacy, where an older graying British man wearing a sweater-vest stood behind the counter and attended to harried patients.

The waiting area was incredibly colorful-there were native Londoners, students like myself, young mothers, elderly people, tourists—and they all came in different shapes and sizes. The diversity was reflected on the electronic board that announced your turn in bright red LED letters. “Richard O’ Connor, Room 10 Please.”

After a hearty 30-minute wait, I finally saw my name come up on the board: Miss Haddas Fruchter, Room 4 Please. I walked with a false confidence through the tiny UN of a waiting room towards a sign that read rooms 1-5, only to knock on a door with a sign that read…wait for it…

“Room 4: Dr. Leonard Goldberg”.

Hehe.

Dr. Goldberg was a middle aged British man (who incidentally, pronounced my name perfectly). He was blonde and tall, and talked me through the appointment; not without care, but quite rapidly. After listening to my lungs and looking into my ears, he decided I probably wouldn’t need antibiotics, but he suggested some nasal sprays to relieve the pressure and told me to come back in a few days if it remains the same or gets worse.

I hope it doesn’t. Not cause I don’t LOVE Dr. Goldberg, but I’m a little fed up with this cold.