Ugandan Health Care 101

Today, I almost went native...which is to say, I woke up feeling sick, and the general opinion was "Oh...I hope you don't have malaria."  (To allay fears I will tell you right now I DON'T HAVE MALARIA.)  So instead of helping with the spelling bee and taking part in the Shabbat sing-a-long at Hadassah, as I had planned (along with getting a start on my interview transcriptions) I headed over to the Tobin health clinic, which was founded by the Abayudaya community.  You may recall I was there briefly on Sunday, but navigating it as a patient was a bit different.  It was certainly a different experience than attending an American doctor.  When I arrived the guy at the reception desk informed me his name was Dr. Mark, and ushered me into an "office" off the waiting room (where many others were waiting--when I said I'd be happy to wait for those already there, he said "No, no, you go first," probably because he knew I would pay.)  After a short conversation, where again I heard "Hmm...I hope you don't have malaria," I was lead by a nurse to a room labeled "Lab," a room which, it turns out, is not only where your blood is tested, but where you get blood drawn (with a new, clean needle), and where you wait for the results of the blood tests, and where the lab technician gives you a slip of paper with a diagnosis which he doesn't inform you of.  He, again, helped solidify my malarial fears, when he asked, while looking at my blood sample through a microscope, "so have you ever had malaria?" Yet when I finally brought the mysterious diagnosis sheet back to Dr. Mark, I was informed that I did not indeed have malaria, just some "stomach anxiety."  The doctor gave me two types of pills (which I checked out with an International SOS doctor), which brought my total, for test and pills, to a womping 3,000 shillings (about $1.25).  For that price, I certainly can't complain!
Anyways, I'm sorry there isn't much project-related to report today.  I'm sure Shabbat will be full of discoveries and hopefully restful and recuperative!
Shabbat Shalom!