1. Going to the mall
2. Going to the doctor
This story begins a few days ago when I found out that in Belgium there is a law that stores selling clothes, footwear, and leather products must put their items on sale during the months of January and July. And as the last day of the month is tomorrow I decided to go check out the local mall- The Woluwe Shopping Center.
It was CHAOS- like Black Friday shopping!
This is Zara's "soldes" (sale in French) area. Amongst the chaos I found my replacement for Baby Gap (because I have yet to find a Gap in Belgium).
You may notice there it isn't as crowded here- that's because this area is not on sale!!
My next task was taking Maddie to her new pediatrition, Dr H. I arrived about 15min early (as I always do in the US) and figured out where the office was- it's the second floor of the white building.
I got to the front door and it was locked. That's strange I thought. So I rang the bell... no answer. I waited a few minutes and rang the bell again... no answer. I then called the number I had for the doctor's office. The receptionist told me she could not let me in because she wasn't actually there, then asked me why I was early, and told me that the doctor would be there at my scheduled apt time and that I should just wait outside. Perfect, I thought, I will just stand here in the rain. Promptly at my apt time (which was 4pm) a lady walked up to the door. Thankfully it was Dr. H. She walked me up a narrow staircase to her office. It consisted of a desk, exam table, and a sink. There was no waiting area, no receptionist, no nurses or techs. She had been a doctor for many years and was very kind. She went through routine medical questions in broken English (I was just glad to find a pediatrition that spoke English at all!). Then she measured and weighed Maddie- in kg and cm of course! I asked her what to do if I had a question or Maddie was sick. She had a puzzled look on her face and said, "Just call me," and gave me her cell number. I then payed her in cash because an insurance card was something incredibly foreign to her. It was so much different than an experience at a US doctor's office- I just had to share! And happily, Miss Maddie is healthy and doing great! 
I got to the front door and it was locked. That's strange I thought. So I rang the bell... no answer. I waited a few minutes and rang the bell again... no answer. I then called the number I had for the doctor's office. The receptionist told me she could not let me in because she wasn't actually there, then asked me why I was early, and told me that the doctor would be there at my scheduled apt time and that I should just wait outside. Perfect, I thought, I will just stand here in the rain. Promptly at my apt time (which was 4pm) a lady walked up to the door. Thankfully it was Dr. H. She walked me up a narrow staircase to her office. It consisted of a desk, exam table, and a sink. There was no waiting area, no receptionist, no nurses or techs. She had been a doctor for many years and was very kind. She went through routine medical questions in broken English (I was just glad to find a pediatrition that spoke English at all!). Then she measured and weighed Maddie- in kg and cm of course! I asked her what to do if I had a question or Maddie was sick. She had a puzzled look on her face and said, "Just call me," and gave me her cell number. I then payed her in cash because an insurance card was something incredibly foreign to her. It was so much different than an experience at a US doctor's office- I just had to share! And happily, Miss Maddie is healthy and doing great! 
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