Retrofitted a Castilian Stereotype

I must extend a particular nod of civilizational gratitude to our friends at the French Embassy.  Thank you.  As described in an earlier post, I was most fortunate to find a doctor at the French Embassy who would help us with the Yellow Fever vaccination.  And, as described the MMR we’d taken earlier in the month meant we’d need to return here to this clinic the day before we flew off to Africa.  So.  Here we are. 

He saw us straight away.  And after a professorial chat about some of his studies in the region with matters such as tetanus and typhoid we soon had ourselves punctured and ready to roll.  A German doctor, my general practitioner, had recommended this Doctor, and certainly his name  sounded rather German.  But when I asked him where he’d spend his summer he told me “home.  In Madrid.” “Ahh, you are Spanish?” I asked in Spanish.  “Si.”  In seconds all the attributes I’d assigned to him; his thoroughness, his attention to detail, his adherence to the rules that clearly cast him as Teutonic were wiped away as I retrofitted a Castilian stereotype in its place. 

We had the standard anti biotic “Doxycycline” to use as an anti malarial I told him.  But my wife needed a course.  “Oh, but in that case you shouldn’t use that.  You, as the guy can use it.  But for the ladies it will not only kill any potential malarial infection, it will also upset the balance in the vaginal area” He said, pronouncing the word with a hard G which made it sound less improper, somehow.  I imagined a trio of women with vaGinal infections half way through our safari and thanked him for the suggestion, once and then twice.  “It’s more expensive, Doxycycline but its preferred for use in women.” 

I can remember a few years back, the last time China had its thin skin irritated by the Japanese near the Diaoyu / Senakaku island.  People were driving their Toyotas and Hondas up to up to Toshiba and Sony stores to protest.   I remember the Canon store at SLT Soho, near where I worked at the time, took to hoisting redder-than-thow Chinese national flags out in front of their showroom.  'If you’re gonna trash this store, you’re trashing a patriotic Chinese store', the flags suggested.  I thought of that showroom today, as I headed over to my former office to get my daughter a charger for her Canon camera.  Business seems to have done what protestors could not.  The show room has closed now.  They've moved on.  I made my way off to get contacts instead.  We’re leaving soon and there still so many things to do.  

Wednesday, 06/21/17