Nothing is ever easy....

I have some upcoming business trips and needed to get some vaccinations.

First, figuring out how to get these vaccinations was a challenge. I asked the company HR and they sent me to the company-contracted doctor. That doctor then came back and said they don't actually do this and that I needed to go to the National Center for Epidemiology - International Vaccination Center - as they are the only approved organization recognized by World Health Organization.

Now, luckily, they have an English language webpage that was very clear. However, the web site recommended to call for an appointment between 8:30 - 9:00 am. Well, needless to say, it took several days to actually remember at the right time to make the call. Then, of course, the receptionist didn't speak English, so I could not make an appointment.

So, now I had to ask my wonderful expat translator contact to call for me. She calls and gets back to me that they are booked up for appointments until March and I should just drop in (of course only between 9 -12 Mondays - Thursday).

So, I finally decide I am going to go and get these on Monday morning.

BIG SURPRISE, I forgot and went straight to work. Once I finally get myself extracted from e-mail and on my way - it is 10:30.

Now, I had actually got directions and mostly knew where I was going. I drove to the place with no wrong turns or u-turns. I found a parking place relatively close and walked right up to the place. Luckily, at the reception desk to the complex, the man ahead of me had a vaccination card, so I thought I could follow him, if I was totally out of luck. But, the guard actually spoke some English and I got enough Hungarian across for us to understand each other.

So, now as I am walking to the office, I am picturing waiting for 1.5+ hours to get these done, being that they are not taking appointments. However, I was in and out in 20 minutes.

Funny how 5 shots cost almost $150.

Then, I got in my car, drove straight back to work without incident.

So, while I can say this wasn't easy - I kept thinking it could have been so much worse.