Making an Appointment

A couple days ago Allen had to call the hospital to make an appointment for Kirstie. It always takes courage and concentration to make phone calls like this because of the speed of the Chinese and the amount of information involved. He did very well, though, and was able to understand and speak without any trouble. He even wrote the appointment date in Chinese as he was repeating it to the receptionist! The appointment was for the 18th, which we thought was a little strange because that date is Chinese New Year, a very big holiday here. But, hospitals aren't like regular businesses so it must be okay.

So, we went to the hospital today, the 18th, and asked hospital staff for help about where we were to go. They looked at our papers and became embarrassed. Then pointing to Allen's good Chinese handwriting they said, "Your appointment says it is for April 18th, not February 18th."