Looking for a hospital and finding Staples

We're frantically trying to learn Chinese, but for now we need a doctor who is familiar with American medical terms, who speaks fluent English, and most of all, whose receptionist speaks fluent English. Wednesday I asked Patty what I should look for next in my scouting outings, and she said Staples or Parkway Medical Services. Then she said it should be Parkway first.

I found approximately where the address should be on the map, and took the metro to the station nearest that location. There was a very appealing shopping area nearby, so I decided to explore it a little. One of the first places I saw was Staples. Actually, it's Staples/UPS. I went in to look around a little, and I asked about an adapter plug. We bought a dual-voltage hair dryer before coming here, but we can't plug it in because the plug has one prong wider than the other, and none of the receptacles here, and none of the adapters I've been able to find here, are made for that. Staples does have them, but the cheaper one was out of stock.

I saw the name of the hospital I was looking for on my Shanghai map, so I went there, forgetting that I had an address and not noticing that the hospital on the map was on a different street. It was a long walk from the metro station, so I decided to practice using buses. I spent ten or twenty minutes deciphering the signs at the bus stop to decide which bus to take, and still got on one that didn't go where I thought it was going. I had to get off and walk about as far as I would have without the bus, about twenty minutes. Good thing I was riding the bus for practice and not to save time.

I went into the hospital and looked around. No English anywhere. Most places have signs in Chinese and English. Not here. Strange, for a place where I thought I would find English speaking health practitioners.

I finally found an information desk and used my phrasebook and the guide book from the school where Patty works to try to explain what I was looking for. They told me to go to building 38. At building 38 I found out I was at the wrong hospital. The nurses explained where the other hospital was, and while I was walking there, I remembered I had the address! It turned out to be just a few blocks from Staples.