Not being a quitter, I finished my course and got my degree. During that time, we had managed to save (great accomplishment) î800 towards the purchase of a used car. I was not driving. I had never had a car before and didn’t know how to drive. Our sponsors took us to see various cars but we never found something that would cost so little and run well, look decent and so on. I liked the looks of AMC Pacers because they looked so different. I later found out that they were not good cars. When I saw an ad in the paper that somebody was selling a ’74 Pacer for î800 I took a colleague of mine from the Medical Careers School to see that car. She was driving, I wasn’t. The person selling it was selling it for somebody and the transaction took place in a large supermarket parking lot. All of these ought to have raised red flags but for an inexperienced person such as myself, it was fine. My friend was rather naive too. I asked her to test drive the car and she said it was fine. We didn’t even lift the hood. It was like I was buying a cheap toy car. I paid the money and my friend drove the car home for me. It became apparent right away that the car had some major problem but the money was given and the seller was nowhere to be found. Even the information on the bill of sale was not correct. I supposed I could have done something to find this person but somehow I didn’t think I would be able to.
Indeed, the car needed a new transmission. A neighborhood autoshop run by an elderly Oriental man fixed it for us. He took pity on us and charged a reduced fee (auto part taken from the junkyard) and allowed us to pay in installments. This car always had problems even afterwards. We kept the car for a few years and put a lot of money into it. We were always at some repair shop until we were well known by every mechanic. I was always trying to make them fix it for free as being under warranty from the previous visits but unfortunately, they explained that other parts were failing every time.
Before being placed, the Medical and Dental Careers Institute sent you on a one-month free Internship (you were not paid). I was sent to do my internship in the office of an Indian ob-gyn doctor. The doctor was rather pleasant. I remember that he took us all in the office to a very elegant Indian Restaurant in Newport Beach when it was his birthday or some other occasion. Unfortunately, the other staff was highly unpleasant to me. They didn’t let me do anything that I thought I would be doing. They didn’t even let me observe. All they wanted me to do was sterilize instruments and clean up counters, floors, even dust plants. I had no contact with any patients. I protested a few times and I even tried to speak to the doctor. To no avail. At the end of the month, I had to hand carry the envelope with my evaluation to the Medical and Dental Institute. The evaluation was very negative. They deemed me incompetent. I was incensed and went back to tell them but they didn’t even blink. The Medical and Dental Careers Institute took pity and sent me on a second unpaid month of Internship. This was rather far and again, I was using several buses. This team was mostly minorities. Doctors and assistants were either Mexican or Oriental. Nobody was picking on me for my accent. I was taken to observe and I was even let to do a few procedures. Most of the time however, we chatted. I became friends with a Mexican lady who even invited me to her house for a Mexican party. At some other time, the Mexicans in the staff took me to a restaurant where they played Mariachi. Not surprisingly, I got a glowing recommendation from this place.
My First Jobs
When I started my first job, as a Medical Assistant in a Family Practice office, I knew how to drive. My sponsors had taught me. I had also passed the written test but not the road test. Still, I was driving because the job was offered to me and I couldn’t say I couldn’t take it because I had no transportation. It was rather far to use the bus.
I was assigned in the front office to make appointments. It was a solo practice and the doctor’s wife was the Office Manager. She was constantly after me that I was not speaking loud or clearly enough, that I was not using the correct words to greet the patients on the phone. She was constantly on my back, complaining that I didn’t work fast enough, hard enough or good enough. In about 2 months, she let me go.
During that time, I wanted to take a trip to Romania to see my grandfather. We had written to him and asked him to come visit us or come to stay for good. He refused. The Romanian government denied my application for a visa to go to Romania.
One day, when I was at the Immigration Office applying for a re-entry permit (I had hoped I would be allowed to go to Romania), my car was damaged in the back while being parked. One of the taillights was broken. I was afraid to call the police because they would discover that I was driving without a proper license. Shortly after I took the road test and took my license (second attempt). My first examiner was Oriental and I didn’t understand what he was saying to me. He also scared me by grabbing the wheel during the test.
I applied for another medical assisting job. The doctor interviewed me himself. I knew that something was fishy when he commented on my figure and asked me to turn slowly around. I complied though. The position involved processing the insurance billing. Quite rapidly however, they piled more and more responsibilities on me and when I asked for more money or at least a helper, I was let go. I was also perceived as not being a fun person, too serious and all that. This position didn’t last more than a few months either.
(to be continued)
