This is how it really goes at the vaccination

Not that I'm so special that my story needs to be shared, but I am a bit older than you youthful readers, so you probably would enjoy reading a vaccination report. I was quite curious about how it would go.

Arrival
There are really huge signs pointing me to the RAI. Turning left towards the test lane is almost empty, straight ahead towards vaccinations it's a bit busier. I'm politely waved to a free parking spot, pulling out my completed health declaration and my ID.

Health declaration
Don't panic if you left it on the table, they are also available on site. Nothing to worry about, just breathe out.

Follow the green carpet
You walk over the green carpet past a lot of lotion dispensers towards an employee who asks you to show your text message or the email you received stating which vaccine you will get. I hadn't received the email, which wasn't a problem by the way, but because of that I heard on the spot what I was getting: Pfizer.

Sentimental
I was a bit sentimental when I walked into that large hall. The past year floated by. My father-in-law who was no longer strong enough to defeat corona, the evenings we sat in front of the TV waiting for what Mark Rutte would say next, empathizing with the scientists who were working on developing ‘the vaccine’ and ultimately the news that Pfizer had developed a vaccine. I felt like a small part of what will later become a chapter in a history book.

Counter, counter
I had to pass a few counters before I finally reached ‘my’ vaccination girl. When I said I was looking forward to it, she laughed. I didn't quite understand that, because this shot opens the door to the life as I knew it. But then without the obligatory kisses from that one uncle whose lips always ended up exactly on yours, brrr.

I decided to look ahead, where they had, also quite nice, hung a poster of all those canal houses. Just as I zoomed in on a cute gabled house, I felt something on my arm. It was the band-aid, the shot was already in.
By the way, my colleague-friend Daan had two particularly nice guys who vaccinated her. Badhoevedorp, that's where you need to be for the boys.

Fifteen minutes to catch your breath and done
I continued along the green carpet and came to a resting place where you wait for about fifteen minutes to see if anything strange happens. Everywhere there were neatly arranged sets of two chairs so you could sit corona-proof.

After that, if you already have a yellow vaccination booklet, you could have it stamped there. Otherwise, you keep the letter you receive and later get an e-vaccination passport. We'll hear more about that later, but at least you're fully registered.

I am now two hours further and I feel nothing at all. While I have had corona and I have heard stories from people who had trouble with the vaccination. Who knows, it might come, but I would even take a day of ‘bleh’ for the return of real life. Except for those kisses from that one uncle.