Vaccine differences

Today we went to the doctor so that Ali could get her second dose of the MMR vaccine. I wondered where they would give her the shot, in her leg or arm. In the US her doctor said that after age 1 they always give the shots in the arm but I knew that wasn't the case in the Czech Republic since Ali's last Dtap shot was given in her leg. I was hoping that the MMR shot would not be in her leg since she was sore for a week after the last shot. Anway, we got to the doctor's office and I asked where the shot would be given and she told me in the arm but I was still surprised. They don't give the MMR in the upper arm into the muscle they give it in the lower arm just under the skin. It was very weird to watch the liquid go under her skin b/c as the liquid went in her skin bulged up! Ali didn't seem to care and it didn't seem to hurt her since she didn't cry but it was very odd to me. I asked the doctor about it and she said that they have found that there is less of a reaction if they do it that way instead of straight into the muscle. It is always interesting to me how things are the same yet different here and this is just one example. It is one of the things I like about living abroad...you think that everything is done one way and then you live somewhere else and you realize there are other ways to do things. Sometimes you think, "why do they do it like that?" and other times you think, "why don't we do it like that?".