My humble little blog is nearing 1,000 views—a small milestone. And what’s a milestone for, really, but an excuse to pause for reflection?
Living abroad heightens your awareness of even the prosaic, everyday experiences. London is not that different from New York; there are differences, but they are subtle enough that you really have to tease them out. But that’s just it—the very fact that I’m in London and not New York is what keeps me pondering, snapping photos, asking questions about how things are done here.
A jaded New Yorker rediscovering her sense of wonder and eager curiosity, is what it is.
So my thousand-views milestone: I want to retain this awareness, the excitement that comes from learning small turns of phrase or noticing a colorful window display. In whichever city I end up after finishing my program, I hope I’ll have my camera at the ready and my adventure antennae perched high.
Well, whaddya know. After two weeks of coughing, I finally started taking some medicine and am feeling immensely better.
In my defense, feeble though it is, I thought at first that it was just a minor cough and would go away. It didn’t.
Then, I was lazy because I didn’t know what kind of cold remedy to buy here, since the brands are different. A week ago, having survived the worst stomach flu of my life but still fighting a stubborn cough, I bought a generic drugstore brand cough syrup that was the nastiest, most ineffective stuff I’ve ever taken. I took a capful before I went to sleep, and woke up coughing in the middle of the night. Thanks for nothing.
But Lemsip? Oh, I am a believer. It’s a lemon (or black currant) flavored powder packet, you mix in some hot water and voila! I’ve been drinking a cupful at night before I go to sleep, and each morning I’ve woken up noticeably improved. And it tastes lemony and soothing too. Robitussin / Dimetaap / Vicks / Dayquil / Nyquil don’t compare. Another UK win!
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I am not being paid for this, in case you were wondering. Just a very happy, cough-free customer!
Every year, I forgo the flu shot, cuz I just don’t like shots. I’m not sure calling it a “jab” makes me feel much better about it… but I probably really should get one this year.
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Is healthcare really free here?
Back in NYC, a few friends used to get together every so often for a “documentary club,” where we’d watch a documentary together, then discuss the issues raised in the film over dinner. Some really interesting documentaries, and insightful discussions.
One of the movies we watched was “Sicko,” a Michael Moore film that examines the US health care system. He compares it to other countries’ health care, including the UK system, NHS:
After the film concluded, my friends all looked my way and told me to go find out if it’s true.
I went to the NHS clinic on my campus today. The truth that I don’t like to talk about too often is that I have constant pain from a chronic condition, and it’s worsened to the point of feeling debilitated on some days since I’ve gotten here. It’s been hard. So I wanted to go, get checked up, and see if the NHS might be able to help me out where, indeed, the US system failed—my insurance stopped covering my treatment about a year and a half ago, at which point I simply went without.
Health care is indeed free. But it didn’t come without a pointed jab from the doctor. She told me she would refer me to a specialist, and I asked her about costs and copays.
“You won’t have to pay,” she said. “It’s paid for by taxpaying individuals who are paying for the insurance coverage… freeloader.”
Haha, just kidding, she stopped before “freeloader.” But really, how many times can you say pay in one sentence?
Thank you, NHS. To keep things fair and square, maybe you should convince your prime minister to chill out about border control, and give me a job here, so I can pay you back some taxes for helping me out this year?
Traveler tip! I’m backtracking to share a piece of advice, should it prove useful: How to suspend your Verizon contract for a significant period of time.
I had a refreshingly pleasant encounter with Verizon customer service a week before I came to London. I had called to cancel my two-year contract, which I’m a year into. Contract termination costs $175, less $5 for each month of the contract I’d already fulfilled.* All told, that’s $115 (175 – 5 x 12 = 115). The other option was to suspend my account, which I could do for up to six months. But since I would still have to pay the fees for the remaining six months, that would be way too pricey at about $50 per month, or $300 over six months.
When the rep asked me why I’m canceling, I explained that I’m a longtime customer who is admittedly sad to lose my contract, my phone number and my contacts, but I’m going abroad for a year so I have no choice.
He replied, “Well, in that case… we could probably suspend your account for a year.”
I asked, “Just to confirm – by probably, do you mean actually?”
“Yes. Since you can’t really help that you’ll be away for a year, we can make a special exception.”
The suspension has to be renewed every 90 days, and it costs $15 every time. You were wondering why I did all that math above? Cost-benefit analysis right here: win-win. At $60, a year-long suspension costs less than canceling the account, AND I can easily activate my phone with all my contacts and my contract when (or should I say, if??) I return to the States.**
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Of course there’s fine print:
*The fee is $175 for non-data plans. I have a basic plan of minutes and texting only; the termination fee for data plans is higher, at around $300, with a larger per-month deduction. You can find this info on the Verizon website.
**The terms of the contract get pushed back until the account is reactivated. In other words, when I reactivate it next year, I still have a year remaining on the contract. Which is fine by me.
