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By Jess, August 18, 2009 12:23 am

Just under two years ago, I left my beloved Georgetown to spend a year studying at the London School of Economics.  I immersed myself in local culture whenever I could, drinking tea instead of coffee and hitting the pub for the conclusion of any activity whatsoever.  But during my nine months in Britain,  I also got to try something most temporary residents don’t get to experience: the full range of the British health care system.

Ambulances, hospitals, and doctors visits.  Like a dinner buffet, I  sampled the full offerings of the National Health Service.  At times, I felt like an anonymous patient, a product on an assembly line.  I’d show up for my appointment, my name would appear on a scrolling ticker, and I’d head into Exam Room #3.  Eight minutes later, I’d emerge with some sort of prescription having convinced the doctor that “inhaling steam and menthol” would not cure my 3-week cold.  I was a little resentful, but it was difficult to hold the grudge when my prescription cost only $7.

A few months later, I revisited the NHS.  After eating a Salmonella-laced kebab in Amsterdam and a healthy incubation period of a week or so, I… exhibited symptoms of illness.  I toughed it out for a few days, ceased eating and drinking, and contemplated my own death in a foreign country (dramatic, I know).  I visited the NHS website and read through the FAQs: “How do I know if I need to visit the emergency room?  Still not sure?  Call this number.”  I called the number.  I went to the emergency room.

I prepared myself for hours of waiting and came prepared with necessary distractions: a book, my Ipod, my lap top, and a toothbrush.   But they went to waste.  I was seen almost immediately and swept away to a back room where I was attended to by a young Irish doctor whom, in my delirium, I immediately developed a crush on.  Without the hoopla of insurance paperwork, they took my blood right away and even came back for a second test.  In two hours, I was done and cabbing my way back home feeling assured that I would live for a bit longer.

I had some negative experiences with health care in Britain, but on the whole, I am so thankful for the care I received when I needed it most (I won’t even touch on the ambulance incident).  The anxiety of “how will I pay” never entered my mind.  This beats the fear that resonates in so many Americans when they consider their own health care, or lack thereof.

Britain’s NHS isn’t perfect, but with all it’s flaws, it’s a better service than offered in the U.S. (of course, with the option of private).  Sarah Lyall expresses my sentiment more completely in her article from The New York Times “Health Care in Britain: Expat Goes for a Checkup.”

To opponents of forms of socialized health care, I’ll say this: I’ve never met a poor (or moderately poor) Libertarian.

Further interesting reading on health care: “Health Care’s Generation Gap” by Richard Dooling.

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By Jess, March 15, 2008 1:48 pm

Hello all.  I am (I would type I apostrophe m but Norwegian keyboard gives me iæm) leaving for Sardinia tomorrow morning and will be gone for a week.  I am a little nervous about it for some reason.  Even so, I am really excited to see how it is.  I hope everyone has a good Easter.  

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By Jess, February 6, 2008 10:17 am

I am just back from a lecture given by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at LSE. Strange to think that the only lecture I have attended so far at LSE is one by an American. Much of the audience was American and simply showed up to see what Scalia would talk about. His speech, although I forget the title now, discussed Scalia’s well-known criticism of the Constitution as a living document as well as his disapproval of the role of the Supreme Court as moral arbiters.

He made the audience laugh with some good quotes:

-In response to a question on limiting the power of the state with some reference to the Nuremberg Trials, he said, “Hitler made a fine automobile.”

-In reference to the overturning of sodomy laws (I forget where he was referring to specifically), he said he is willing to “accept that homosexual orgies eliminate social tension and ought to be encouraged.” Irony, of course.

-I forget the specific quote exactly, but it’s referenced in wikipedia. In reference to his criticism of the “Living Constitution, he says he’s “skeptical that societies always ‘mature,’ as opposed to rot.” That the Constitution was written and defined so that future societies couldn’t do whatever they want.

-He also criticizes the politicizing of the process of nominating new Justices. Every nomination “is like a mini-constitutional convention.” “It’s crazy,” he said.

-Oh, and on the topic of the profile of the next judge to be nominated, he said “Probably a woman. A Hispanic woman… that’s Protestant.” Haha.

As his speech progressed, I became increasingly uneasy about the future of law in the U.S. I don’t know why exactly. Scalia is undoubtedly intelligent, witty, and sharp-tongued. I would not want to be on the receiving end, as some students were during the Q&A, of his criticism. The U.S. is in, if not safe hands (for some minorities), capable hands. But knowing his opinions on hot topics like abortion and same-sex marriage, although he didn’t explicitly express them, is worrisome to me. To Scalia, that society (or at least parts) wants these to be legal is a sign of “rotting” than “maturing.” True, Scalia is not final say on these issues, but it just struck a chord with me.

I think I need to be more politically active. I’m not apathetic by any means, but I feel like more is at stake than I first thought. How in jeopardy is Roe v. Wade right now? With aging Supreme Court Justices and the possibility of a conservative present appointing conservatively minded judges, it’s certainly not in the clear. I don’t know. I don’t think about these things often enough, I suppose, and thinking of them now, I’m just a little worried. Lots of laws seem to be very abstract for people. They can get worked up about them but at the end of the day, they are unaffected by the ultimate consequences. It’s easy to be that way, but fortunately or unfortunately, the issue of abortion is relevant to all women.

Anyways, some more uplifting stories to come at some time in the future when uplifting things occur.

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By Jess, December 15, 2007 3:38 pm

The end of term time has come and it means nothing except friends going on holiday, as they say, and three weeks of no class. Since LSE is less stressful, the break doesn’t feel as imperative for rest as it usually does so the transition isn’t a hard one to make. This last week, I’ve caught up on London exploring. I took a sick day from work because of my sinus infection. And instead of staying in bed, I went on a museum adventure.

It’s hard to get tickets to the Terra Cotta soldiers exhibit at the British Museum, so Jared and I showed up bright and early at 9:45AM to queue for it. We got in with no problem and I have to say… I have never wanted to desecrate a tomb more than now. Although the Terra Cotta soldiers have been and continue to be excavated, Emperor Qin’s tombs remains untouched! It apparently is as big as an Egyptian pyramid (all underground), has rivers of flowing mercury to mimic China’s real rivers, and is rigged with booby traps to prevent intruders. Rivers of flowing mercury? I’m sold. We saw the rest of the museum too and proceeded to the National Gallery afterwards. Friday I went to the Tate Modern with Stefan and although I only got to see a little bit, if the gift shop is any indication of what else it has to offer, I think I’ll really like it.

On a more serious note, I learned tonight that my dog Zack has been put to sleep due to cancer. I’m fortunate to be unexperienced in the deaths of loved ones, but this is my first. At the risk of sounding overly emotional on a blog (and just about a dog, for non-dog owners), I won’t go too much further besides for saying he was a friend and constant companion for a pseudo-only child.

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By Jess, November 9, 2007 9:34 am

This is an email I received today from my LSE department tutor:

Dear Jessica,

I notice you are doing a 3rd year economics course. I should warn you that EH GC students often fail these courses as they are often very technical, so unless you have a very strong background in economics and mathematics I would advice you to do another course.

Please let me know how you are finding the course so far and what your background in the topic is.

Best wishes,
Gerben

Wow. That’s super encouraging. I’m glad he emailed me before it was too late to change courses… wait. He didn’t. To be fair, an Economic History student probably would fail Development Econ. But I am an Econ student that happens to be placed in the Econ History department. So… I’m hoping this little fact gives me some type of advantage over the typical EH GC student.

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By Jess, October 15, 2007 3:17 pm

I got 5 hours of sleep last night for no reason other than I lay there and couldn’t fall asleep. I don’t know what it is, maybe my body’s instinct to preserve every last bit of energy until it runs out. This morning wasn’t so terrible even though the bus, once again, almost caused me to be late. I left at 8:25 and just made it into the classroom at 9:05. Meh. I had my first class this morning (Note: classes are different from lectures; classes are capped at 20, lectures… seemingly not), and it brought to light one of my main frustrations with LSE. Why the hell do they pick out of print books that are a.) unavailable at the library; b.) in limited quantities at the library i.e. 5 books to 40 students; c.) in some library in the Greater London area, but they’re not sure which and how many copies; or d.) unavailable on the internet, out of print, or on sale used for 99 pounds. I’m not sure if students actually work harder than students in the U.S. or if they just work harder to simply obtain the books. I’m willing to read, yes. Willing to research at the library, fine. Willing to spend hours tracking down a book to read a few chapters for this week’s lecture and class? Fuck no. I didn’t come to study abroad to learn the Dewey Decimal system.

Another frustration. I was on time, borderline late, for my Political Economy class this morning as well. My .95p fried egg roll somehow took 10 minutes to get to me and I was enraged and annoyed, but I won’t get into it. So I rush off to Peco and just like last time, every desk is occupied and people are sitting on the floor in the back. It’s ridiculous that they book classrooms where there are not enough desks for students. We’re not talking 1 or 2 desks short. We’re talking 10-15 desks short AT LEAST. I went into an empty classroom next door and dragged in a desk to an empty spot at the door. Other students were not so lucky and sat outside the door, unable to see the board, like I did last time. Others cursed, as I would too, when they saw the full classroom and just left in frustration. What the fuck, LSE? In infrastructure so weak that they can’t even plan out which classroom to assign for which class?

So as you can see, my experiences with this side of LSE have been unsatisfactory thus far. However, I don’t mean to say that my professors or class teachers don’t seem good. They are so far. It’s just that these fubars (you all know the acronym) are major ones and they should be corrected, not overlooked. They are an impediment to students learning AND it obviously favors wealthier students that can just buy books and be better off with less effort wasted on the frivolous search for books; it’s opportunity cost. I’m among those fortunate enough to be able to buy the books and man, I’m thankful for it; less time wasted.

While I said I’m fortunate enough to buy books, the same doesn’t apply for eating and feeling full. I’m Starvin’ Marvin over here, but testing out this new daily budget to see how it goes. I had a good, filling dinner, but it pretty much cost me my daily budget. So… I spent the day job-searching online. I’ve applied for three so far, and I’m crossing my fingers. Two are retail, which I’d prefer, and one is data entry. My hours aren’t flexible enough for anything real… plus I really don’t want to have to worry about business casual right now. So… cross your fingers for me. I need a job and I need it now. Cheers, as they say.

Oh. A happy thing. I finally have some cookware to work with!

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By Jess, October 1, 2007 6:33 am

I’m writing this from an LSE computer lab and the keys are messing me up. I took a walk to LSE this morning at 10AM with a group from my dorm and it turned out to be less helpful than expected. I pretty much have no idea how I got here. Also, I forgot my map but luckily, there’s one enclosed in a packet I did remember to bring. The LSE campus isn’t much to look at and no one really knows what’s going on. Oh well. Friendliness is at a minimum. In fact, I just totally helped a French post-graduate and she just left without saying anything. Haha. Ok, I must be off to find the Peacock theater for “induction.”