This weekend was an unfortunate weekend in terms of health -- I, along with 2 other people in my house, got sick. In fact, on Friday night around 12:1oam one of us was so sick that we had to call a doctor. And do you know what happened? If you guessed emergency room, try again. Instead, within 15 minutes of calling the doctor, he showed up at our front door. Let me reiterate: it's 12:10AM on a FRIDAY NIGHT and we've got a doctor making house calls. What?!
He came, he gave a medication (that he brought with him), and within 20 minutes, he left, without any money changing hands. And he left the house a bit more peaceful than he'd found it. Compare that with the nightmare that would have been an ER visit at 12:10am on a Friday night. Ugh. I hear that France's healthcare system was recently ranked the best in the world (by the WHO), and after Friday night, it's looking pretty good to me.
*****I recently learned that I was wrong about the house call costing nothing. It turns out that due to a lack of health insurance (gasp!) the house call cost...90 EUROS!! That's about $120. Without insurance. My co-pays back in the states (when I was insured) were often more than that. On the other hand, when I told a Swedish friend that it cost 90 Euros, she was appalled and said that nothing should cost that much. I guess it's all about where you're coming from.*****
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Un Cafe, S'il Vous Plait
Coffee. It's so prevalent in so many places around the world -- premium beans were grown in Tanzania, China was acquiring a taste for the stuff (although it's not in a tight race for preferred with tea quite yet), Australia had coffee here there and everywhere, and here in France, morning noon night and in between people are in cafes sipping the stuff.
However, there's a key difference I have noted between coffee drinking here and and elsewhere around the world -- I have yet to see a person with a to-go cuppa Joe. In 3.5 weeks, not a single paper cup carrying coffee adict on the streets, in the metro, in the parks. I first became aware of this anomoly when I woke up early to go toursit on the city of Paris one day, and on that day I thought to myself, "man, a cup of coffee would be nice before I get on the metro would be great." In my mind, I'd pick up the coffee, keep walking to the metro and be done before I set foot on the amazingly efficient metro train. But no. Take away, to go, etc are not a part of the cafe culture here. If you want a cup of coffee, you put your butt down in a seat at a cafe, a tabac, a boulangerie, wherever coffee is served, a waiter comes up and asks you what you like (and from what I can tell the choices don't include a twice blended caramel mocha frappucino), brings it to you, and you drink it at the table. What?! No busy business men on their way to work, walking aggressively and holding there ever-present cup of coffee in one hand and a brief case in one hand? Not as far as I can tell. I'm sure there are many people who are just as dependent and dedicated to coffee as people are elsewhere, but it does seem like they put more time into their commitment.
The whole no-to-go thing also appears to extend to food. Places that have food "to-go" advertise the fact, and they're mostly sandwich type places. It's pretty rare to see someone eating as the walk down the street. Although I have seen people taking bits off a freshly baked and newly purchased baguette while walking (presumably) home. But to see someone eating a full on burrito (okay, I haven't seen a burrito place anywhere, but it's an example) or quiche (there, that's french-er) walking down the street is a rarity.
I'm pretty sure that the you-sit-down to eat mentality is a huge difference between french and us culture. In fact, I've heard that eating on the run is considered "anglo-saxon" and that's not seen as a good thing. Heha. So it looks like if I need a coffee I'm going to be sitting down in what will probably be a wicker chair outside on the sidewalk, facing the street (all the better for people watching), and slowly sipping my cafe au'lait and avidly people watching. 'Cause not only is coffee not drank on the go, cafes aren't full of big fluffy chairs and low lying coffee tables; instead there are small tables and wicker chairs spaced with mere inches between them for cafe patrons. I miss the comfy chairs, but I can do the sit down thing.
Also, on a side note, in my world Starbucks tally, the only ones I've seen in Paris are in the very downtown area. While I live in the inner circle, there are none in my neighborhood. They two I've encountered were in the really large shopping areas, you know, the ones where I passed people on the the street speaking languages other than french (such as english). And just like in China, it seems wrong to go into a Starbucks here in Paris when there's that lovely art-deco cafe right next door. I have yet to come across any Peet's or Coffee Bean & Tea Leafs yet, but I'll let you know if I do.
However, there's a key difference I have noted between coffee drinking here and and elsewhere around the world -- I have yet to see a person with a to-go cuppa Joe. In 3.5 weeks, not a single paper cup carrying coffee adict on the streets, in the metro, in the parks. I first became aware of this anomoly when I woke up early to go toursit on the city of Paris one day, and on that day I thought to myself, "man, a cup of coffee would be nice before I get on the metro would be great." In my mind, I'd pick up the coffee, keep walking to the metro and be done before I set foot on the amazingly efficient metro train. But no. Take away, to go, etc are not a part of the cafe culture here. If you want a cup of coffee, you put your butt down in a seat at a cafe, a tabac, a boulangerie, wherever coffee is served, a waiter comes up and asks you what you like (and from what I can tell the choices don't include a twice blended caramel mocha frappucino), brings it to you, and you drink it at the table. What?! No busy business men on their way to work, walking aggressively and holding there ever-present cup of coffee in one hand and a brief case in one hand? Not as far as I can tell. I'm sure there are many people who are just as dependent and dedicated to coffee as people are elsewhere, but it does seem like they put more time into their commitment.
The whole no-to-go thing also appears to extend to food. Places that have food "to-go" advertise the fact, and they're mostly sandwich type places. It's pretty rare to see someone eating as the walk down the street. Although I have seen people taking bits off a freshly baked and newly purchased baguette while walking (presumably) home. But to see someone eating a full on burrito (okay, I haven't seen a burrito place anywhere, but it's an example) or quiche (there, that's french-er) walking down the street is a rarity.
I'm pretty sure that the you-sit-down to eat mentality is a huge difference between french and us culture. In fact, I've heard that eating on the run is considered "anglo-saxon" and that's not seen as a good thing. Heha. So it looks like if I need a coffee I'm going to be sitting down in what will probably be a wicker chair outside on the sidewalk, facing the street (all the better for people watching), and slowly sipping my cafe au'lait and avidly people watching. 'Cause not only is coffee not drank on the go, cafes aren't full of big fluffy chairs and low lying coffee tables; instead there are small tables and wicker chairs spaced with mere inches between them for cafe patrons. I miss the comfy chairs, but I can do the sit down thing.
Also, on a side note, in my world Starbucks tally, the only ones I've seen in Paris are in the very downtown area. While I live in the inner circle, there are none in my neighborhood. They two I've encountered were in the really large shopping areas, you know, the ones where I passed people on the the street speaking languages other than french (such as english). And just like in China, it seems wrong to go into a Starbucks here in Paris when there's that lovely art-deco cafe right next door. I have yet to come across any Peet's or Coffee Bean & Tea Leafs yet, but I'll let you know if I do.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Grocery Run
I made a salad last night and I really wanted some little cherry tomatoes to put on the top of it. Sadly, after searching the fridge and produce bowl at home I found zero tomatoes, of any variety. What’s a girl to do? Well, in most cases I would have to choose between going without (sigh) or jumping in the car and making a run to the grocery store. But what does this situation mean here in Paris? Here it means walking to the street corner about 100 feet away to a produce stand. Ten minutes after discovering the lack of tomatoes in-house, I was back in the kitchen adding delicious cherry tomatoes to my salad.
This brings me to a quick tally of the food stores (not including cafes/brassieres/restaurants) around where I live in Paris.
Let’s count together!
1 (un) butcher
1 (un) grog shop
2 (duex) cheese shops
2 (duex) pharmacies
3 (trois) produce stands
3 (trois) bakeries (yummy!)
4 (quatre) chocolate shops (double yummy!)
I have no idea how it worked out that there are more chocolate shops than anything else within two blocks of the apartment, but that’s the way it is. And far be it from me to complain. There is also one “supermarket” in the same radius, and while it has a comprehensive assortment of goods (cereal, yogurt, milk, frozen goods, a bit of produce) it’s teensy by US standards. But! When you can’t find lentils anywhere else (another true story), the supermarket has them! It appears to be a wonderful symbiotic relationship (and hopefully that's not just an appearance, but a reality) between these small, specialized stores, and the general grocery. Turns out, if each store is on the small side, there’s room for a lot more.
This brings me to a quick tally of the food stores (not including cafes/brassieres/restaurants) around where I live in Paris.
Let’s count together!
1 (un) butcher
1 (un) grog shop
2 (duex) cheese shops
2 (duex) pharmacies
3 (trois) produce stands
3 (trois) bakeries (yummy!)
4 (quatre) chocolate shops (double yummy!)
I have no idea how it worked out that there are more chocolate shops than anything else within two blocks of the apartment, but that’s the way it is. And far be it from me to complain. There is also one “supermarket” in the same radius, and while it has a comprehensive assortment of goods (cereal, yogurt, milk, frozen goods, a bit of produce) it’s teensy by US standards. But! When you can’t find lentils anywhere else (another true story), the supermarket has them! It appears to be a wonderful symbiotic relationship (and hopefully that's not just an appearance, but a reality) between these small, specialized stores, and the general grocery. Turns out, if each store is on the small side, there’s room for a lot more.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Picnic in the Park
Ah, the famous city of light -- Paris. There are so many things that come to mind -- the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Seine, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee, and on and on. However, in my short time in Paris thus far, I've noticed something less touted but very impressive all the same. There are public parks everywhere. And not only are there parks, but they are laid out with playgrounds for children of all ages, from toddlers to teens to adults. And in all of the play areas I've seen thus far I have yet to see a swing. Instead there are kid sized climbing walls, twirling seats, digging machines, rope swings, HALF PIPES! and more. These are some of the most creative parks I've come across.
And since the parks are so well laid out, people take advantage of that; the parks are always packed! I don't think I've ever seen a park in the US with so many people. Actually, I'm not sure I've seen this many babies in strollers, kids on razr scooters (really, I think every child over the age of 5 must have one, adults too), and children in general in a place that wasn't a school! There are kids on roller blades, building castles in the sand, climbing, sliding, rollerblading on the half pipe -- it's amazing. It's great to see people taking advantage of such wonderful public space. It's a community and regional development major's dream!
And since the parks are so well laid out, people take advantage of that; the parks are always packed! I don't think I've ever seen a park in the US with so many people. Actually, I'm not sure I've seen this many babies in strollers, kids on razr scooters (really, I think every child over the age of 5 must have one, adults too), and children in general in a place that wasn't a school! There are kids on roller blades, building castles in the sand, climbing, sliding, rollerblading on the half pipe -- it's amazing. It's great to see people taking advantage of such wonderful public space. It's a community and regional development major's dream!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Daily Showers in Shanghai
Daily Showers
It’s like mother nature is trying to cleanse the heavy layer of pollution floating around Shanghai with a daily dose of strong thunder showers. Every afternoon the skies darken, the thunder rumbles, and the rain pours down. But then the next day the vaguely brown haze is back again. Keep trying mother nature!
In an effort to do my part for mother nature, I’ve taken a bike out around Shanghai a few times this week. This may sound like no big thing, I went to Davis after all, but that’s only if you haven’t seen the traffic patterns in China. And by pattern I mean Pollock-painting style patterns. The green walk sign? That’s not a guarantee, it’s a caution notice. A red light? That’s not definitive, it’s an if-you-feel-like-it kind of thing. Of course, with my bike background and the danger involved in cycling round Shanghai, I wore a helmet each time. Between the magenta helmet and my blond hair streaming behind me, I was a beacon of foreigness. People were pointing at my head, and for once it could have been more than just my hair. And that was just fine with me. Safety first!
It’s like mother nature is trying to cleanse the heavy layer of pollution floating around Shanghai with a daily dose of strong thunder showers. Every afternoon the skies darken, the thunder rumbles, and the rain pours down. But then the next day the vaguely brown haze is back again. Keep trying mother nature!
In an effort to do my part for mother nature, I’ve taken a bike out around Shanghai a few times this week. This may sound like no big thing, I went to Davis after all, but that’s only if you haven’t seen the traffic patterns in China. And by pattern I mean Pollock-painting style patterns. The green walk sign? That’s not a guarantee, it’s a caution notice. A red light? That’s not definitive, it’s an if-you-feel-like-it kind of thing. Of course, with my bike background and the danger involved in cycling round Shanghai, I wore a helmet each time. Between the magenta helmet and my blond hair streaming behind me, I was a beacon of foreigness. People were pointing at my head, and for once it could have been more than just my hair. And that was just fine with me. Safety first!
Fast, fun, freaking fact.
The Barrier Reef Anemonefish. Very interesting creature, this one. Groups of this fish live in a single anemone, of the variety that is poisonous to other fish (but not to them). The group is dominated by the largest female. The second in command is the largest male. However, should the largest female perish (you know, perhaps being poisoned by a poisonous cone fish or something), the largest male steps up to the plate. But he doesn’t step up as a guy. Nope, he assumes her position by changing sexes. De-di-cation.
Australian Time Delay
My apologies; I wrote this in Australia with the intent of posting it once I was back in Shanghai. Then I arrived in Shanghai to discover that blogger (and facebook, twitter, and youtube) was still blocked. So now, a few weeks late: here's an update on my Australian adventure:
I’m again in a place with no cell phone reception, very little internet, and infrequent transportation. Where am I?, you may ask. Am I in the middle of a desert? In a black hole? Took a trip to outer-space? Nope; I’m still in Australia. I’m on Heron Island off the coast of Gladstone, which is north of Brisbane. In all fairness, Heron Island is about 85km off the Queensland coast in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. Why would have have internet in the ocean? And the Island is actually part of the Reef. Literally, the island is composed of thousands of year old reef bits. It’s pretty incredible. My room looks out onto the beach, which itself is inside of a Reef bed. I take it back; this is undeniably incredible. Who needs internet/reception when you've got this? Not I!
When our helicopter landed on the island today (yes, helicopter), we walked out onto the docks to survey the scene, and what did I spy with my little eye? A black tipped reef shark. How do I know for sure that’s what it was? Because I saw it four days ago in the Sydney Aquarium. And today I saw it swimming around the Great Barrier Reef. Luckily, a group of high school students that they’re friendly sharks (I’m thinking, Finding Nemo-style friendly? That didn’t last all that long!) and you can swim with them. I’m going to double check on that one before I dive in. Maybe triple check. Swimming with the dolphins is supposed to be a memorable experience, but fewer people say the same thing about swimming with sharks…probably because they aren’t around to remember.
Previous to Heron Island I was on Phillips Island, which is about 140km from Melbourne. Not to sound repetitive, but it was also fantastic -- albeit in a completely different fashion. Where Heron Island is warm with sharks swimming in the crystal waters and people walking in sarongs, Phillips Island was cold with crystal blue skies and lush green hills that were spotted with cows and sheep. And there was the odd wallaby in the bush as well. Seriously, wallabies in the bush!
On Phillips Island we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast run by two wonderful people, John and Robyn. John gave a tour of his farm, and pointed out black dots on a far hill that were his cattle. He also took us to his brother’s dairy farm just over the hill where we watched and helped with the evening milking of 230 cows. Robyn cooked us wonderful food with the eggs we collected daily, including a traditional Australian (or perhaps New Zealand, depending on who you ask) dessert called Pavlova. On our final night she copied the recipe for me and encouraged me not to be discouraged if my first Pavlova doesn’t turn out correctly. I’m going to give it a few tries and see what comes out of the oven…fingers crossed it’s something delicious!
Also on Phillips Island is a wild animal reserve with animals including emus, wallabies, koalas, Tasmanian devils, dingoes (no babies were eaten while we were there), swans and kangaroos. And some, although understandably not all (ahem, Tasmanian devils, ahem, dingoes), were left to roam the expansive park on their own. The park gave each person one back of pellet food to feed the animals roaming the park at will. Everyone was having a great time with this, having cute little wallabies gently eat food from your hand, not quite so gently swans peck the food out of your hand, and larger kangaroos slobber all over your hand to get the pellets.
And it was all well and good until one kangaroo walked up to me, stood high on his legs till he was almost eye to eye with me and kicked me! That roo was looking for food, and I wasn’t giving it up fast enough, so he lashed out. I jumped back in surprise, but when I regained my senses, I looked down at the marsupial and said, “That is not how we behave.” I’m pretty sure he was ashamed of his behavior and learned an important lesson that day. And so did I, don't carry the food bag.
I’m again in a place with no cell phone reception, very little internet, and infrequent transportation. Where am I?, you may ask. Am I in the middle of a desert? In a black hole? Took a trip to outer-space? Nope; I’m still in Australia. I’m on Heron Island off the coast of Gladstone, which is north of Brisbane. In all fairness, Heron Island is about 85km off the Queensland coast in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. Why would have have internet in the ocean? And the Island is actually part of the Reef. Literally, the island is composed of thousands of year old reef bits. It’s pretty incredible. My room looks out onto the beach, which itself is inside of a Reef bed. I take it back; this is undeniably incredible. Who needs internet/reception when you've got this? Not I!
When our helicopter landed on the island today (yes, helicopter), we walked out onto the docks to survey the scene, and what did I spy with my little eye? A black tipped reef shark. How do I know for sure that’s what it was? Because I saw it four days ago in the Sydney Aquarium. And today I saw it swimming around the Great Barrier Reef. Luckily, a group of high school students that they’re friendly sharks (I’m thinking, Finding Nemo-style friendly? That didn’t last all that long!) and you can swim with them. I’m going to double check on that one before I dive in. Maybe triple check. Swimming with the dolphins is supposed to be a memorable experience, but fewer people say the same thing about swimming with sharks…probably because they aren’t around to remember.
Previous to Heron Island I was on Phillips Island, which is about 140km from Melbourne. Not to sound repetitive, but it was also fantastic -- albeit in a completely different fashion. Where Heron Island is warm with sharks swimming in the crystal waters and people walking in sarongs, Phillips Island was cold with crystal blue skies and lush green hills that were spotted with cows and sheep. And there was the odd wallaby in the bush as well. Seriously, wallabies in the bush!
On Phillips Island we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast run by two wonderful people, John and Robyn. John gave a tour of his farm, and pointed out black dots on a far hill that were his cattle. He also took us to his brother’s dairy farm just over the hill where we watched and helped with the evening milking of 230 cows. Robyn cooked us wonderful food with the eggs we collected daily, including a traditional Australian (or perhaps New Zealand, depending on who you ask) dessert called Pavlova. On our final night she copied the recipe for me and encouraged me not to be discouraged if my first Pavlova doesn’t turn out correctly. I’m going to give it a few tries and see what comes out of the oven…fingers crossed it’s something delicious!
Also on Phillips Island is a wild animal reserve with animals including emus, wallabies, koalas, Tasmanian devils, dingoes (no babies were eaten while we were there), swans and kangaroos. And some, although understandably not all (ahem, Tasmanian devils, ahem, dingoes), were left to roam the expansive park on their own. The park gave each person one back of pellet food to feed the animals roaming the park at will. Everyone was having a great time with this, having cute little wallabies gently eat food from your hand, not quite so gently swans peck the food out of your hand, and larger kangaroos slobber all over your hand to get the pellets.
And it was all well and good until one kangaroo walked up to me, stood high on his legs till he was almost eye to eye with me and kicked me! That roo was looking for food, and I wasn’t giving it up fast enough, so he lashed out. I jumped back in surprise, but when I regained my senses, I looked down at the marsupial and said, “That is not how we behave.” I’m pretty sure he was ashamed of his behavior and learned an important lesson that day. And so did I, don't carry the food bag.
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