Ouch

So, this idea comes up a lot in my stay here. Some mundane sort of thing that you do a lot back home is very intriguing when done abroad. There are just a bunch of little differences that come up that catch your attention.

Today was an opportunity to do some cultural observation...in the Emergency room. Yuck. Nothing serious, but a glass of boiling water shattered on my leg. OUCH. I ran around the apartment screaming (my roommate was very confused), and after icing for a minute, found blistering 2nd degree burns. Nothing to crazy but it hurrrrrrrrrts.

The hospital feels pretty similar to back home. They took pictures of all my burns. I don't know if they do that back home, but that was interesting. The nurses and doctors were so nice – wracking their brains to use that English they studied probably forever ago but don't need to use very often. As an English teacher here, I wish they knew how much I really appreciate the practical application of their hard work.

I've lost my health card so the whole visit without insurance was 130 American dollars. I can go back and be reimbursed once I get a new card. But speaking of prices, I noticed at the checkout that one night's stay in a hospital bed here costs the equivalent of 3 American dollars (but without insurance, it's 30 dollars). I know there are many different opinions on American health care, and I am not well-informed enough to have the best opinion either way. It just makes me wonder exactly how ours can be better in terms of cost . I really don't know the answer, but Taiwan seems to have it figured out in a way that works pretty well (for them that, is – the two country's situations would certainly not be congruent). Again - I'm not the most informed. This is just the reaction of a combination of a different anecdotal situations.

OUCH. Boiling water and leg do not mix.