Recap

The Georgetown invasion of London is over and I'm recooping before the craziness of my 6-week Easter Break. That's not a type-o. 6 weeks. I'll be traveling for approximately 4.5 of those weeks, not quite consecutively (thank god).

So as usual, in anticipation of all the excitement of visitors, I got sick. After a trip to the local clinic doctor and several days of feeling worse, I headed to the hospital. I've got to hand it to the NHS. I was only in the waiting room for 1.5-2 hours. Then I was in my own little room for 45 minutes. And then I felt pretty taken care of by doctors and nurses. Also, lucky for me, Kate and Andrea were there for essential moral support.

I've seen many sides of the NHS and I'm really fortunate that all of its services are free. But if you dare to open a little pamphlet about how it is funded, you'll notice that the NHS consumes roughly 1/3 of the entire budget for England. With VAT and high income taxes, is it worth it? I'm going to say... overall, no. Had the doctor at the clinic been more thorough and less efficient with my initial visit, I feel like I wouldn't have had to go to the hospital. Or if I had more faith that a GP could do something for me if I went back, I wouldn't have bothered to go to the hospital. But because efficiency is the main goal of the GPs, I knew it was a dead-end and hence diverted to the hospital. Still, care at the hospital was top notch. They took an X-Ray of my stomach/intestines, a urine sample, and two blood tests all without the hassle of me worrying how much it would cost.

Maybe a smidge of social medicine mixed with private care? That'd be a happy blend. Easier said than done. I'm more than rusty with my knowledge of health care issues in the U.S. so I will stop here. When all is said and done, I'm doing well now. I'm eating normally and am back to attending class. Some class teachers were a bit more understanding than others . You drop the word "hospital" in an email and expect a little sympathy. Unfortunately, only human beings can exhibit such emotion.

I'm glad to be back in good health, because trips are rapidly approaching. Hopefully my body will hold up for me, although I'm confident it will since only 2 of the weeks will be tiring movement from place to place. The rest will be relaxing in what I hope is Italian paradise. Sardinia, however, is not the island I thought it would be unfortunately. I think "island" and I think warm and sunny, but Sardinia's high looks to be in the low 60s this time of year. Yet my the climbing club email for the packing list included both down jacket AND bikini. Hmm. So do I wear my bikini underneath my thermals to go for a "refreshing" swim after climbing? Interesting.

Starting Sunday, March 16th, I will be out of contact until the following Sunday (Easter). Then I am back for two days before having limited email access for the next week and half, but hopefully, I'll be checking in. Hope everyone is doing well.

Kate, Amsterdam, Gtown, etc.

Quick update for anyone that's wondering what I've been up to. It's been a little crazy lately with frequent visitors and other commitments. I'm on hiatus at Ellis Brigham due to friends and travel. Last Thursday, Kate came to visit and it was an amazingly relaxing time spent touring London. We went to some not-so touristy things... like the Apple Store in Brent Cross (Zone 3, man) to fix Kate's constantly afflicted Mac. Although the computer received a bad prognosis, all wasn't lost. We stopped at Camden Town on the way there and explored the markets and checked out the part that burned down. The British really freak out about fires, because I expected a huge part of the market to be gone after all the news it got. But when I looked, there were only 2-3 structures that looked destroyed, including the famous Kate Moss and Amy Winehouse watering hole, The Hawley Arms. Other highlights of Kate's visit include the Annie Leibovitz documentary at ICA. Maybe it was Kate's presence or just seeing a bunch of American icons on screen, but I loved it. So... if you have the opportunity, see the documentary Annie Leibovitz: My Life Through a Lens.

What else... I've been struggling to make time for climbing in the midst of visitors and trips. I've been practicing lead climbing to prepare for Sardinia and took my first fall (on purpose) on Friday to overcome my fear. I'm not going to lie... it was not glamorous and I spent a few minutes clutching the wall as my calves shook from fatigue trying to get the nerve to just jump. But hurrah, now I did it and I'm less scared and will look less stupid in the future!

Some quick thoughts about Amsterdam... so many canals. I'm really ignorant about world cities to the point where I did not even know that Amsterdam was famous for tulips. Of course, we strolled through the Red Light District, both during the day and at night. The first time I saw a prostitute in the window, I was immediately sad. But then I got over it because if seeing a prostitute caused sadness, then I'd probably be sad for the majority of my time in Amsterdam. What else... museums. We went to the Van Gogh museum and the Rijk museum. Thumbs up to the Van Gogh museum, although Jared and I both felt a little guilty/proud that the MoMa in NYC had Starry Night. Fun facts: Van Gogh painted a lot of Japanese-influenced pieces... lots of trees with cherry blossoms or other flowers and even imitations of Japanese woodblock prints. I wasn't that impressed with the Rijk museum, mostly because I'm not a huge fan of Rembrandt or Vermeer. It was also really small. Quickly... we used the trams a lot, even though city was really walkable. Finding genuine Dutch food proved to be a challenge, as Argentine Steakhouses dominate the culinary landscape in Amsterdam. I'm not complaining because the steaks were amazzzing. Maybe it's just because I've been deprived of quality beef for 5 months (U-S-A!). One last comment on Amsterdam since I've kind of gone overboard. The Dutch are extremely friendly and speak impeccable English. We walked into a butcher's shop and asked if she spoke English to which she replied, "A little." And then she proceeded to give us directions to a Dutch restaurant in what I would consider to be fluent English. Anyways. Amsterdam in a nutshell... not morally corrupt and actually quite quaint. It's more metropolitan than Prague and holy hell, do they ride bikes there.

Alright. I'm pretty behind on work and am set to head to Brick Lane in an hour. Still, life is good. I watched Georgetown beat Marquette at Bodeans BBQ in Soho with newly arrived Gtown friends (Claire, Nathan, Ashley, and Lauren) who are here for Spring Break. J-Wal saves the day... yet again. Ok, hopefully I'll be posting a little more frequently leading up the end of Lent Term but until then, I hope everyone is well.