socialized healthcare

Having followed both sides of the US healthcare debate, I approached the Danish healthcare system with skepticism. I was prepared for long queues, difficult access, and a poor level of care. But, I've been pleasantly surprised!

I'm not sure this is the place to be if you've got a life threatening illness, too much potential for cost cutting and shortcut taking, but my experience so far has well exceeded expectations. It's at the very least equal to, and in some ways, better than the private system I was used to in the US.

The CPR number is the Danish equivalent to the US Social Security number. I swear you cannot do anything without one of these. This little yellow card is my health card, library card, and ticket to a Danish bank account, the tax office, and pretty much every other practical aspect of setting up a life here. In Denmark, everyone who has residency (temporary or permanent) or citizenship has healthcare.

They've also introduced something called, "NEM ID." It's basically a single sign-on to the tax and banking system. Enter your username and password, then you get a 4 digit code, which you look up on a paper card that's sent in the mail. Each 4 digit code corresponds to a single use PIN that you can then use to login. Once you're out of codes, they automatically send you a new card.

My bank account and the tax office (SKAT) are linked, so my income, interest earned and paid, etc. is automatically shared by my bank with the tax office, and my Danish tax return is figured automatically.

As an American, this is an uncomfortable system for me. I'm not used to Big Brother having such easy access to my health records, library records, and spending habits. Yeah, I know, "if you're not doing anything wrong, there's nothing to worry about." Whatever. I'm not a fan of the Patriot Act, either. It's not because I've got anything to hide, it's because I was raised with a certain expectation of privacy and giving that up makes me a bit anxious. It's just so... not American.

But, the system is incredibly efficient. Need to book a Dr. appointment? I go to a website, sign in with my CPR number and book online. I can email my doctor and receive a reply the next day. I can call any weekday morning between 8 and 9 and speak with my doctor. I have direct contact, not just an empty promise of "the Dr. is with a patient, I'll have her call you."

My asthma has sent me to the hospital twice, by ambulance once, and I'm scared to death of having an asthma attack. So when I moved, I was very concerned about how I'd manage my asthma.

I chose a health clinic when I applied for my CPR number and I can see any Dr. at that clinic. Shortly after figuring out how to navigate the Danish website, I booked an appointment online, showed up for my appointment, swiped my yellow card, saw the Doc, and left without a copay. I waited maybe 10 minutes past my scheduled time, but I've had longer waits in the US.

Based on some things I'd read online on various blogs and expat forums, my stomach was in knots at the thought of having to go in and ask to speak English, but no need, my Dr. is lovely. She introduced herself by her first name and asked if I preferred to speak English or Danish. Her office was big, bright, and nothing like the dismal inner city Planned Parenthood sort of place I was expecting.

She asked a lot of questions about asthmatic history, and looked up both of my medicines to make sure she was prescribing the Danish equivalent. Then she asked if she could up the dose of my primary treatment because she felt I was using my rescue inhaler too often. I didn't feel rushed like I sometimes did in the US and I didn't at all feel marginalized for speaking English.

The weakest part of the system for me is that we don't have prescription coverage. Here, I pay for a one month supply of asthma medicine about what I paid for a 3 month supply with prescription coverage in the US. It's expensive. I hear the prescriptions get less expensive the more you refill them, but I can't comment on that yet.

Refilling. I'm almost out of medicine so I had to deal with that this week. I'd been overspringshandling. <---- Danish for "procrastinating" It's weird not to know know the process of things. I didn't know if there were refills left on the last prescription, if I needed another office visit, or what.

So, Sunday night, I emailed my Dr. and asked for refills. Monday morning, I got a reply from her in English :) asking me to call her because she was worried that I might be using my rescue inhaler too often. At first I was annoyed because in the US, I could call up and get refill on almost anything without a hassle. But then, I felt grateful that she had such an interest in helping me control this so I can live without worrying too much about another major attack.

I called and explained that I still have most of my rescue inhaler left, but would like an extra one to keep at work. No problem :) And she said if my asthma gets worse in the summer or starts acting up when I'm trying to run to be sure to come in for a lung capacity test and so she can adjust my treatment.

OK, so taxes are high, my health situation has been straight forward, and I won't say I've drunk the Kool-Aid, but I'm definitely sipping it. So far, compared to the US, I give Denmark an A+ in healthcare. I'm impressed!

vegetarian butter "chicken"

Right off the bat, this is not the prettiest dish you'll ever see on this blog. Secondly, I've never had butter chicken, so I don't really know if this is good butter "chicken".

But, whatever it is, it's quick, delicious, inexpensive, relatively healthy, and I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand. So, off we go...

olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 -2 garlic cloves, pressed
3 t curry powder
1/2 t garam masala
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t cumin
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
2 T sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chickpeas*
1/2 lb potatoes, cubed and boiled

Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté just until the onion starts to brown, then add the garlic and cook a few more minutes.

Stir in the curry powder, garam masala, ginger, and cumin. Stir and cook a few minutes more, then add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens a bit. I'm still learning Danish tomato products, so if it's not thickening up to my liking, I stir in a bit of cornstarch.

Once I get the texture squared away, I add a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper and taste it. I find that curry powder and garam masala vary from brand to brand, and even package to package, so I start off easy and usually pimp it near the end. Sometimes I add hot chili powder, smoked paprika, and/or red curry paste.

I serve this over brown rice, but then again, I serve everything over brown rice :)

*this is equal to one 15 1/2 oz. can

opie in the sun

First, I separated him from his friends and dragged him across the Atlantic, in the cargo hold. Then, I made him live in half the space he's used to in a place that's dark and frigid all winter.

Now I practice random Danish phrases at him... *"Jeg elsker kikærter. Godt gået! Det er forår. Jeg spiser ikke kød. Er der kød i? Jeg er vegetar. Pøj pøj med det! Det er varmt. Det irriterende! Vi ses."

I let him sleep on the bed, I comb him, I snuggle him, I keep the heated floors on for him, and I don't drag him to cat shows. All things considered, he's got a pretty good life, but still sometimes I feel like the worst cat mom, ever!

But the sun is shining today, he's found a little slice of heaven, and that makes my heart happy :)

*"I love chickpeas. Well done! It is spring. I don't eat meat. Is there meat in it? I am a vegetarian. Good luck with that! It's warm. That's annoying! See you."

soi cats

My heart was broken my first night in Bangkok by a tiny cat that crawled out from under a bush and laid down on my foot as I waited to cross a street. I don't know why it chose me, I mean how could it have possibly known the giant space in my heart that's reserved for animals?

At first, I was a little put off by this rough looking and possibly flea and disease ridden stray cat rubbing itself all over my almost bare foot. But I was overcome with love and compassion for the poor little thing and I leaned down and petted it, and it purred, and I wanted to bring it home with me.

There are so many stray animals in Thailand. By one estimate, there are around 300,000 stray dogs in Bagkok and even more cats. The monks feed the ones lucky enough to have found their way to the temples and monasteries, but tens of thousands of others have to fend for themselves :(

These cats live under that car. They had cardboard to sleep on and someone had given them water, but it didn't look like they'd been fed.

This organization is trying to help these animals through adoption, sterilization, and education. But man, they've got their work cut out for them.

A few days into the trip, I bought cat food and carried it in my camera bag so I could feed stray cats as I met them. I know some people say this just contributes to the problem, but I couldn't turn my back on them.

seeking kindness

I've been drawn to Buddhism for awhile. I'm the same age as The Buddha when he gave up the throne to go find enlightenment, but I've got a chatty mind and perfectionist tendencies, so inner peace does not come easily.

I wanted to know more about The Buddha and his teachings, so I talked with a monk in Chiang Mai and it turns out that there is hope for this fiery-tempered, half-Cuban, perfectionist-leaning Aries.

When I was growing up, I went with friends to the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church, both of which were different from each other and the Catholic Church I was used to. I briefly dated a Jewish guy in high school, which was pretty much the pinnacle of rebellion ;)

I remember asking my grandmother some religious questions and the answer pretty much boiled down to our way being "best." I remember telling her that I thought it would make more sense to have a "religion buffet" where you could pick what suited you, but she said it didn't work like that. And I wondered how she knew we were the "right" ones, and how God could be so judgmental.

In talking with the monk, I realized that Buddhism is the religious buffet I'd imagined back then! The Buddha encouraged people to adopt the lessons that resonated with them and forget the rest. There's no guilt, no fear, just compassion and tolerance.

But the point of this post isn't to teach or preach Buddhism. The point of all of this is to say that because of the monk, I've been kinder to myself. He had no idea he was talking to a fitness infomercial success story, someone who struggled all of her teens and the majority of her 20's with her weight and was still fighting a daily battle with perfection.

As he was explaining mindfulness, he told me to focus on the moment. He took exercise as an example. He said, "don't think about the result, just think about the task at hand, the movement." And I have. I've stopped obsessing over which program will give me the most muscle definition or the best abs. I take it one day at a time. I focus on each movement, I don't think about all of the things I have to do when I'm finished working out. Each workout is like a coat of paint, the first one will be spotty, but eventually, subsequent coats will dry to an even and beautiful finish. If I'm having an off day, I go easy. If I miss a workout, I don't punish myself. I don't fall off the workout wagon and stop taking care of myself. I forgive myself and pick up where I left off.

Learning Danish is a similar scenario. I was taking my failure really hard. But then I told people how frustrated I was and how disappointed I was in myself that I couldn't learn this language. And they've been helping me. And I've been helping myself. The wall near my desk is covered in post-its of Danish words and phrases. I practice them throughout the day, and I practice every night with Opie, who looks a little confused by my strange sounds, but my practice is deliberate and I try not to let my mind wander. If an unrelated thought comes, I acknowledge it, then let it go, and refocus on the spelling and the unusual sounds. There's more than one way to skin a proverbial cat and those state-sponsored classes weren't doing it for me. I'm actually starting to recognize words and phrases in conversations around me and it's only been a week!

I feel like I've spent so much time lost in the forest, when if I'd just slowed down instead of freaking out, I could've found my way out much sooner. But I'm out now, and it's good :)

pad thai on the fly

Improvised tonight from the recipe I learned in Thai cooking class to feed my Pad Thai craving with what I had on hand...

I subbed egg noodles in place of rice noodles; two additional eggs in place of tofu; rice vinegar in place of lime juice; and a can of "wok mix" instead of the mung bean sprouts.

Conclusion: My cooking class was a very wise investment :)

three wise monkeys

I never connected the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" maxim with Buddhism until I came upon these little statues at a Buddhist monastery in Chiang Mai.

It makes perfect sense :)

I love them! So, I'm going frame this photo set and hang it in my hallway.

jeg taler lidt dansk

But that's the problem. I cannot seem to progress beyond speaking a little Danish. Reading has become easier, I can pretty much navigate the grocery store and complete my transaction in Danish, I can read a bit of my mail, and schedule a doctor appointment, but I cannot hold a conversation. Even a basic one.

There are a number of issues contributing to my miserable failure in this area. The language itself is extremely difficult, nothing sounds like it looks and there are very few rules to lean on. Outside of class, I can't even hear where one word ends and the next begins.

There are 5 modules to the program, but the classes are rolling, so in every level, there are people just coming in, people in the middle, and people who are almost ready to test into the next level. I joined the class just as everyone else was in the middle and preparing to test out, so I don't feel that I had the foundation I needed in order to grasp the language as well as I needed to.

I go to class once a week. Socially, I hang out with ex-pats, and our common language is English. I have a couple of Norwegian friends who can speak Danish when necessary, but even they mostly speak English here. I have no one to practice with, I speak English at work.

I'm due to test out of Module 1 on April 11. It's a verbal exam where I have to talk about myself and one of 3 Danish books I've read. I thought I was doing pretty well. My instructor read my book report and the paragraph about my personal details and had very little to correct, then he asked me to read it aloud and my word came crashing down.

The thing is, it's relatively easy for me to read and write this language, but when I'm learning mostly by reading and writing, and words like "morgenmad" are actually pronounced something along the lines of "mooremal," it's not hard to see that there's little chance in hell of me passing this test.

Today, my instructor asked me why I was learning Danish. I honestly don't need it to get by. My life would be a bit less stressful if I could speak and understand Danish, but I'm many lessons away from reaching a useful level of proficiency.

My answer to his question is that I'm living in Denmark and as a guest in this country I feel I should learn Danish. Yes, the majority of people speak fluent English, and I'm beyond grateful for that, but I don't think I should expect it.

I used to be annoyed in the US when it seemed like everything was in English and Spanish. Of course Spanish isn't the "universal" language, but somehow I feel like living in Denmark and not speaking Danish makes me a hypocrite.

On the other hand, my Danish will most likely reach the neighborhood of par right around the time I'm planning to leave the country. So, does it make sense to struggle with a language that I'll probably never use?

The instructor himself said that some people have a knack for languages and some people don't. I, unfortunately don't. He said if we look at my proportion of effort to progress, it might make sense for me to put my effort into something else.

But am I willing to live here as a guest who doesn't speak the local language and has given up on trying? Can I accept that I'm one of those monolingual Americans? Should I try a different language? Maybe I'd do better with French, Italian or Spanish. But is there any point in learning a language just to be bilingual?

The thought of giving up feels like an anchor disappearing from around my neck, with a side of failure in the pit of my stomach. Which makes me wonder, which is worse, an anchor or failure?

spring cleaning

This was the moment where I looked around at the chaos and said, "what the hell am I doing?" "I lugged all of this across the Atlantic?" There was stuff everywhere!

But, spring cleaning needs to be done, and I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from watching dirty water swirl the drain, and seeing everything all clean and put away!

I scrubbed the cabinets, woodwork, and fridge; vaccumed the drawers; tamed the under sink area; polished the vent hood; scrubbed the counters; cleaned my small electrics; bleached the sink; washed the windows; and steam cleaned the cooktop and the floors.

And it does look lovely, if I do say so myself :)

It takes time to learn how to live in a space and I finally feel like it's mine. I'm anxious to move on to the other rooms!

Now that it's not so frigid, I'll restart my Saturday tours of the secondhand shops. I'm looking for picture frames, I'd like to print and hang some of my photos. I also need a set of bedside lamps, and hopefully some blinds that I can make into roman shades with the silk I bought in Thailand. Curtains would be nice, and a set of chairs to go with my antique dining table.

We don't turn our clocks ahead until March 27, but spring is in the air, and not a moment too soon!

i love u

A heartbreaking, yet common sight in Bangkok :(

I took this photo late, on my way back to my hotel for the night. How is this even legal?

It costs upwards of $22,000 to adopt a Thai child. Applicants must be married and under 40. I'm constantly amazed by how difficult it is to adopt, when so many kids clearly need homes.

thai cooking class - fried rice

This is the Thai fried rice recipe I learned in my cooking class. I've always thought of fried rice as a Chinese food, but it turns out that fried rice is a very popular and inexpensive street food in Bangkok.

2 T soybean oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
200 grams tofu, cut into cubes
thinly sliced carrot
shredded bok choy
1 beaten egg
4 cups cooked rice
2 T soy sauce
1 t white sugar
1/2 t dried hot chili powder
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 T lime juice

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it's fragrant, but not beginning to color.

Add the tofu, carrots, and bok choy and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add the beaten egg and continue cooking and stirring until the egg is half set.

Add the rice and continue stirring as you add the sugar, soy sauce, chili powder, and green onions. Cook for a few more minutes, until the the ingredients are well mixed and the rice is an even color.

Turn off the heat and mix in the lime juice. To serve, fill a small bowl, and flip it into the middle of a plate, and repeat for each portion.

One tip I learned in class is that this recipe works best with cold rice that's a day or two old and sort of dried out. So, cook your rice in advance and maybe even leave the cover ajar in the fridge to help it dry out a bit, or else make this when its time to clean out the fridge ;)

riverboat

Ping River, Chiang Mai

wat chaimongkol

Along the Ping River, Chiang Mai

lamonglass

Bangkok taxis are incredibly cheap. Like you can pretty much go across town for what it costs to sit in traffic for 2 minutes in NYC.

The downside to that is that pretty much anyone with a pulse can get a taxi license. Some of the drivers are super picky about which fares they decide to take, and some are averse (um, hostile) to using the meter where "falong" are concerned. One afternoon, it took 5 taxis before I found one to drive me out of Chinatown on the meter!

OK, so "lamonglass," taxis... what does one have to do with the other?

Well, I'll tell you...

I thought it was a bit odd that one taxi driver after another had no clue where to find my high rise hotel. Then I began to notice that after showing them the hotel on a map, they'd say with sudden recognition, "ooooh, Lenaissance."

So, I decided to cut to the chase and start asking to go to "Lenaissance Hotel" right off the bat. Talk about an "aha" moment, worked like a charm!

And that my friends is how "lamonglass" and taxis are related. In Bangkok, anyway :)

sirilanna

There are tons of cheap accommodations in Chiang Mai and I hope to someday take advantage of those for an extended stay. But, for a short trip of say a week or even two, Sirilanna is worth every penny. I've never stayed anyplace like it.

Words cannot do this hotel justice, so we'll have to rely on photos...





Each night, I returned to find that someone had lit jasmine incense in that little pot on the stoop outside my room. A peaceful end to such amazing days.

The hotel only has 15 rooms, so the pool and public areas have a small, intimate vibe.

My first morning there, I expected the usual breakfast buffet, but instead was given a quiet poolside table. Soon, the lovely hostess came by and asked if I'd prefer an eastern-style or western-style breakfast. When in Thailand, go East. I explained that I was a vegetarian, she was as well and took excellent care of me with the best Pad Thai of my life, a pot of green tea, and a plate of fresh fruit. The other mornings, I had a fried rice, and a super-fresh stir fried veggies plate. Kudos on the liberal use of tofu :)

Such a beautiful and relaxing start to my day. I could not have picked a nicer place, it totally made up for the hell that was Patong.

thai cooking class - pad thai

This is the Pad Thai recipe I learned in my cooking class. Traditional Pad Thai usually contains shrimp and fish sauce. This version substitutes tofu and light soy sauce.

2 T vegetable oil
3 - 4 garlic cloves, pressed
50 grams diced tofu
1 egg
2 T soy sauce
1 t white sugar
1 cup warm water
150 grams rice noodles
2 T ground peanuts
1 cup mung bean sprouts
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 of a lime

Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 2 minutes, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the garlic and fry until it becomes fragrant. Add the tofu.

Crack the egg straight into the wok, immediately add the soy sauce and sugar, stir rapidly until the egg is scrambled and cooked, then push it all up onto one side of the wok.

Pour the water into the bottom of the wok and add the noodles. Stir the noodles and cook until they become soft.

Add the peanuts and the bean sprouts, then mix everything together. Fry for another 30 seconds, add the green onions, and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed. Squeeze the lime over the noodles and serve.

In Thailand, Pad Thai is seasoned to taste after serving with soy (or fish) sauce for saltiness, sugar for sweetness, lime juice or rice vinegar for sourness, and dried chili for spiciness.

thai cooking class - market tour

What an amazing day! If you're a traveling foodie, you must take a one-day cooking class! This was the best day of my whole trip. Why didn't I take a class in Italy?

I had a choice of several cooking schools in Chiang Mai, but I chose this particular school because it uses 80% organic ingredients, offers vegetarian modifications for all dishes, and lets the students pick what they want to learn.

The school picked me up from my hotel and brought me to a market where the day's group was given an introduction to Thai ingredients, and where our instructor bought the ingredients we'd be cooking with.

This is totally the way to shop, it doesn't get much fresher than this!

Thai cooking uses several varieties of basil. Here, you see Holy Basil, Hoary Basil, and Sweet Basil.

I've used dried wood ear mushrooms in hot & sour soup, but I had no idea the fresh ones looked so cool!

On the left, is ginza root, which belongs to the same family as ginseng. In the middle is galangal root, a relative to ginger, that tastes a bit citrusy and peppery, it's used as a complement to ginger. On the right is ginger root and on top of the ginger root is fresh turmeric.

The withered looking lime near the front is a kaffir lime. The leaves of the plant are very prevalent in Thai cooking, and so are the rinds, particularly in green curry.

Thai garlic is milder and more delicate than other varieties. It is most commonly smashed and added to the dish whole without peeling, mincing, or pressing.

Tofu! The yellow tofu is coated with turmeric, which does not affect the taste, but makes it look a bit more attractive in stir-fries, etc.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't put off by the dirt and mold in that styrofoam cooler, but when in Rome...or Thailand in this case, do as the locals do. Traveling is good for my immune system :)

Once we were finished at the market, we got down to cooking! We were split into groups based on the dishes we chose to learn. We prepped our ingredients, then cooked in the open air kitchen at our own propane powered stations, sampled the goods, and moved on to the next dish. By early afternoon I was stuffed!

I cannot believe the amount of work that went into this class, the staff was really amazing! The amount of prep work and dish washing was unbelievable, now I want a sous chef every time I cook!

Stay tuned for the recipes...