Sick in Spain

This week is absolutely awful - lots of assignments, lots of mucus, and no voice. I skipped all my classes today and just stayed in bed, alternating between napping and writing papers. All my host mom's maternal instincts have gone into overdrive and she's been taking good care of me! I went to the doctor this afternoon, so now I'm all stocked up on meds! Now that I've experienced universal healthcare firsthand, I feel inclined to report that I didn't have to wait any longer for an appointment that I would in the United States. Also, my doctor was excellent - she gave me a full checkup and even gave me advice for my scoliosis. Excellent service even without the free market, lol!

Speaking of healthcare, in my Sociology class last week we were debating the cultural impact on philosophies of human rights, and the right to universal healthcare came up. The professor asked "Where's our American student? You should explain the situation in the US to us." I tried to defend us a little against the "Americans don't believe health is a basic human right" argument, since lots of Americans are in favor of expanding healthcare coverage... This also came up with my friend, Alessandra, who's from Italy, and pretty much with every Spaniard that I've met. Europeans can't even comprehend our system - it just goes against all their values. 

Random side note: our Spanish professor told us a joke/poem that's very popular in the European Union. Found a version in English online:

Heaven and Hell

Heaven is a place  where the police are British, 

the cooks French, 

the mechanics German, 

the lovers Italian, 

and it is all organized and run by the Swiss.  

Hell is a place where the police are German, 

the cooks British, 

the mechanics French, 

the lovers Swiss, 

and it is all organized and run by the Italians. 

Aren't stereotypes fun! And a longer version, that includes both the United States and Spain...

Heaven is a place where ...

the Germans are in charge of the organization; all the police are British; all the environmentalists are Norwegian; the French are the chefs; the Swiss are the bankers; all the salesmen are American; the Belgians make the chocolate; the Swedes are the lovers; the goldmines are run by South Africans; all the storytellers are Irish; all the distillers are Scottish; the opera singers are Italian; the Danes are the brewers; all the spices are provided by Indians; the fishermen are Icelandic; all the footballers are Brazilian; the Spanish run the holiday resorts; and the Dutch are the merchants.

Hell is a place where ...

all the police are German; the British are the chefs; the Norwegians are the singers; the French are in charge of organization; the Australians are the lovers; the Swiss run the navy; the Americans are the brewers; the Belgians put up the signposts; all the comedians are Swedish; the South Africans are in charge of racial integration; the only logic is Irish; the speech therapists are Scottish; the Ethiopians are in charge of agricultural policy; the Italians run the armed forces; the Indians are in charge of birth control; the tour companies are run by Icelanders; all the economists are Brazilian; the Serbs are in charge of human rights; the Spanish are the road builders; all the orphanages are run by Romanians; ...and the common language is Dutch