Health systems/myths

Ah-doa has heard some real horror stories about the health system in Asia; ones filled with maniacal doctors, uncaring clinics and incompetent staffers. On his most recent interaction however, he has been left with a sense of practical satisfaction and content.

I’ve been suffering the ill-effects of food-poisoning and diarrhea for a few days now. Something I thought would clear up (it usually does in just a few hours) has lasted a little longer than expected. Correspondingly I paid my first visit to the free clinic provided by my employer.

Now I may have got special ‘foreign teacher’ treatment (not sure if the students get seen so quickly), but I was in and out (with appropriate medication) in 13 minutes and the whole thing was free. Despite the fact that the doctor was clearly more interested in the WoW game he was playing on his laptop (than dealing with a trivial patient) he still asked me all the right questions and a correct diagnosis.

Following this, perhaps the best part, he over-prescribed prescribed about four different medicines to treat my problem. Usually this is the point in Oz where I start to get pissed off, thinking how its gonna cost me a fortune to pay for a handful of prescriptions instead of just one, only to find out the medicine is chucked in for free! The clinic has a stock set of generic medicine (antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, etc) that it dispenses for free to students and staff alike. Nobody abuses this system (each visit is documented) and portions cover just a few days.

Once yuor medicines are prescribed, a nurse puts them in a ‘whizz-bang’ machines where they get sorted and automatically dispensed into plastic pouches. One pouch thus represents one dose, saving you from rifling through a range of instructions after you’ve left the clinic.

Now its not a really touchy feely medical environment (as Dad would term it), however it gets the job done and services the University’s community. It’s only really meant to handle basic concerns (I wouldn’t want to go there for something serious), but I think clinics such as this (which would no doubt be abused in OZ), are a practical and sensible approach to minor-case medical issues.

Students!!

The lunch rush at my school is starting to drive me nuts! Just went today in the midst of chaos (waited until 12:30 in fact to avoid the mega-rush), I had my lunchbox knocked over by an unrepentant undergrad. Wasted food aside, it reminded me of just how ‘nuts’ the locals go about food and eating on time.. the fact that the school has a designated lunchtime only seems to provoke the students more to get their kiasu radar out.

When I looked at this kid with indignation, he just shrugged and stared at me (despite the fact that I’m dressed and clearly LOOK like a staff member!).  He then proceeded to brush past me as he earnestly rejoined the queue, in mortal fear that he would lose his space. He didn’t mutter any apologies or sense of regret..

Bottom line from this, when food is involved, locals, Ah-doa has noticed, can easily transform into savages!

Bread

Soy & Linseed, Wholewheat, Dark & Light Rye…I really miss all the ‘proper’ bread that you can get back home. As I sit here “chomping” into my lunch, what appeared on purchase to be a standard mini loaf roll, I can’t help but feel dissatisfied. For some reason a lot of the bread throughout Asia is super-starchy and mega-sweet *Ah-doa’s mind ticks over, as only it can, if there’s some academic study already conducted on this trend*. I long for thick bread, full of seeds and heart fibre.

Maybe its the trend towards generic pastry franchises (Mister Donut, Yamazaki, 85 Degrees), but it seems that for the average Asian if its not mantou , then it must be fluffy and sweet. My Grandma Omi (an avid lover of rye and dark ‘meaty’ breads) would have a fit if she had to spread her Philadelphia cream cheese on this stuff! I’ve actually switched to dry biscuits/crackers, so dissapointed have I become with bread quality here.

Moving back to today’s mini-roll disaster. I should’ve guessed someting was up when I noticed that the top of the loaf was covered in a film of oil (a current baking practice here), but there was no way to tell what the filling was inside. As G & I have often discovered and joked about during work breaks, literally ‘anything’ can make its way inside a roll here. Most popular are a.) tuna, b.) pork floss and c.) beans. Today I ended up with red-bean (which personally is the one I dislike the most), but after you’ve already bitten into it, you can’t take it back.

Whinging aside, Ah-doa has managed to find some exceptions to this (although I still think most of the bread is sh&^) by discovering bagels. Boiled in the traditional manner, bagels (which can be found at a number of different places, to varying qualities) is the lone <em>Kohinoor</em> in a world of baking wannabies.