A Broad in America

Sharp contrast

In London, they're trying to keep knives off the street.

In San Francisco, they sharpen your knives on the street.

This mobile knife-sharpening unit was parked just around the corner from our apartment, right outside the Muni stop.

When life gives you lemons, think of Amalfi

When we were living in London, we had such great access to wonderful travel destinations. M and I tried to take advantage of the cheap fares around Europe by visiting places like Greece, Croatia and, of course, Italy - my favorite travel destination.

There is a lot of beautiful scenery in California, but I miss that easy access to Italy. M and I spent a week on the Amalfi coast a few years ago. One afternoon, we walked from Amalfi to Ravello - about a two-hour walk uphill. It was a "road less traveled" since you can take a bus and get there in about 15 minutes. We were immersed in terraced gardens growing Amalfi lemons so big and beautiful, they can even weigh up to a pound. Sometimes when I'm in the grocery store, I daydream about those giant lemons in Amalfi.

Though they might not be the size of an original Nerf ball, we got the below lemons (and oranges) from a family friend who lives in nearby Mountain View. He has an entire row of lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit trees. And so, a new daydream begins: I want my very own lemon tree in my back yard so I can always think of Amalfi.

 

(California lemons and oranges, with a Limoncello bottle from Amalfi in the background.)

Living abroad can be a pain

I just got back from the dentist and the good news is - no cavities! But I was reminded of my unfortunate experience with dental care in the UK.

Having gone for over 20 years without a cavity, I wasn't worried about not having dental insurance. In fact, I didn't even go to the dentist in the UK - I continued to use my Chicago-area dentist, getting my checkups done whenever I was in town. I guess Austin Powers scared me off the UK dental system.

This worked fine for a couple of years until one day when I was punched in the jaw by a championship heavyweight boxer I had some horrible tooth pain. I went to a drop-in NHS clinic where I was told they don't give out painkillers or antibiotics. (Question: what do they do, then?)

I kid you not, the nurse literally asked me if I had tried soothing the pain with a shot of whiskey.

While their policy was ostensibly to eliminate drug-seeking behavior, it had the opposite effect on me. It was a Sunday evening, so of course there were no drug stores open. I wondered what I could take for the pain, mentally going through my medicine cabinet. I nearly turned to illegal drugs, calling a friend who I knew had a friend who might have "alternate" remedies on hand. She said what he had would only intensify the pain. (Shows how much I know about drugs.)

I was in so much pain, I didn't want to get on the bus home because I thought it would shake me up too much and make things worse. Instead, I walked nearly two miles to get home with tears of pain streaming down my face the whole way.

I went to see a dentist the next day who asked what I had taken for the pain. I told him I slept on an ice pack and took about six Advil. Then, he wrote me a prescription for Advil - an over-the-counter drug that isn't even sold in the UK.

I finally became so desperate, I tried Codeine, which is available in the UK without a prescription. This probably doesn't sound all that desperate, except for the fact that I'm allergic to Codeine. I had a bad reaction to it as a small child. I remembered one doctor years prior who told me that I may not actually be allergic since children sometimes have adverse reactions. I took the pills and prayed he was right.

I'm not sure which system is better. In the U.S., doctors will seemingly prescribe painkillers to anyone with an insurance card (at a hefty cost to you and/or your insurance company), but you can't get any strong pain killers over the counter. In the UK, they prescribe painkillers sparingly (at a cost of only £6.50 with the rest being picked up by tax payers) but you can at least get something that works for most people over the counter.  I'm sure Obama will figure out something.

(My sad walk home.)

I miss London, but...

I miss London, but...it's shorts weather today! Last night, I wore open-toed shoes.

In London, winter lasts until May -- Vernal Equinox be damned. Then again, no one move to London for the weather.

Fully sick

When you move to a new country, you have to learn a new language - even if that language is English. There's a lot more to UK vs U.S. English than adding a few u's here and there. The same thing holds true for Canadian English and Australian English.

This playful "barf bag" from V Australia shows their appreciation for linguistic differences in their departure and arrival cities. Well done, V Australia. Fully sick.