My Toys Came to London!

My toys finally came to London. It's a good thing, too, since I was getting pretty tired of playing with wooden spoons and pots and pans.

It was like an early Christmas. As Mama opened each box I'd say, "Wow! We have this same thing in Atlanta." Mama explained that it's the same stuff from Atlanta. It just moved here. When McKenzie saw something she recognized, she shouted, "McKenzie's room!"

Anyway, it's good to see something familiar, not to mention have something to play with.

I've Been Medically Socialized

I experienced "socialized medicine" today. I've been sick for a few days with a cough, a temperature, and occasional barfing. Yesterday, we called NHS Direct. NHS is the National Health Service: the UK's government-provided health care. NHS Direct is a service you can use to get simple advice and help from a nurse. They asked Mama a few questions and then suggested she take me to a doctor the next day. They gave us the names and numbers of a few doctors, all within walking distance of our house. In the meantime, Daddy did some research that seemed to indicate that as a work permit holder, we'd be able to use the NHS without paying out of pocket.

This morning around 8:30, Mama called around. The first doctor's office she called wasn't yet ready to make new appointments for today so they suggested another office. She called the next office and her conversation went something like this:

"Hi. I need to make an appointment for my son." Mama started.
"Can you bring him in at 11:30?"
"Yes."
"What's his name?" asked the lady on the other end.
"Justin Eastman. He's not registered yet."
"You should come in at 11:20 then."
"Okay, great," Mama replied.
"See you then." That was going to be it.
"Wait. Does it matter that we're only here on a work visa?" Mama confessed.
"No."

That was it. Compare that to what it was like when Mama would call doctors' offices in the States. First, what are the chances we'd get an appointment only a few hours from the time we called? (Slim.) Second, the conversation would always include these questions: Who's your insurance provider? What's your policy number? Who's the policy holder? Et cetera. We're just not used to calling a doctor without having the first conversation be about how we're going to pay.

Anyway, we walked into the doctor's office at 11:20. Mama was handed a form to fill out to provide information to register me. If you're like me and Mama, you probably assume it would be a 2-3 page form that would take 30 minutes to complete. Nope. It was about a 5x7 inch card that had these questions:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• A few questions about whether I was having heart problems, breathing problems, broken bones, et cetera.

After Mama filled out the form, we waited for a couple of minutes (compare that to 1-2 hour waits we've had in doctors' offices in the States) and then my name flashed on a screen saying I should go to room 10 where the doctor was waiting. She checked me out, saying "lovely" after each check. She asked Mama some questions, made her diagnosis (I have a virus that will run it's course; no ear infection or anything serious), and prescribed something to help keep my fever under control.

After that, on our way out, Mama checked in with receptionist again.

"Do you need anything from us?" (Kind of like: "This is the point where we usually have a co-payment. Don't I need to pay you?")
"No. That's all," was the reply.

Next, we went in to a pharmacy. Mama handed the prescription to a pharmacist. A few minutes later someone brought us the medicine. Mama held the bag in her hand for a minute, wondering what to say next.

"Do I need to pay anything?"
"No."

Amazing, we all thought. Absolutely amazing. I got health care today and nobody cared a whit about money. It's all taken care of.

Granted, the UK income taxes Daddy pays are what pays for the health care I got today. But here's the kicker: the amount of money UK citizens pay for health care (via income taxes) is less than half of what people in the US pay (via employer health plan contributions, payroll deductions, deductibles, co-payments, et cetera).

When Mama told the whole story to Daddy, all he could say was, "I'm jealous of this country's health care system." Amen to that.

But the US has the best health care in the world, you might be thinking at this point.

My reply: You pay twice what they pay here; you probably wait for hours when you visit a doctor, even when you have an appointment; and one in six of your neighbors doesn't have any health coverage. What's worse: life expectancy is shorter and infant mortality is higher in the US than in practically every other advanced country, including the UK.

It's a Love/Hate Relationship...

... actually, it's more like a love/I'll-learn-to-live-with-it relationship. Like, I love Cheetos, but I live with the orange fingers they give me. Anyway, here are the top-five things that are a little "different" about living here:

1. Hot dogs come in a can. We've since learned that they also come the regular way. Don't try the ones in a can...
2. Macaroni & cheese comes in a can. Anyone have a good recipe for homemade mac & cheese?
3. Daddy had to pay 20p (pence for you out-of-towners) just so I could go to the bathroom in the London Victoria station. There are unsympathetic turnstiles in front of the bathroom. And since Daddy didn't have change, he had to pay ₤1 to buy some crisps (that's "chips" for you out-of-towners) to get some change. By the time I went, he was out ₤1.20, the equivalent of about $2.50. (In case you're wondering how you get change by paying ₤1 for chips: you give them a ₤10 bill and get back a ₤5 bill and 4 ₤1 coins. Then you put a ₤1 coin in a change machine that gives you 5 20p coins.)
4. You need a license just to watch TV, and it costs ₤135. That's separate from what you pay for cable, satellite, or whatever. If they know no one has a TV license at your address, they come to your house to make sure you don't have a TV. You pay less if you use a black and white TV and you don't have to pay at all if you only use your TV to watch DVDs. Luckily, that's all I do anyway.
5. The water tastes funny.

Here are the top five things I love about it:

1. Trains & double-decker buses.
2. You can get pretty much anywhere without a car.
3. Heated towel racks. Try putting your pyjamas on them before you take a bath. Ahhh.
4. Grocery shopping online is pretty cool. I just tell Mama I want something and she puts it in her online shopping cart for the next time she submits an order.
5. Daddy doesn't have to get on an airplane so much. He's home every night.

God Save the Queen

	We went to see the Queen's house today. We took the train to the London Victoria station, then walked up Buckingham Palace Road to Buckingham Palace. She had guards protecting the place so we weren't able to go in and say hi, but we're pretty sure she was there (apparently, if the flag is flying, which it was, she is "in residence").
Here's a picture of a princess in front of the Victoria Memorial, which sits right in front of Buckingham Palace. The other picture is of Big Ben, taken from the Victoria Memorial. St. James's Park is in the foreground. By the way, it was pretty cold today. It was only 7 degrees. It's not as cold as it sounds, though; that's 45 degrees Fahrenheit for you out-of-towners.

Settling In

Like any recently moved yuppie family (see, for example, this post) we went to IKEA today. To get there, we took the Southern train to Mitcham Junction, then we took the Tram to Ampere Way. I liked riding trains.

The coolest thing we got at IKEA was orange chair covers. They were only a quid each. (A "quid" is a pound, as in money, for you out-of-towners.) Now, I can spill on the landlord's chairs and they won't even know it.

Speaking of new words, here are some others I've learned:

• A tram is a cable car
• A trolley is a shopping cart
• When you ask for lemonade, they give you Sprite (I haven't figured out how to get actual lemonade yet)
• A refuse sack is a garbage bag
• A dust bin is a garbage can
  

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We didn't have a turkey dinner today, but at least I got some poultry (chicken nuggets at McDonald's). Yes, they have McDonald's here. And no, I won't eat there every day. We only ate there today because we don't have groceries yet. We ordered them online today and they'll be delivered tomorrow. Groceries without having to go to the store... I love this country.

We Made It

After a few days of packing and cleaning, an eight-hour plane ride, and an hour-and-a-half taxi ride, we're in London!

Here's a picture of us on the plane. We left Atlanta at 6:30 at night and arrived in London at 7:30 the next morning (there's a five-hour time difference). I slept solid for about six hours on the plane. McKenzie slept for about two.

After we landed, we stuffed our bags into a taxi and rode to our house. On the way, I must have seen 10 double-decker buses. They're everywhere!

Our house is cool. It's smaller than it looks in pictures, but it's just as cool. Here's a picture of me in my new bed.

After we arrived we walked to the park and then to the grocery store. I can already tell I'm going to be doing a lot of walking.

Raking Leaves

Daddy raked the leaves one last time today and I helped him. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say that he raked the leaves and I unraked them.