Christmas Parties

A few weeks ago we had our Ward Christmas Party at church. The activities chairperson asked Mama if she would cook a turkey. So, we ordered a turkey online and had it delivered to our house. Mama cooked it up perfect. Only problem was, it's hard to get a turkey to church without a car.

We live walking distance from church, but walking distance carrying a turkey is a little longer than walking distance pushing a stroller. Unless you combine the two: put the turkey in the stroller. We wrapped it up in aluminum foil and a towel and secured it with Daddy's belt. About 15 minutes later, it arrived safely at the church.

The next week, we had our Stake Primary Christmas Party. We played games, sang songs, and got presents from Santa. Santa talks with a funny accent when he's in London...

Wimbledon

You haven't heard from me in a while because we haven't had internet access. The landlord was kind enough to let us free-ride on his old account for a while, but after a while he cut it off. It's back now and I'm back to posting.

One of our first weekends here we went to Wimbledon. The town, not the tennis courts. Wimbledon is about a 10 minute train ride away. Daddy had to do a little shopping there.

While we were walking down the street, we stumbled across this little kiddie ride right in the middle of the sidewalk. I made Daddy pay £6 so Mama, McKenzie, and I could ride it.

Fish & Chips

We got a taste of the local culture this week and went to a fish & chips restaurant. ("Chips" is what they call fries, here.) It seems to me that going to a fish & chips place here is like going to a burger & fries joint in the States. It's fast, greasy food. And the cheaper it is, the better it tastes.

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.