Health Care

Been having a cold the past few days, which is nature's way of telling me... to buy loads of smart-looking warm winter clothing which I will not use at all in Singapore. Was quite looking forward to utilizing my free health care, one of the perks of being a Danish resident. Okay maybe looking forward is not the right word - but again I'm a sucker for a new experience.

I gave the clinic a call and got put through to an answering machine in Danish. Big load of help. Then I decided to haul myself down to the place. Thats when I got introduced to.. the system, something I thought would never occur since the days of SAF Health Care. (Although if you draw the links they are both free health care supplied by the State, and both have no interest in seeing more patients, only in getting their asses covered and enjoying cushy hours. Therefore, THE SYSTEM makes perfect sense!) Apparently all the doctors are busy and they do not take walk-ins. Either I make an appointment, which would be in a few weeks' time, by which time I would be cured or dead, thereby negating the need for a doctor; or I had to call between the hours of 8am and 10am, at which time the doctor would pick up and I can make an appointment for the day. Okay. So the next prudent thing I did was to ask for a thermometer just to check if I was running a fever. But, the clinic// did. not. have. one.

I was sick, but sickly curious: "So how do you tell if patients have a fever?". Nurse/Recep's answer: "Well we do a blood test. Because the thermometer is not very accurate."

Now I just HAVE to see this for myself. But the next morning I had a class, and calling at 9am to make an appointment got me straight to the answering machine again. Lying bastards!

For those who care, I've been depleting my tea reserves, my vitamins, some medicine, and I made chicken soup. Should be getting better on my own. Kudos to Danish Health Care, aka: Visit your nearest Apotek, do not trouble the doctors!

Fairytale of London

Happy Mau Speaking:

That was how the three days felt like to me - being in a place so comfortingly familiar, yet with so many wonders and attractions for me to explore; a fairytale of sorts.

Broadly speaking, the whole exchange experience is one long fairytale. Recently, some of the other ERASMUS exchange students felt their time on the fairytale clock ticking more acutely because they only had a month left to go; and long for this period of enjoyment, carefreeness, surreality and decadence to never end. Happily ever after, so they say.

But back to the fairytale of London. While I would have liked to have stayed there much longer, perhaps it was also good to leave after just a few days, that the magical experience would linger on.

Cranky Mau Speaking:

By now you should realise I'm just talking nonsense, part of the whole London thespian image. I would definitely be going back London, because my lovely flight back to Singapore takes me via there. And the entire fairytale image was partially damaged by the fact that the idea of Fairytale seems to be very marketable. And so it is only as real and magical as you can afford it to be. Just for illustration, I was quite keen on getting a haircut there with English Stylists, but 40 pounds a pop at Toni & Guys nearly gave me a cardiac arrest.

Let's start now from the very beginning...



Early morning pick-up by Michael in his Mitsubishi. Great start to the trip.



Liverpool St Station, where the STANSTED EXPRESS took us. It's just a fancy name for a crappy ol train. From there we decided to hike it to the hostel. I was all right with that, cos I only had on a backpack which weighed 5kg.

Got to see a lot of the city in the one hour. I really like the architecture and huge buildings of London; gives the place a very majestic and impressive look.



Top left: London eye. Funny how it was the one thing I aimed for in my London trip, but I ended up not going for it. It certainly looks pretty at night when its all lighted up, but in the end, the hefty price tag just was not worth it for me. I might do it in the summer, on a nice clear day, when I can see for miles up there.

Top right: Ooh I see a Big Ben. Michael insisted I delete the picture when I took it but I am rather pleased with the result. My rationale: if it looks too perfect and whole, you can get it off a postcard.

Bottom left: Horse guards. The guard was looking totally shagged out. The sign is kind of funny, but nice warning to all the people who went to take photos with the horsie.

Bottom right: Admiralty Arch. Go google it for more information, I'm not a History Major.

\\\ MUSICALS ///

Whats a trip to London without experiencing a musical (or two! or three!) in West End. For that you gotta ask the Austrian brothers. Hahaha. The girls went to watch Lion King, while I happily whacked these two.

Lovely, absolutely lovely.

Except for the curious stares I get from people wondering whats my story watching a musical like Dirty Dancing on my own. Or maybe its because I know my Mom notices people like that, so I'm being self conscious.

---FOOD---

The sad part was that I actually ate McDonalds while in London. That was really a low point in my life. Big N Tasty! Sheesh.



Breakfast at The Breakfast Club in SOHO. I suggested it, and I don't think there was anything to complain there. The waffles were so good. And the atmosphere, lovely.



Fish N Chips with Ale in a nice English pub called Wellington's. The bartender was really friendly, and let me sample three different ales before I settled on Abbot Ale. Fresh fish, nicely done mashed peas... my tummy felt really cosy after. Normally I wouldn't even eat peas.



Thats Emilia playing with her food - Wanton Noodle Soup. Heh heh. I had Roast Duck. The real fun was when the others dropped in while we were having dessert. What I learnt: Europeans find Red Bean strange. But they love Mango Sago.



Tower Bridge at night. It was the only well lighted one - my photos of Tower of London were pretty much useless. Throughout the journey in London, while we were freezing our butts off, we saw many joggers decked out only in tights running comfortably along the Thames River. Some had backpacks on, I suppose for a reason. But it was just too strange for us to fathom.



And yea, ever the Arsenal supporter. Just took a walk around and went into the souvenir store - only way to enter the stadium was to take the stadium tour. Fairytale with a price tag.



Maybe not the best photo to end off with. Changing of guards at the Buckingham Palace. Nothing spectacular, but just do it, to say you've seen it. Haha.

Happy Mau: And they all lived happily ever after
Cranky Mau: Yeah right, b*tch

Male Bonding

Wasn't Me.

In other news, I'm back from London (England, not Ontario) and very very sleepy. Having to wake up at 3am to catch the morning shuttle to the airport just plain screws with your body.

London was like the land of dreams for me - Rich, Majestic, Affluent; Chinatown, Musicals, English. But it left me broke as a Brokeback Mountain. Still, I'm properly inspired to work or get an internship there for the sake of staying there for a longer period.

Quote a Malaysian waiter I met while eating in Chinatown, "Ah I work in Denmark before. Can't find Chinese food there. Everyday only steak, steak, steak. Run fast!" I think a literal translation to Hokkien would be the correct way of interpretation.

Before KO-ing, just like to say that Tris' exchange blog awoke the inner girl in me.

HUGS AND KISSES,
Mau
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Land of Bofferding

Bofferding's the Luxembourg Beer. And no, Luxembourg is not renowned for its beer, or for its amount of beer consumed per year, unlike Germany and Denmark.



Caught my first snow here as well, on the final day. And it was snowing quite heavily on the Autobahn journey back. Though sadly, not seen any snow in Aarhus yet.


Luxembourg turned out to be a social cum study tour, which was really a good thing. It felt like the turning point of Orientation where everybody's just comfortable with one another, whereas previously we were just strangers in the same class.

What is Luxembourg famous for? Banks, fortresses, historical buildings and sights, and of course the European Court of Justice. Its not really much of a tourist place, a day or two should cover it sufficiently. That being said, the sights are AMAZING.

Top left: Gellen Fra Memorial. Gold plated female figure to commemorate the Luxembourgers who perished in the First World War.

Top right: Bronze statue of Grand Duke William II

Bottom left: Palace of the Grand-Ducal family. Was lucky to get a photo in when the gates were opened.






We were tremendously lucky that we had a juicy oral hearing to listen to for our study trip. The case was about State Aid to the Danish Television channel TV2. Language of the European Court of Justice was French, but the parties were speaking in Danish and interpretors behind glass windows were translating the case into the many different languages of the European Union, which I could hear from my headphones. It was very impressive. Knowing many languages is really very useful in the European Union, unlike Singapore where its the academic grades that count.



Our photo-op backdrop was a stunning view with the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge.

Thats my roommate Martin. He's in the Danish course rather than the English one, and he has a girlfriend who's in Medicine. Such a lot we have in common. Or perhaps the resemblance is more striking in the photo below with someone else...



Concluding thoughts: Had a lot of time to ponder and think, had a lot of socializing and fun, managed to see how an International (ok, European) Court functions, had some time to roam about a new city -- I would say it was a great trip.

Luxembourg Bound!

Going off on a Study Trip to Luxembourg in just a few hours. Looking forward to seeing a new country, getting a tour of the European Court of Justice and hearing a case relevant to what I'm studying; not looking forward to a combined total of 24 hours on a Coach.

But I will bring my laptop along for entertainment. Hope this idea won't bite me in the arse, however that might happen.

People seem to be the most excited when you tell them you've been to London, Paris, Milan, Rome and Spain. They'll just give you a blank look when you tell them something like Luxembourg and sometimes I wonder if I should really bother mentioning about such travels. Its almost as bad as telling people you made toast and eggs for breakfast.

But I will have photos when I come back. Aha! And this is my blog and my right to post boring stuff. If you no like, feel free to Alt Tab :D

How you wish you have the best of both worlds

How you wish you were living independently overseas, yet have your loved ones and dear friends to turn to when you need an intermission from the Alpha Male charade.

How you wish you had a communal kitchen and dining place to know your neighbours, yet not have to worry about your stuff going missing or your privacy being intruded upon.

How you wish you could go to parties during winter, yet not have to go through the cold weather.

How you wish you could spend all the time on exchange enjoying the exchange and picking up skills, and not worry about studying and passing exams.

---

I think watching Grey's Anatomy brings out the emotions. I should really stick to Boston Legal.

Nothing's much been happening the past two weeks. Maybe the most eventful was the Daylight Savings Time change. Denmark's going for elections Nov 13, but unfortunately I'm not going to be around for it.. not like I'm going to follow the elections or understand it anyway. And Christmas Beer (Julebryg) has hit Denmark on 2 Nov, also known as J-Dag. Tried it out for size while watching the Arsenal - Man U game today.. wasn't too bad. But more like a girly beer, heh.

Workload for school is picking up. Got to choose from 2-3 choices of exam dates for the courses. With luck I'll be doing an exam in Dec just before Christmas, and the other two will be in the middle of January. Seems like I should be studying a lot harder from now on.