Ashley- Health, hippies, and heartbreak

Some random things:

I had my first experience with health care in Argentina today. Of course right after I received an e-mail warning about the spread of Dengue Fever in the area, I started to get sick. I've been waking up in the middle of the night with a really bad fever and have had inflammation in my throat/neck that has prevented me from turning my head without turning my torso accompanied but the sorest of sore throats... Well, I went to the hospital today and was amazed at the ease of use and efficiency of health care here. For starters, it only cost around US$30 for treatment with absolutely no insurance coverage. Furthermore, I registered, paid, sat in the waiting room, saw the doctor, and walked out of the hospital, prescriptions in hand within 35 minutes! (I thought it was a little strange that even the doctor gives the customary cheek kiss to germ-ridden patients). Then at the pharmacy, they didn't need any of my personal information; upon presenting the scripts, the pharmacist just pulled the corresponding medicine off the shelf and I was on my way. Anyway, it turned out to be a nasty little bacterial infection, but at least that means antibiotics will get rid of it.

On a happier note, Deanna got to Buenos Aires this morning! It's great fun having someone to show around the city. We didn't get around too much today, but we spent a little time in el centro and then she came to my classes with me this evening. I get the feeling that my university is very different from the school she's attending in Quito. She commented on how political it is; the sea of colored butcher paper with propaganda for various political parties and student affiliates is pretty unique. She also reminded me that it's pretty unusual for kids to come into classrooms trying to sell things for small change...during class. She also noted that a lot of people dress like hippies here. It should be a fun week of roaming around the city and hopefully discovering more of its nooks and crannies.

I realized that I lied to a certain extent when I said that I haven't eaten any meat here. One day a couple weeks ago I was eating at one of many parillas (grills) in the city with my roommate. As I was thouroughly enjoying my baked (or grilled?) potato, I came across something of a chewy nature...too chewy for a potato. Not only had I somehow gotten a good-sized chunk of meat in my food, but it was an organ of some sort. GROSS. Even if I was a whole-hearted carnivore, I'd skip out on the unappetizing, too-tough-to-masticate innards of any animal. If that little passing wasn't enough to assure me that I can live without trying Argentina's world-renowned carne, I had another encounter to turn me off for good. I was walking home from the subte station one day and the delivery truck to the nearest carneceria (butchery) had just pulled up to the street. When I happened to be passing by, two men walked out of the truck carrying a long rack strung with cows split in half lengthwise. All of the features of a cow were identifiable (musculature, ribs, face, etc.). Nausea and sadness followed. Pobrecitas vacas.

I think that's a good image to leave you with. That's all for now, folks.