This weekend I went to Arenal Volcano, one of Costa Rica's active volcanos. On thursday before we left I was stupid enough to catch a cold. Everyone in my class is, or has been, sick. The training room is just a giant petri dish with a wide choice of diseases available. My body choose the basic "sniffle, cough, mucus overload" cold. One interesting thing about Costa Rica is that it has univeral health care. It's interesting to see how that changes the dynamics of the culture. In the US the first response to any illness is to "watch" and make sure you are really, REALLY sick before going to a doctor. We even have little rules for when we should see the doctor... (I was raised on the mucus color monitoring system... let's not go there though... kay?)
In Costa Rica things are COMPLETELY different. Since health care is universal they don't have any inhibitions about going to the doctor. My first sniffle in class and my students were prepared to drive me to the hosipital. They will consult with pharmacists who will prepare medications for them. The slightest cold sends them packing to the doctor and they always seem to be getting a shot for something. It's just a very intersting cultural difference when you see men going to the doctor over a cold or allergy. It makes me long for a day in the US when parents won't have to weigh the cost of a weeks groceries over the cost of their childs heath. Generally I try to stay away from the politics of things but seriously... I would love to stop trying to determine if something is yellow or green... if you know what I mean! ;)
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