I love watching documentaries.
It opens up your eyes to topics that are usually vague,
and i have a penchant for statistics and actual facts.
I know i’m a bit quite late (this movie came out in 2007) but i just watched Michael Moore’s Sicko.
It was brilliant.
If you haven’t watched it i highly recommend that you do!!
It made me think that where you’re born or choose to live really depends on your luck… and life.
Throughout the movie showing how corrupted the health + insurance companies are in US,
and the suffering thousands of their people go through if and when they get seriously ill,
the movie also presented the situations of people living in other countries where health care is a national service.
(Of course, there was backlash from other publications and individuals who said Moore failed to mention the long queues and usage of modern technology in those other countries i.e. UK; but i’m just gonna talk about how the movie affected me okay!)
Canada was first exemplified as a country that provides universal health care,
followed by a case study on UK.
As i watched it, i couldn’t help ticking off in my head THOSE WOULD BE GOOD COUNTRIES TO LIVE IN BECAUSE IF I GOT SICK I WOULDN’T HAVE TO WORRY
Like here in KL for instance, of course i have insurance.
But truth be told (touch wood) if i got into an accident,
would i really remember or be conscious to tell people which hospitals i can go to?
And (touch wood again) if i got a serious illness like cancer,
living in a country where all treatments are provided for free would be a dream.
Imagine working so hard all your life… and having to flush all that $ down the drain (well not exactly but you know what i mean) on health care if we got sick!
Health is what keeps us working. And working for.
Working to buy ourselves better options in case we get sick.
Back to the movie, after Canada and UK,
France was next shown for providing free health care,
not to mention… domestic help provided by their government after you give birth.
They showed a new mom having a young girl over to help with the house, baby and laundry.
And this young girl’s job is paid for by the French government.
-_-
I turned to Clem, “You get free MAIDS in France?!”
Clem: I didn’t know that…
Me: Jeez!
I kinda get why he’s so… relaxed.
The French people are so well taken care of!
They get free health care,
money when they don’t have jobs -_-,
money every month when they have a baby to raise it,
and free help to come in when you’ve just had a baby.
Their men even get paid paternity leave. -_- (though not as much as Sweden)
“That’s it,” i say to Clem, “If we have a kid, we’re gonna have it in France.”
“South of France is a nice place to live…”
It does sound nice.
I have no idea what our future will hold, but i do know i cannot survive in France without knowing how to speak French.
Hell, i’m kinda scared about surviving 3 weeks of Christmas holidays with his family in Paris this December.
And thus, i’m starting my French classes at the Alliance Francaise next week (i managed to make the late intake for end of the year).
I’ll be taking 3 classes a week, 2 hours per class, up till i fly off.
Haven’t taken a class of any sort for a long time…
so i’m quite excited!
I wonder whether i’ll make any friends hee hee.
Yah all this free healthcare, maids and what not is great if you like paying 33-45% of your salary as income tax..which personally I don’t.
When most of it is going to healthcare for NHS tourists from other parts of Europe that just come over to have babies or get treated for illnesses.
Plus public healthcare in UK sucks, most things have a waiting list of at least 18 months and some major stuff is up to 3 years – by which time you’d most likely be dead.
Why do you think BUPA is so massive in the UK? http://www.bupa.co.uk/
Moore is a master of painting disparaging pictures about the US, but in all honestly..it’s not so bad.
As they say, the grass is always greener ๐
Good luck!
I think just the fact that you’re determined and willing makes the initial struggle of learning a new language not so much of a drag.
I took French way back in school for about eight years but seeing that i didn’t want to learn it, i’ve forgotten just about everything.
Now i’m trying to learn German. And similar to you, it’s purely to survive everyday life in a country that is foreign. Plus not everyone agrees that English is compulsory. So it only makes sense to learn their language since i am in their country.
=)
ST: of course la their taxes are high! But i think it’s fair.. depending on your preference!
Chrissie: Damn German has GOT to be as hard as French. Danish sounds completely alien too!
say what u want about them canucks, but their socialist healthcare is one of the best. we need something like that here…. and communist Cuba has cheaper meds ? im goin’ there when i get sick ! lol
I’m English and my boyfriend is Malaysian and I’ve spent time in KL and I have to say that there are definite advantages to the healthcare in the UK most importantly on the smaller scale. I fell sick in Pangkor and we just could not find a doctor anywhere and we eventually found a small private clinic but the doctor simply did not know anything and it wasn’t until we got back to KL that I could actually get treated which is kinda scary! In England all small doctors clinics and GPs are all run by the NHS and held to the same standard so you know wherever you are that if theres an emergency you will be treated and you wont have to pay. It is obviously true about having to wait often for specialised follow-up care (although it seriously not as long as that, 3-6 months is normal) but I think it gives a lot more security and im happy to pay taxes for peace of mind ๐
It is always something good and something bad about it.
I watch the movie at school one day and I was very shocked over the health system in US. I live in Norway and can’t imagine how horrible it feels like. (Watch a bonus on the DVD to see about when he was in Norway)