Outrageous

Before I left the US, I tried to fill a prescription for the entire 5 months I was going to be abroad.  Well, the insurance company would not cover more than 3 months at a time, so I was going to have to get the medicine without insurance.  They were going to charge me close to $100 for a single month.  Naturally I declined. 

I get to the UK and while I was at the doctor's, I asked them to write me a new prescription for the same thing and I was just going to have my international insurance reimburse me for it.  Well, when I got it filled at the pharmacy here, it was FOUR POUNDS.  For three months. 

US: $100 per month without insurance 

UK: $2.50 per month without insurance

(I am not covered by England's health care system at all, normally this would be free for citizens) 

This is just one of the many things that I would like to follow me back to the US.  

One Month Reflection

So I realized that I've been here for exactly one month.  WOW.  This has been such an incredible month and it feels like it's only been 2 days,  but at the same time it seems like such a long time ago that I was in the airport.

Looking back at the first week, it was just such a weird, hazy one.  Everything's a blur of confusion, newness, trepidation, and excitement.  Since then, I've made a ton of friends, travelled, experienced so many new things, and really have enjoyed every second of it.

I love my morning walks to class, and then stopping by the City Centre on my way home
I love being able to walk basically everywhere
I love the fact that every car on the road is tiny (by our standards)
I love the hard-to-find road signs that have obviously been around for awhile
I love the cute flowers in the grass on the side of the road
I love being in a big city and enjoying the sights and sounds
Sometimes I love taxi drivers, like the one last night who studied mechanical engineering in Germany
I love the brick walls and cobblestone walks, such a nice departure from asphalt and cement
I love the sandwich shops everywhere that are so incredibly cheap and delicious
I love brie, falafel, and "sweet chilli jam" sandwiches for £1.50
I love the other international students and how much I enjoy spending time with them
I love the two taco nights we've had in the span of four days
I love how easy it is to talk to people because I'm "foreign" and they're interested in my life and I'm interested in theirs
I love teachers poking fun at America in both my Environment and World Politics class and Applied Global Ethics (hah!)
And I love how excited I am for the next 3 months


I do not love my left foot right now because I can barely walk on it, making everything difficult
I do not love the lack of Netflix and Hulu here, because being confined in my flat is leaving me with very little to do (I do love that I'm ahead in my school work now, however)



And finally, because a post is boring without any pictures, here's one of a shopping arcade in the City Centre.   Cottonwood's food court ceiling art just doesn't compare.