PoSh, As iN... nOt ThE SpIcE GiRLs...

Monday, October, 20th

I decided not to go to theatre this morning because I did not enjoy the play we went to last week at all and didn’t think that I would be missing much in lecture. I am auditing the class because I really wanted to go to the plays and sit in on most discussions, but I have too many credits to take it. My time was, however, spent much more efficiently, dedicated to my incredibly long ‘to do’ list. I crossed quite of things off of there by the time I needed to go to International Studies class, so that made me feel pretty good.

We started off class again by naming some of the things we have done, giving others ideas of things to do, and other facts about the city. It turns out, that the Prince Regent (later George IV), who we just learned about when visiting the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, is also the one who commissioned the very buildings we are studying and living in. I knew we were in a ritzy part of town, but I didn’t know it was that much! Apparently he was notorious for building expensive, pointless buildings, which was true with the Royal Pavilion too. Many people were upset with him for spending so much money on the structure when the country was not doing so well economically. With our buildings of residence, he wanted the area to be a bigger palace, but simply ran out of money. Also, Regents Park, our backyard almost literally, is named after him. Pretty cool.

It is pretty cool being here. Anytime you talk to someone from the city and tell them you are staying in the Regents Park area, they look at you in surprise and say how ‘posh’ it is. Yea, its kind of a big deal…

As far as discussion in class, a big part of today’s discussion was directed toward the British political system and issues pertaining to that. I am very opposed to universal healthcare, and seeing the system first hand in Europe has definitely not helped to sway my opinion. Interestingly enough, that was a big part of today’s discussion, also linked with immigration. Part of the problem lies with the fact that the government simply does not have the money to pay for it, and lots of people take advantage of the system. Illegal immigrants come in to be treated and do not have to pay, and often do not get sufficient treatment anyway because the medical facilities pay more attention to paying customers. Most citizens actually have to get insurance on top of the universal healthcare to have proficient medical care anyway as there is no fast track medical care unless you have private health insurance. Linked to this is the fact that doctors are only allocated so much money per patient. Doctors are obligated to operate or whatever the task may be, even though there may be no money. They are forced to choose which patient is more important if insurance is an issue. This is much like the problems we run into in the states as well with health insurance, but it was another issue addressed in class.

The major issue I have with the system, which we did not discuss is the quality of the medical care the patient receives. I’m sure there are some clinics that are far better than others, but I believe if there is more competition for doctors, where they can be paid more and have a better career, they are going to go to a system that suites those ambitions. Universal health care is not going to allow this. Even after seeing friends who have had to go to the doctor here, some for rather severe issues, I have not been impressed with the quality or efficiency of the system at all, definitely not improving my opinion on the matter.

Anyway… after class, I came back to try and get more crossed off of my list. I ended up finishing my 3000 word history paper, which is a huge load off now. I am trying to get as much of my homework for the semester done as possible before Becca gets here, and so that I can devote as much time as I can to sight-seeing so that I don’t have the pressure of doing all of this when other opportunities present themselves. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of that and pacing myself so that I have still done a lot while doing homework non-stop whenever I am in my room.

I spent the remainder of the evening doing more research for things to do in London and around the UK. There is so much to do and I wish I could have more time! I don’t know how I was considering doing the summer program. Less than one month would have been impossible! I also got to talk to Chris, who is studying in France right now. We discussed some more details for Ireland and such.