36 posts tagged “canada”

For awhile now, I've been planning to write a post on my experience with Canadian health care. I can't say I've been thrilled with the care here; overall, I feel that my medical interactions, while certainly professional, have been impersonal and somewhat unpleasant. However, a recent illness while in the States has made me appreciate what we have here a lot more.

You see, I was never without health care while living in Minnesota. But during our travels in the U.S. last week, I was indeed without insurance. And then I got really sick. In bed with a fever and chills, far from my country of residence, I found the greatest worry I had was whether or not I would eventually need to see a doctor. How much would that cost? Could we afford it? What if we couldn't?

The Canadian health care system is far from perfect, to be sure. I am currently on one of those much-hyped waiting lists (for an MRI to look at my back pain). But the truth is, had we been in Vancouver, I could have gone in to see a doctor for my symptoms without any problem. And when we finally arrived back home, that's exactly what I did. Thirty minutes of waiting at a walk-in clinic, and I was able to leave with a clear diagnosis (bronchitis) and not a penny less in my pocket. Thank you, universal health care!

It's incredible to me that the U.S. - so often called the greatest country in the world - does not give me, a lifetime citizen, that simple option. And when I think about people with severe and life-threatening health problems facing the same can-I-can't-I debate of whether they can afford to seek care, it absolutely breaks my heart.

So although I may find the Canadian health care flawed, I have to admit: it still kicks the ass of our current, broken system in the States. I really hope meaningful reform gets passed in the U.S., and soon. Yet even if it does, without single-payer on the table, you can bet we'll be looking at our travel insurance options for the next extended trip to MN.

I normally don't follow sports of any kind, but it's been impossible to remain oblivious to the current standing of the Canucks (Vancouver's NHL team) in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Signs are posted all around town exclaiming "Go Canucks Go!" (this message even appears on the digital displays of public transit buses), and newspapers proclaim the outcome of each game in big headlines on the front page.

It's crazy how intensely hockey fever is gripping this city.  The Canucks jerseys, hoodies, T-shirts, hats and flags are out in FULL FORCE everywhere.  I've even had instructors these past couple of weeks condone students checking the score (and in one case, actually watching a game) during our night classes.  I guess they know the puck doesn't stop with them (BOOM!).

Sadly, the Canucks are down 3-2 in their 7-game series against the Chicago Blackhawks.  As much as I wish them well in Game Six, I'm really just hoping my car doesn't end up on fire if they do get eliminated tomorrow night.

We got our Canadian taxes done for us this week.  It turns out that, since I was unemployed for all of our time here last year, Shane can claim me as a dependent.  This means we are getting a nice chunk of taxes back - an unusual thing in Canada (or so we've been told), as the tax system is set up differently here than in the U.S.

So remember, kids: it pays not to work. 

Shane and I watched part of the news the day Obama visited Canada, and we both got a chuckle over the fawning coverage of his trip.  There were people who traveled to Ottawa from all across the country just to catch a glimpse of him, with one interviewee declaring he would be telling his children and grandchildren about that moment for years to come.  I have to agree with Rachel Maddow’s assessment that Canadians have a slight case of “president envy”.  (Not that I can blame them!)

Oh yeah, and they made a special beavertail in his honour.  Nice.

We’ve now been in Vancouver long enough to have given birth to a child (wow), and this is the first month mark in which I actually feel like it’s been that long.  Yep, nine months sounds about right.  And last month for me was one of the best.

Since we decided to immigrate here, I have looked forward to being in Vancouver for the holidays.  I don’t know why exactly, but the idea of seeing Christmas trees and Santa Clauses here always thrilled me; it’s the kind of thing that’s more about residents than tourists, the time of year that would make me feel like a local.  So I was damn excited when the Christmas lights started going up in downtown balconies (and, amusingly, on some construction cranes) in November.  And that was just the beginning.

If you’ve been reading the blog, you know that we had numerous opportunities to experience Christmas events in the city, from parades to tree lightings to extravagant light displays.  I was practically tearing up at the beautiful Festival of Lights – it meant that much to me to be a part of the city's seasonal traditions.  We also did a good chunk of our gift shopping here, first at an annual Canadian craft show at Canada Place, then in Pacific Centre Mall and along Robson Street.  I absolutely loved it (particularly when we were able to find Vancouver- or Canada-centric gifts)!

In addition to the fun, December brought more clarity to my future plans.  I started the application process back in November, and everything finally came together this week: I have been officially offered acceptance at BCIT for a full-time program that begins in April.  I will be attending school for 52 weeks straight, working my way toward a Senior Management Certificate in the field of design/web development.  It will be an intense (and expensive) year, but one I need to want to believe will be worthwhile.

My hope is that, through this program, I will be able to further the technical knowledge (primarily of Adobe products and the interaction of graphics/video/Internet) that I accrued during my university years, making me more marketable in the media/communications field.  Plus, these are software programs I want to learn and will have practical use outside of a job (i.e. for my photos and blog).  So I’m definitely excited about it, although I confess the idea of going to school again does intimidate me after five six (holy fuck) years away!

So, nine months later, this place is starting to feel more and more like home.  And with a new year and new plans ahead of us, I am increasingly optimistic that our life in Canada can only get better from here.  (Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to knock on approximately 1,000 Stanley Park trees to make up for that sudden, uncharacteristic bout of Not Pessimism.)

Shane and I recently went to see the dentist for the first time since moving to Canada (covered by Shane's workplace, not the government).  As with our doctor, we selected a place online, based primarily on its location.  Unlike our doctor visit, though, our dental experience gets big points for being extremely patient-friendly.

Our first appointments were for new patient exams.  The exams were very thorough: they consisted of taking digital x-rays and digital pictures of our teeth, which were then displayed on a computer monitor so the dental assistant could identify and explain any problems.  For me, the main issue is grinding my teeth (which I apparently do at night) (a lot), so my “treatment plan” included a night guard.  Shane was given some options for addressing his temperature-sensitive teeth.

Our follow-up appointments involved clean-ups and some additional work (but no cavity fillings, yay!).  Shane and I both were scheduled for more than an hour, but the time flew by.  Each dental chair in the office has a television screen installed on the ceiling, so we were given (wireless) headphones and a remote control to use for the duration of our appointments.  At the end, we received hot washcloths (for cleaning up) and a bag of freebies including a full-sized toothbrush and travel container.  Niiice.

Oh, and while we waited for each other, we were treated to some extras in the lobby.  There were the normal magazines and newspapers to peruse, but also a massage chair, (fake) fireplace and aromatherapy diffuser.  All in all, we were quite spoiled by this first trip to the dentist, as clearly demonstrated when we walked out of the office and immediately wondered why there was no valet to go retrieve the car.

Yesterday, we cast our ballots in the 2008 presidential election! 

We discovered multiple benefits to our fancy polling place abroad, including:

• super convenient location and hours;
• chairs to sit in while voting;
• no lines (except for the one person ahead of me);
• post-voting tea and cookies; and
• flexible rules that allowed us to capture these fine moments on camera.

 
 

I was a bit knocked on my ass to realize last week that we’ve been living in Vancouver now for six months.  (Especially as that means I’ve been unemployed for just as long.  Good lord.)  That’s half a year!  And yet we still feel like newbies here in many regards.  We’ve got items lingering on our Immigrant To Do list, from applying for Canadian credit cards to finding a dentist; it takes a lot of time to get truly settled when you up and change countries!  Plus, there’s the whole socializing aspect that we’ve overlooked so far and will eventually need want to tackle.

How do we feel overall, though?  The word that most frequently comes to mind for both of us is lucky.  Extremely, unbelievably lucky.

We really had no idea if coming here would turn out for better or for worse.  We took a leap of faith – albeit a well-researched one – and hoped we would land on our feet.  So far, it seems, we’ve hit the ground running.  Our apartment has worked out wonderfully (knock on wood), Shane has scored an excellent job (while I'm getting closer to figuring out MY end), and we have found Vancouver to be every bit as interesting and accommodating from a resident POV as from a visitor one.

And oh, do I love getting the inside scoop on this place.  I love knowing that mailings from the province always arrive in recycled, brown envelopes.  I love recognizing MP Hedy Fry out campaigning on the streets (as Canada’s election also draws near).  I love learning that tiny restaurant Shima actually serves better sushi than bigger name Tanpopo.  I even love knowing the crappy stuff, like how shaky the rental situation in the West End truly is (knock on wood) (again) or how hosting the Olympics will create new problems even as it tries to solve existing ones.

This is what we wanted, after all – to become acquainted with ALL aspects of Vancouver, getting a close-up perspective not many people can have in a lifetime.  And while it will be quite some time before we get a sense of how long this journey will last, I can now say (confidently) that we will be grateful for whatever amount of time we get to spend here, living in (and loving) The Best Place On Earth.

I had an absolute ball watching the Olympics this year.  And not because it’s the best daytime TV an unemployed person could ask for (although that certainly helped).

Shane and I had lots of fun cheering on our new country of residence.  We celebrated when Canada finally came out of its medal slump in the second week of competition.  We kept diligent track of the medals won – an easier feat when the tally ends up at 18 versus the U.S.’s (impressive) 110!  We watched as many of Canada’s winning moments as we could; the best by far was the men’s triathlon.  Having seen the top competitors race in the World Championships here, we were able to recognize many of the athletes in Beijing.  The final, dramatic sprint to the finish (led by Canada’s own Simon Whitfield!) was a nail-biter, but oh-so-rewarding when Canada scooped up a well-deserved silver.

I also enjoyed comparing the coverage on NBC with CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).  While NBC tends to be all-American all the time, CBC covered a lot of the finals that did not feature Canadians in the field.  Of course, one can argue that’s because Canada has fewer medal-contenders.  Still, I found it refreshing to have a little less bias overall.  In addition, much of the CBC coverage was live, whereas NBC taped the bigger competitions for their prime-time broadcast.  So I got to see a lot of exciting moments as they happened, including Michael Phelps’s and Usain Bolt's outstanding performances - what a treat!

It’s hard to believe that the next round of Olympics will be right at our doorstep.  And although living in a host city comes with a lengthy list of pros and cons (not the least of which is skyrocketing housing prices), we are excited to experience being in the midst of everything when the world comes here to play.

Although our MSP (Medical Services Plan aka BC’s public healthcare) kicked in June 1^st, I didn’t get around to seeing a doctor until last week.  We were able to look up what physicians were accepting new patients online.  Based primarily on location, we picked one, and I made an appointment for (a week ago) Tuesday.

The location of this particular clinic is almost right off the seawall, which made it an easy and scenic bike ride over for me.  The clinic is small but nice (and quite new).  They take walk-ins, so I stepped into the reception area and was immediately greeted by the stereotypical image of public healthcare: lots of people sitting around, waiting.

I handed over my CareCard (but no co-pay! kick ass!) and filled out a very basic form, which included ZERO health history.  Ten minutes later, the nurse showed me to a room.  Once there, however, she immediately left – again, taking down NO information about me, not even the basics like height or weight.  Hmm.

When the doctor arrived, she jumped right to the point and asked, “What can I do for you today?”  Since I’m not having any health issues (beyond the norm for me anyway), I simply said I wanted to get in the system here and establish prescriptions in Canada for the drugs I was on in the U.S.  Without hesitating, she took my hand-written list of medications and wrote me prescriptions for all three.  The process took about five minutes, during which time she asked me a total of two medical questions.  Then I was on my way.

I got what I went in for, the staff was professional and polite, and I didn’t have to wait long.  But I can’t help find it strange how little information was gathered about me.  Granted, in Canada our prescriptions are tracked by the government, regardless of where we have them filled.  So it’s not as if there is no oversight beyond the doctor; still, how odd that this is all it took and now I’m set for six months of meds!  (The doctor: trusting or swamped?  You decide.)

As for the drug costs, BC offers another public program called PharmaCare, but it’s more for low-income folks.  We made too much in 2007 to qualify for assistance before reaching a $1000 deductible – a level of medication needs we hope not to meet for many years yet!  That said, two of my three prescriptions are substantially cheaper here, and Shane’s work offers extended healthcare that covers some of those costs.  So we are definitely coming out way ahead financially in the medical realm (so far).