National Health Care for the Win x 2

Sage & I have been coughing for almost two weeks now. I decided to take her to the neighborhood drop-in clinic first thing Friday morning just to make sure she wasn't on the verge of an ear infection. Neither of us have National Health Insurance yet. It will kick in four months after we received our Alien Resident Cards, which will be sometime in November. Jude, because he is employed in Taiwan, received his NHI card within a month of our arrival. (We do, however, have private insurance that we can utilize.)

Dr. Bear is about a 15 minute walk (downhill, yay!) from our apartment. Sage was pretty excited when we walked in and found a giant climbing contraption/slide in the waiting room. While she had a good time in primary color land, I took care of the paperwork. Before I sat down they called us back to see the doctor.

Instead of your typical exam room in Taiwan the doctor sits at a desk and the patient sits in a chair right next to the doctor. Our chair even had a little lace doily across the back. :) A nurse is always present, too. It was by far the easiest doctor's visit I've had with Sage in the past year. She sat on my lap and let them listen to her lungs, look in her ears, up her nose and willingly opened her mouth so they could stick a tongue depressor and light down her throat. Considering the monumental challenge brushing her teeth can be, I was very happy with both Sage and the Dr. Bear staff.

We chatted with the lovely female doctor for a few minutes, she then pronounced that Sage had "the common cold" and she described the prescriptions she would be writing for Sage. We were ushered back out the door and by the time we made it back to the lobby they handed the script to us and told us we could go to the pharmacy four doors down to pick up the meds.

All total (with absolutely no insurance) for the appointment and the drugs, we paid the equivalent of $24 USD. That is less than what we paid in the US for just an appointment, with health insurance!!!!! Crazy, crazy, crazy. 

A similar scene played out this morning when, after a marathon hacking session last night, I decided my voice needed a little TLC. I dropped by the clinic with no appointment twenty minutes before they closed for lunch. I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and had my medication in hand in thirteen minutes! 

Thirteen minutes and $27 USD later I am even more keenly aware that the US's medical system is deeply, deeply flawed. I'm no expert and fixing the problem is monumentally challenging, but change has to happen.

Yongle Fabric Market

Yongle Fabric Market was on my list of places to visit months before we moved here. Although I've read that other international fabric markets are even bigger and better, this place is overwhelming enough for me.

The main entrance

Mix of old and new on the outside

The large building houses a regular food market on the first floor (complete with hanging poultry and lots and lots of produce), a food court on the fourth floor and random government agencies on the floors above that.

The fabric market is on floors two and three. I haven't made it up to the third floor, but I've read it's full of tailors and sewists who can make just about anything.

I've been content to wander around the 2nd floor. It's a rabbit's warren of fabric. Row after row of quilting cotton, jersey, suiting, linen, upholstery fabric, sequins, satin... You name it, you will most likely be able to find it here. There are also a notions for sale, but for a bigger selection you're better off perusing the streets around the market for doo-dads, zippers and buttons.

Trimmings

One of the many, many rows of fabrics

Another row of fabric - look how long it is!

I first visited on a Friday morning with Sage just as the market was opening and the stall owners were mostly all smiles as she raced around the place and there were very few other shoppers. My second visit (alone!) was a Monday morning and it was busier than I expected. Monday tends to be a day off for many businesses and it looked like many women were taking advantage of it.

My goal was to find fabric to add some length to our bedroom curtains in order to cover the wall of windows (which are in almost every room in the apartment). No luck finding fabric wide enough, so I'm thinking about alternatives. I did manage to pick up a few things over my two visits, though, that I'll try to take pictures of when the light is better.

Yongle Fabric Market (永樂市場)
21 Dihua St. Sec. 1 (台北市迪化街一段21號)
Open Monday - Saturday, 10-6

For more pictures, check out Shu Flies blog: http://shuflies.blogspot.tw/2010/02/taipeis-fabric-heaven.html

Fancy Food

With sauerkraut at ten dollars a jar, I'd better look up a recipe for pickling my own for New Years. I also need to learn how to make my own flour tortilla.

Fibery Goodness - Toy Store Edition

It's a wind up alpaca!!!!!!

Dude. I LIVE here.

The Shidong market. More on this place next week after I take a class on what to do with some of the veggies available here.

Starbucks

I love Starbucks. I'll happily support indie coffee shops when they're easily accessible, but I have a deep, passionate love affair with the green mermaid.

Imagine my delight when I discovered a Starbucks on every other block in Taipei! Jill took me to the shop closest to our apartments within 24 hours of landing here and I've been able to get my hands on quality caffeine ever since.

Starbucks are my best cure for twinges of homesickness. Not only do they look just like Starbucks anywhere else, they TASTE the same, too! When even the Kraft Mac and cheese we shipped over tastes a little funny, this is no small point. Plus, I don't have to worry about what the resulting drink will be. When I order a grande iced coffee with hazelnut and room for cream, in English, none the less, that's exactly what I get.

I still want to learn about tea culture here, but right now my cup of tall, icy goodness does the trick.