health care in chile

i bought international health insurance before i came to chile. super cheap, super restrictive (no family planning, no checkups, no birth control, limited reimbursement, no dental option, no vision coverage, no coverage for sports, activities, etc.- pretty much just if i get hit by a bus). when i got sick a couple of weeks ago, i ended up needing to see a doctor for a prescription, at the very least. so, after fooling around for too long via internet to try and get pre-approval so i could use my insurance at all, i became a little frustrated... it was like i was back in the US after almost 6 months. i swear they try to make it as hard as possible so you'll eventually give up and stop asking for what you're owed. though i am glad and lucky as hell, after hearing how horrible actual coverage can be in the US, that my previous insurance company covered, relatively easily, my $25,000 appendicitis adventure.

so, i had to decide, hospital or cliníca... hospitals are mostly public, very crowded and not advisable for serious ailments. lucky for me, i was pretty sure i had a sinus infection. i decided to go to a cliníca anyway. wow! 55 US dollars buys you a stress-free visit with a specialist! no sidemen, no frantic medical professionals. he takes a couple minutes to introduce himself (and i quickly realize he was the guy in the elevator who zipped up my bag telling me i needed to be careful because someone might steal from me) and then after a brief physical examination he confirms that i have a sinus infection. he was throwing out the random english words he knows; you know, what a doctor might know, body parts and stuff. he goes to write me a prescription for an antibiotic. unaccustomed to not being asked twenty times about what i'm allergic to, i offered, "tengo alergías"... and after i tell him amoxycilin and ceclor, he puts his hands on his face and says "oh no!" he was writing me a script for ceclor.. which would have been bad, very bad. so after a brief discussion about how the US is coming up with new drugs all the time (so the thieving, filthy rich drug companies can make money off their limited 5 year patents) and chile doesn't have the new drugs the US does, the doctor asks me what antibiotic he should prescribe. i start to get nervous, feeling like i might fail in the mission he has bestowed on me.

the extent of financial paperwork for a medical apt. in chile...
receipt from the cliníca- you should have seen how they spelled my name before i corrected them.
something like "coitalin szoutoonm."

he asks me how i would best be able to figure this out. my thought was... talk to the medical professionals in my life (mom, nancy, leslie, liders). of course no one was available. so calling them wasn't going to work. i could look on facebook? look on gchat? was he really going to let me use his computer? crazy, i thought. he sees me getting nervous and anxious to resolve this quickly because surely he must have to be moving onto a new patient within the next 5 minutes. problem solved, time to move on kind of thing. he tells me to relax and then i tell him i'm used to the united states' way and he smiles warmly. he understands; he confirms in a sort of way that he knows exactly how the US medical establishment works.... which is not well.

so anyway, i'm on this doctor's computer googling what i could. i ended up with zithromax which is called "trex" here. he's satisfied but doesn't feel it wouldn't have done quite the job of amoxycilin or ceclor... he writes me a prescription and also adds the nasal spray and decongestant on there. when i ask him what i could expect a antibiotic to cost without insurance, he asked me how much money i had. i explained i had 40 USD for everything. at this point he says that i need to start the antibiotic today so i should give that priority but that additionally i should stop by his office across town and he would just give me the rest, for free! so i thanked him. told him what a great experience it was for me.

as i am moving toward the exit, i hear someone trying to get my attention from behind me. the doctor was running towards me with 2 bags of medicine and nasal spray. he explained he just found them in his office. he didn't know he had them. he GAVE me two days worth of antibiotic leaving me only to have to buy one box from the pharmacy.

office visit: 55 bucks (includes free follow-up)
antibiotics: 20 bucks
accompanying medicines: free
hassle-free/uninterrupted/private and leisurely appointment with a specialist: well i don't have to say it, you know...

colo colo

my first soccer game in chile couldn't have been with a more intense team. colo colo is a club team in chile, but by their following you'd think they were a national team. the moment you stepped into the stadium you just knew the energy was there. fans all moved to the same beats and were singing in unison to the same songs.

now most of the songs were profane, as pancho confirmed. the fans are devout, for sure, but first and foremost south american. what do i mean by this? well remember when the colombian player got shot after the '94 world cup (escobar) after scoring an own-goal? ok well it's not that bad but you could follow the positive encouragement as a field player brought the ball up the field and then watch it quickly dissipate as the opportunity to score becomes lost. praise-> profanity. the players must be used to it i guess.

scott and i know to watch ourselves on days when colo colo plays, especially when they play u. de chile. it can be dangerous as previously explained in other blog posts. but how do you watch yourself inside the stadium? for starters they separate the stadium sections according to fan status. behind the goal in one section are the real rowdy fans. in the two sections next to that one are less, but still crazy fans. next over was our section (towards mid-field) where it's certainly safer but entirely energetic. the kicker is this: they block off two entire sections surrounding the visitor's section (complete opposite of crazy fan sections)!! not only this but they have carabineros guarding the area throughout the game. they literally don't sell tickets, don't make money on those sections, because of safety. incredible

close to half-time our section radically filled up with rowdy youths. mind you, at this point colo colo's losing to a "nobody" team (according to pancho) and i'm kind of nervous. or at least, alert i should say. these kids take pride in rushing the carabineros after the game's well into the first-half. so they fight their way past the carabineros (who are beating them down with their sticks and whatnot). i have to say, having walked through tear-gas the cabs. threw down the other day i know they don't mess around... anyway these kids got in to watch their team, brandishing fresh black and blues, lumpy bruises, all having refused to pay the 12USD entrance fee. so bad ass right? more like so lame....

so right, anyway, the main point is aside from some decent, not amazing, soccer, the energy was so palpable. sexism so palpable as well. most of the slurs yelled at players were negative comments against women (i won't repeat here but definitely comparable to when we call men who are "weak"... female genatalia.) although i have to say these comments seemed far worse especially as they were accompanied by vulgar hand gestures. i know there are a lot of female colo colo fans. i don't know, maybe they don't take it personally.... good for them.

anyway, if you think i am the only one who takes the women anatomy bashing and denigration personally i shall direct you to scott. after the game, we went to the nearby mall to hang out until public transportation was a little less crowded. when he witnessed a group of drunk colo colo fans hissing and jeering at a very pissed-off and unappreciative looking girl, he said something to them about. as pancho said later, weon i thought we were going to have a fight on our hands. anyway, as scott was calling them out on their sh$*, they immediately assumed because he wasn't down with harassing women that he must be a fan of the rival team (u. de chile).
logic? anyway, the boys went from angry to best friends when scott informed them, no i'm down with colo colo, i just think you're being inappropriate. what a feminist boyfriend i have!

...by the way, colo colo literally scored at the buzzer tying the game (1-1)...

Chilean Karaoke

In San Pedro, we stayed at a very interesting campground. This place seemed to be pretty nice and offered everything from the use of a kitchen to hot showers. They even had a BBQ we could use. What we didn't know was that while using the kitchen, we'd be one thin door away from where the family lived. And in that space, they had their fun with 'at home chilean karaoke'. Please note Brian's comment on the corazon!

Street Performers Do It Right

We get to see a variety of street performers every day and saw plenty with Brian. These guys stuck out because not only did we get some video of them performing...but we saw them the next day in another part of town wearing different colored shirts. Hard workers. I'm not really sure what the draw of the little guy breaking it down dirty style toward the end is but it seemed to work as most people(including me) gave them money at the end. I was less than impressed with their excitement though. It seemed like the whole time that they were putting on this little drum/dance spectacular, you could see on their faces that they were loathing what they were doing. And immediately as they finished their dance they were waking out to the crowd wearing "pay me please, this is so miserable...yeah put the money in there...you know what to do" faces on. Anyway, this is pretty standard fare and always fun to watch.

Exploring the Atacama Desert

After a week of being back in Santiago with running, potable water...we already want to get out of the city again. San Pedro de Atacama was a really cool place with colors, temperatures, and a landscape all its own. I had never seen so many of the things we came across. From flamingos at the salt flat, the salt flat itself as well as a real desert oasis. On our first full day there we rented bicycles and headed out to explore as much of the surrounding valley's as we could. What started out as a pretty audacious plan to see Valle de la Muerte and finish with the sunset at Valle de la Luna turned into a spectacular though exhausting trek through Valle de la Muerte. We made it out to the most western edge of Valle de la Luna and watched the sun set from there. While it wasn't what you'd find in the tour books, I think the sense of accomplishment made us feel like we were seeing the best there could be...and maybe it was!

Chilean Soccer

Cait and I have had the opportunity to experience Chilean football(soccer) from two pretty cool perspectives. The first was pretty early on in our time here. We were sitting at home when all of a sudden, we heard the city erupt in screams, car horns etc... At first I was frightened, as the sound of that many people in buildings and on the street, was something I had never heard. After deciding that it could only be one of two things(a football game or a protest) we decided to turn on the TV to find out! We found Chile playing the neighboring Peru pretty quickly and enjoyed the rest of the game and each city-wide eruption that happened.
The next time a big game was going to happen...we were ready. We watched the whole thing as Chile beat its neighbor Bolivia handily 4-1. Caitlin got some videos of the reactions that we could hear and you'll have to take my word for it...it's louder in person and way louder than the TV. I've always said that watching baseball at home is more boring because you can't feel the energy of the crowd. This solves that problem.

Skiing at Portillo

Caitlin, Brian and I finished off our vacation in the desert with a day skiing at Portillo. Portillo is a pretty small resort that is located right on the border with Argentina. While it doesn't have a ton of trails, it is known for hosting the US Ski Team during the US summer and with the incredible views it offers. Notice the famous "Lake of The Inca's" behind the shot of our first run.

Chilean Jam Sessions

Being friends with some musicians down here has made for some excellent party nights and unexpected moments. First one of the most enjoyable ones from the weekend of music in Coñaripe and the second is from a recent birthday party.

bikes stolen

stupidly, i have to say we were very responsible for having our bikes stolen several weeks ago. we took off for a quick trip to the grocery store and left our two bicycles together on the same cable lock. did we use all the locks we had? no of course not. we ended up taking two of the locks with us into the store instead of throwing them on separate bikes. we also parked them a little further away from the store than we should have.

when we came out probably 2 hours later (pretty big shopping spree), they were gone. scott found the cut lock in the garbage nearby. we talked with a barber shop owner who i had noticed standing close-by, outside, smoking a cig. no he hadn't seen anything, but he confirmed it was a pretty rough area (you know, what the hell are you doing here kind of statement). we asked him about the carabineros and whether they would be willing, whether it would be worth it to report it. he directed us to a carabinero station (which we couldn't find) so we went to the one we knew was close to our house.

it was quite an experience... the carabinero we had was kind of like barney rubble. he didn't listen to anything we said and was kind of talking to himself a lot. quite notable was the fact that there is no basic form to fill out in this situation. our officer took about an hour to draft a letter about my missing bicycle. i told him several times how to spell the street name and he refused to listen, electing to get his information from his friend at another station. i told him several times throughout that two bikes were stolen but he only really allowed himself to listen at the end. i could hear him talking to his supervisor, accusing us of not telling him about it until the end. it was funny though, as he was selecting our nationality in the system, i could see there was no option for a person from the united states. we ended being "other american" in their system.

the system was quite interesting. it was like ms-dos and reports were printed on that paper that was around in printers in the late 80s, early 90s. you know, the kind with the edges that you need to rip off and you have a carbon copy underneath? anyway, it wouldn't let him file the report until he had entered my mother's appellido. i thought that was great.

as a follow-up, the other day i got a letter from the carabineros stating that my case was going to be "archivada provisionalmente" due to a lack of leads... in fact, we didn't follow up as much as we could have. later on the day our bikes were taken, we met a guy who worked in that same grocery store. he gave us the number to the store and assistance if we needed it. we also never checked in with the store to see if they had anything on their cameras.

no, we decided to be renegades. we looked for our bikes at a feria the next day but, to no avail, they were not there. but, we saw we could buy bikes for 15mil (compared to the 50mil my bike cost). benefit from someone else's misfortune and buy a stolen bike? well, at least we'd be in good company...

this is the letter i got from the carabineros about a week after i filed the incident report. it states both of my "apellidos" and says that the case will be archived unless any new evidence comes to light.

tenemos paltas

yes it's true, paltas aplenty!

$4.80 USD