January 2018 - Breyties Take on Canada

January 25, 2018

Breyties take on Seattle

Within the first month of his new job at Amazon, my husband was invited to attend training at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. So the Breyties were off to Seattle – hubby to work and meet the rest of his team who are based in Seattle, and Emma and myself to explore the city.

Of course our trip to Seattle involved many new “first times”. Apart from it being our first time in Seattle, it was the very first time we had actually entered a new country by car instead of by airplane. We crossed the Canada/US border at night so it was quite difficult to see most of our surroundings, but it was the first time we got to drive at speeds higher than 80 km per hour – so that was fun! (Canada has very strict speed limits on all public roads).

From past travel experiences, I can tell you that the best way to orientate yourself in a new city, is to take a tour of the city within the first day or two of your arrival. Not only do you get a good overview of the city’s history, but you also get the highlights package of what there is to see and do.

So of course this is what I did. I took Emma on a bus tour of the city and within 3 hours, our tour guide Keith, made me fall in love with Seattle. I need to mention that Seattle has always been on my bucket list – for the most obvious of reasons: Pike Place Market. And of course, the market met and exceeded my expectations. But more about the market later. What I have to mention here, is that there is lots to see and do and we consider ourselves lucky that we are only 3 hours’ drive from this beautiful city, because we simply have to go back.

So what do you need to know about Seattle? I will divide the important stuff into three broad categories: (1) Interesting things to know about the history of the city; (2) Best attractions to visit; (3) What the vibe of the city is like.

INTERESTING THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SEATTLE

SILICON FOREST

Seattle is in the US state of Washington and is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. It is considered part of Silicon Forest – which is the nickname given to rapid growing high-tech cities in Washington and Oregon – i.e. a mini Silicon Valley. The first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792. George Vancouver, is of course who the city of Vancouver is named after.

THE GREAT FIRE OF 1889

Seattle was founded in 1851 and logging was their first major industry. It was a thriving city until the The Great Seattle Fire. The Great Seattle Fire destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, on June 6, 1889. The fire burned for several hours, destroying 25 blocks and causing as much as $20 million in damage ($527 million in today’s dollars). What is interesting about this, is that when they decided to rebuild Seattle, they built the new city on top of the old city and to this day you can take an underground tour of the old Seattle city and view the remains of shops and buildings from the old city.

MOVING MOUNTAINS

Something else that you might not know about Seattle, is that it is a very hilly place, but that people literally moved hills to make way for roads and buildings. Following the Great Fire, City Engineer R.H. Thomson took the opportunity to spearhead a wide-ranging effort to tame the terrain around the city and prepare it for a century of growth. Canals were dug, rivers were diverted AND hills, ridges and mountains that separated neighborhoods from the downtown waterfront, were physically moved. From the 1890’s through the 1920’s, more than 50 million cubic yards of earth were scraped away with pick axes, water cannons, steam shovels and conveyor belts. Much of the displaced earth was used to create the flats that now form the waterfront of Seattle.

GREAT BEGINNINGS

Some of the biggest companies in the world, had their beginnings in Seattle. These include UPS (1907), Boeing (1916), Microsoft (1975), and of course Amazon (1994). UPS and Boeing no longer have their headquarters in Seattle.

I am told that the The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour is one of Seattle’s most-loved, premier attractions. It is the largest building in the world by volume and it is the only place in North America where you can witness the assembly of commercial jets. It is a unique opportunity to view 747, 777, and 787 Dreamliners being assembled on the Everett production line before they take to the sky. Each tour is approximately 90 minutes long and includes fascinating facts about Boeing and the planes that bear its name. We weren’t able to visit Boeing on this trip so it is on our bucket list for next time.

UPS left the inhabitants of Seattle a little gift on their departure, the UPS Secret Garden in the city; which Emma and I had a chance to visit. It is wonderfully fragranced from blossoms growing in the garden – even in the middle of winter – and there is a breathtaking waterfall on a rocky cascade.

Half of the city of Seattle now belongs to Amazon and the other half belongs to Microsoft Co-Founder, Paul Allen. Amazon owns 22 buildings in Seattle. Every building has a unique name and a story that explains the origin of the building’s name.

Both Paul Allen and Bill Gates also started their charities in Seattle. Paul Allen funds the Allen Institute for brain research that does research on Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. They have managed to successfully map the brain of a mouse in 2017 and their aim is to eventually map the human brain and find cures for both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. And of course Bill and Melinda Gates own the Gates Foundation which focuses on health care and education, particularly in developing countries.

BEST ATTRACTIONS TO VISIT

SPACE NEEDLE AND CHIHULY GARDEN AND GLASS

So what are the main attractions to visit in Seattle? I suppose it depends on how much time you have in the city. A one day trip should definitely include the Space Needle, which will give you panaromic views of the whole city and the harbour, and the Chihuly Garden and Glass, which will simply amaze you with what is possible with glass. Dale Chihuly is an absolute magician with glass. And on Sunday mornings, you can do yoga under the glass at the Chihuly Garden and Glass. These are the main attractions in the city.

Outside displays at the Chihuly Garden and Glass

You could perhaps include a museum or two or the 3-hour City Tour or a combination of these. The easiest museum to visit, would be the Museum of Popular Culture (or MoPOP), since it is at the same location as the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass. Founded by you guessed it, Paul Allen, this museum has gone through 5 name changes. It started out as the Experience Music Project. Then it was the acronym EMP. Then Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (“EMPSFM” for short-ish). Then EMP Museum and now MoPOP. Some locals actually call it the The Jimi Hendrix Museum, because it was originally dedicated to Jimi Hendrix and the genre of rock music. Today however, it includes pop music and other cultural exhibitions as well.

PIKE PLACE MARKET

If you have two or three days, then definitely include Pike Place Market and the harbour. What should you see and eat at Pike Place Market? Do NOT miss the fresh fruit stands. They are AMAZING. They offer fresh pieces of fruit to taste and they make THE BEST full-cream Greek yogurt I have ever tasted. It is simply delicious!! They hand out samples of the yogurt at the fruit stands.

You HAVE to visit Pike Place Fish Market for their fish throwing demonstration and to see all the fish. It is truly a sight to behold. Do not forget to try the clam chowder. Coming from South Africa, clam chowder was something we have never eaten before. In South Africa we have bunny chow. In Seattle, they have clam chowder, which is basically a thick, rich and creamy seafood soup that they serve in a round bunt-shaped bun. It is definitely somehting you should try if you are not allergic to seafood!

Every stall in the market is unique and offers hand-made and home-made delicacies. You do not realise how overly processed things are in the US until you hear the Americans rave about the freshly prepared food at the market. This is the only place they can go to get a meal freshly prepared. It is insane and it reminds you of the wonderful blessings we have in South Africa where freshly prepared food is still a commonplace occurrence in our restaurants.

If you are at the market in winter, then definitely get yourself some hot apple cider. And if you can handle spicey food, you should buy a samosa (pronounced as it is written and not how we pronounce it in South Africa – i.e. samoosa) from Saffron Spice. For something cooler, I can recommend the frozen yogurt and gelato from Bottega Italiana.

THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT AVIATION CENTRE

As already mentioned The Future of Flight Aviation Centre is worth the visit. So depending on how much of a fan you are of aviation, this might be on your must see list or not.

RARITIES AND ODDITIES

THE FREMONT TROLL

Something that is a bit more rare and would probably not be included in the main sightseeing brochures and books, is the little town of Fremont. Why is Fremont so important? Because they have a troll. In 1990, the Fremont Arts Council launched an art competition whose partial goal was to rehabilitate the area under the bridge in Fremont, which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. The idea was to build a piece of art under the bridge to attract visitors to the bridge and prevent drug traffickers from hanging around under the bridge. It not only worked to deter drug dealers, it also became a pretty good reason to visit Fremont when you visit Seattle.

The Troll is a mixed media colossal statue, located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the George Washington Memorial Bridge (also known as the Aurora Bridge). It is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle, as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. The Troll is 5.5 m high, weighs 6,000 kg and is made of steel rebar, wire, and concrete. He is interactive—visitors are encouraged to clamber on him or try to poke out his one good eye (a hubcap).

FLOATING HOMES

And then there are the floating homes… For immigrants to Seattle who are legally not allowed to buy property, a floating home is actually a viable option. You build your house on a barge and then launch into the harbour. There you go, you own a house in Seattle. They even have an association that will inform you of the procedure and the rules regarding ownership of a floating home – The Floating Home Association. And these days tourist can rent a floating home through Airbnb for their stay in Seattle.

WHAT IS THE VIBE IN THE CITY LIKE?

Lastly Seatlle is a techy city. It is fast-paced, but with a kind of open-mindedness towards the way work is done. Many businesses have opted for open-plan office spaces with large open windows where passersby on the street can actually peer through and have a look at what people are up to. People in Seattle love their dogs. In fact, most people take their dogs to work and you can even drop your dog off at playcare at a dog lounge…

They are less child-friendly though than Vancouver. Most places either do not cater for children or do not allow children, which is kind of a bummer when you are travelling the city with a toddler.

So in closing on a very long blog post, Seattle is a beautiful and vibrant city with a rich history and lots of interesting places to visit. We are definitely going back for more. So watch this space for more stories and photos about Seattle in the future.

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018

Buying a car in Vancouver

In my previous blog post, I gave a breakdown of the public transport system in Vancouver, Canada. Despite all the public transport options in Vancouver, their availability and viability depend on where in the city you live. Some areas of Vancouver are more easily accessible by train or bus than other parts. For this reason, public transport is probably a good option for commuting to work and back, but it does not solve all your travel challenges. Travelling from the Superstore with your groceries for example, is probably best done with a car unless you can take friends along on the train to help you carry all your bags – which is difficult to do if you are a newcomer with no friends. Furthermore, for road trips out of the city or across the US border, a car is probably a better mode of transport.

So if you have to or want to buy a car, how do you go about it and what are the pitfalls you need to be aware of?

Start off by investigating your options online. Most dealerships and private sellers advertise online. The best sites to visit are Autotrader or Craigslist Vancouver. Yes, Craigslist. It is very popular here for almost anything from cars to rental properties and anything in between. Decide whether you want a brand new car or a pre-owned vehicle. Craigslist gives you the option to search either by private owner or by dealership. One key thing to keep in mind, is that the advertised price you see online, is BEFORE tax. So add 15% tax to the price to know what the car is actually going to cost you.*

Before you go into the dealership to test drive and possibly purchase a car, practice your negotiation skills, because you are going to need them! In Canada, the advertised price is not the final price of the car. When you indicate that you want the car, they tell you that they have to consult with their “manager”. They then leave the room and enter a small office for the “negotiation” that they are supposedly conducting on your behalf with their “manager”.

After a while they emerge with a suggested offer to purchase. You then have to decide whether you want to accept the offer or not. Ideally you should not accept their first offer. Always ask if they cannot make you a better offer. This starts the process again. They excuse themselves to “consult” with their “manager” and once again emerge with a “better” offer and so the process goes until one of the parties concedes.

In an ideal world, you want to buy the car cash, because it saves you from the second round of negotiations which is for finance. Note that if you are a foreigner, they will try to convince you that buying a new car is better than buying a second-hand car – even if you have done the math and know that this is NOT true. They will “appeal to reason” by telling you that applying for finance on a new car, means zero percent interest, whereas finance on a second-hand car will result in higher premiums since you will be charged anything from 5% to 10% interest!!! (They obviously have not spent time in a country with a failing economy where interest rates can elevate to levels much higher than their “extreme” 10%.)

What they forget to mention, is that if you are buying a new car, you are also applying for finance on a car that is much more expensive than the second-hand car – in this case an additional $9 000 for a new car! So in reality, for you to end up paying more on a second-hand car than a new car when you are financing it, you would have to be paying interest that exceeds the amount of the new car. Do the math. Even at a 10% interest rate, you will still not get there. Suffice to say, their “scare tactics” did not work. We simply held our ground and insisted on buying the second-hand car. Mr. Money Mustache would be proud! Or so we thought. But boy were we wrong!!

Even if you emerge from your negotiations victorious, the battle is far from over, because what you did not consider is that your visa places a restriction on the loan term, since no bank is willing to lend you money for a period of time that runs after your visa has expired. So never calculate your monthly premium on a four-year or five-year term, since the longest you are probably going to get, is 18 months if you are on a two-year visa.

If and when your finance is approved – which is an easy process if you are lucky enough to be employed by Amazon – they will phone you to let you know when you can collect your car. What they do not tell you, is that you will be entering the battle grounds again…

When you arrive to collect your car, you first have to negotiate the terms of your finance. So they give you the premium amount over the phone. But this is not your final premium. This is BEFORE your extended warranty and tire insurance that they try to convince you you MUST have. So before you even have the keys in hand, your budget for your car instalments have suddenly quadrupled! So you become a little hysterical and kindly inform the finance lady that you simply cannot afford that premium and so ensues the next round of negotiations; where she worst-case-scenario’s every possible event that you could ever imagine happening in your life while she tries to convince you that you should ensure your car for more than it is worth “just in case, God forbids something terrible happens!”

One huge benefit of speaking a small unknown local language from South Africa (i.e. Afrikaans) is that you can converse in front of this lady about everything she is telling you without her understanding a single word you are saying. A little rude, you might think, but hell, it is just as rude to keep erecting hurdles in your path to acquiring what is simply put a small and cost-efficient car compared to the monster trucks everyone else on the road is driving.

As the day progresses though, you become more and more despondent and start wondering what the hell you were thinking in the first place. Luckily you remember that you read somewhere that you are legally required to take out insurance with ICBC, which is the Traffic Department of British Columbia. All vehicles on the road must be insured by ICBC. So you enquire about the need for additional insurance on top of the insurance you will have to obtain from ICBC. You are politely informed that it is for “God forbid, just in case you write off your whole car and can’t buy a new one.” They will then pay you $5 000 towards the purchase of a new car but ONLY if it is a Hyundai and ONLY if it is purchased at their branch. So you restrain yourself from bursting out laughing and kindly inform the finance lady that you are going to decline her kind offer. You watch her react in shock and then calmly smile and ask her if she could recalculate your premium.

Just as you think you have won this round, she informs you that without an extended warranty, you will not have road-side assistance or a rental car option if your car breaks down or needs to be repaired after an accident, because in Canada, road-side assistance and a rental car when your car is in the shop is considered a warranty-related matter and not part of normal insurance. So realising that you are planning on doing some travelling across the border to the US, you cry a little inside, and politely inform her that you would like the stupid warranty after all.

Two hours later, they inform you that you are now allowed to choose your new car’s license plate. They hand you a pack of license plates and you literally sift through them and choose the one you like/want. This license plate becomes yours forever. If you ever sell your car, it is removed from the sold car and put on your new car. So your license plate never changes.

After selecting your license plate, you are required to meet with the ICBC representative to discuss your insurance options. The ICBC representative informs you that the minimum damage amount you are allowed to be insured for in case of a third-party collision, is $2 000 000. So you sign up for the lowest package. Then you have to explain your driving and insurance history. Note, if you can provide a formal letter from your previous insurance company in South Africa that states your name, ID number, the number of years you were insured with them and you claims history, you can get 5% discount on your ICBC insurance, for each year you were insured in South Africa, for up to eight years. So make sure you obtain said letter from your insurance broker BEFORE you leave South Africa, otherwise you will have to make mid-night calls back home and beg your previous insurer for a letter.

ICBC insurance policy finalised, you are finally allowed to receive your car. The “joyous” occasion is a little less than joyous simply because you have been in negotiations for 2 hours and 40 minutes, you baby is irate from your insistence that she sit still and keep down the noise for all this time and your Sunday is ruined. You had planned roast chicken and vegetables for lunch, but since it is 14:30 in the afternoon, it will probably have to be roast chicken and vegetables for Sunday dinner. You drive off in your new car, completely overwhelmed with a screaming toddler in tow wondering whether you did the right thing…

Thinking of the quote at the start of this blog post, I am not sure what people would assume about our personalities or driving habits by looking at the car we chose to drive in Vancouver. The choice of car does not tell you as much about our personalities as it does about our own insecurities and our financial savvy or lack thereof. We bought a brand we were familiar with, simply because all the other options were too overwhelming. Even choosing between different second-hand Hyundai Elantras was tricky, because there are so many different versions of the same car! There is the Hyundai Elantra LE, Hyundai, Elantra GL Auto, Hyundai Elantra SE or Hyundai Elantra GLX each with their own special features.

The standard special features you would expect are also very different from what you would be looking for in South Africa. For example, a big thing here is heated seats and a heated steering wheel – a nice thing in really cold weather, but something you would never want standard in your car in South Africa. Sun roofs are also a big thing, despite the lack of sun hours in the winter and the fact that you could literally go for weeks without seeing the sun. I suppose it is more useful in summer time. We will have to wait and see…

For what it is worth, here are some photos of our new car…

*Everything in Canada is advertised with the price before tax, which is very different from South Africa where the advertised price already includes tax.

January 13, 2018January 15, 2018

Getting around in Vancouver – A brief look at the public transport system

Moving from a country where public transport leaves a lot to be desired to a place where there is a proper public transport system, seems like an upgrade. And in many respects it is. This post looks at the different public transport options available to you if you live in Vancouver, Canada.

All Vancouver Public Transportation is run by TransLink, the Metro Vancouver transportation authority. TransLink operates a variety of public transportation options in Vancouver.

Firstly, there are two types of trains:

There is the Canada Line & SkyTrain Rapid Transit – Rapid transit refers to the automated trains that run above and below ground. SkyTrain consists of the Expo Line and the Millennium Line. A third system called the Canada Line provides the travel from the airport to Downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver rapid transit runs from north to south from Vancouver Airport to Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver as well as from east to west/southeast from Waterfront Station to the cities Burnaby and Coquitlam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)

And there is the West Coast Express – The West Coast Express is a driver-led train that connects Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver to Mission, with select stops along the way. This is the executive train that aims to get commuters to work fast and efficiently. So it runs on weekdays only and only during peak commute times in the mornings and evenings.

Secondly, there are also two types of buses:

TransLink provides continuous bus services throughout the day. In addition to traditional buses there are also express lines that make fewer stops, and community shuttles that carry fewer passengers to specific areas of the City.

Most buses are electrical and run on electric lines that run throughout the city centre

Seabuses carry passengers to and from Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver to North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Quay. They are actually boats/ferries, despite being called “buses”.

Alternative to traditional public transport

And then of course there is Zipcar. What is Zipcar you might ask? Zipcars live where you need them most. Zipcar is a car-sharing service that allows you to “borrow/lease” a car for a short period of time. For example, say you need to run an errand in the city during your lunch break, you could use a Zipcar to drive to your selected destinations and then you drop the Zipcar off at a recognised parking depot once you are done with the car. Zipcar is basically a car rental service with a twist. You reserve wheels when you want them, by the hour or day (online or in the Zipcar app) and only pay for the time you use them. And unlike a car rental, there’s no waiting in line at the counter, because everything is booked and finalised on the mobile phone app. You collect the car from selected locations and use your zipcard to unlock and lock the car. Below is a breakdown of how it works:

Something you might not expect to see, when using the public transport system in Vancouver, is the bear warning signs…

Yes, there are actual bears roaming around in the city. It depends on where you live, whether you will actually see a bear. If you live close to the mountain or in Coquitlam, you will probably encounter a bear at some point. So here’s holding thumbs…

Bear in the streets of Coquitlam during spring time

Despite all these options, the availability and viability of these travel options depend on where in the city you live. Some areas of Vancouver are more easily accessible by train or bus than other parts. For this reason, public transport is probably a good option for commuting to work and back, but it does not solve all your travel challenges. Travelling from the Superstore with your groceries for example, is probably best done with a car unless you can take friends along on the train to help you carry all your bags – a difficult thing to do if you are a newcomer with no friends. Furthermore, for road trips out of the city or across the US border, a car is probably a better mode of transport. Depending on your location and budget, you might have access to a Zipcar, but you also might not. So when all else fails, you buy a car right?! Read the next instalment of this blog to learn what you need to know about buying a car in Vancouver.

January 9, 2018February 2, 2018

The homesickness stuckness loop

It is difficult to explain to people who have not experienced it first-hand, how debilitating home-sickness can be. That gut-wrenching, soul-twisting, downward-spiralling, deep pit of darkness you transcend into that disarms you at the weirdest times of the day. During the times when you feel homesick, you get stuck in this loop of past memories that are so overwhelming that you cannot even take in what is happening around you in the present. You don’t notice the elements in your new environment that could be elements of awe, excitement and inspiration, because your despair is so deep and overwhelming that it removes you from the space you’re in and allows you to travel thousands of miles and many oceans in an instant. In your mind’s eye you can see, smell, taste and touch home… And you imagine that the memories of home will always be better than anything that can happen in the present.

Why does homesickness have this effect? It is simple, we are creatures of habit and anything that is familiar seems safe and better than anything that is new or different or unfamiliar. When you move to a new country, you are informed that you are “starting a new life“. You, and everyone else of course, anticipate that your “new life” is going to be better than the one you are living now. But are you starting a new life, or simply continuing your life on a different path?

Martin Seligman* believes a more apt name for our species would be Homo Prospectus, because we thrive by considering our prospects. Anticipating the future, both consciously and unconsciously, is a central function of our brains. This way of looking at our psychological make-up, is of course very different to how psychologists and neuroscientists have looked at us up to now. For the past century most researchers have assumed that we’re prisoners of the past and the present. But it is becoming clear that the mind is mainly drawn to the future, not driven by the past. Seligman explains that learning does not occur through the storage of static memories, but rather through the continual imagining of future possibilities.

When a hugely upsetting emotional event – like moving to the other side of the world – happens, what sets us into a downward spiral of depression, is not so much the weirdness and unfamiliarity of our present circumstances, but rather the expectation that this uncomfortable situation might not improve and that we could potentially be “stuck” in this unpleasantness indefinitely. As a consequence we also start re-framing our memories of past events and convince ourselves that these were in fact much better than they might actually have been.

Here is why depression and homesickness can make matters worse. Seligman explains that the depression and anxiety inhibit our ability to be optimistic about the future. Studies have shown depressed people have a tendency to imagine fewer positive scenarios while overestimating future risks. As an Ennea 6, I tend to think strategically and anticipate events in advance, but I also tend to worst-case-scenario things. My propensity to fall into a pit of anxiety and depression is thus often stronger than it is for most other people. Any disruption in routine that breaks connections that I have meticulously and carefully built, pushes me into the claws of depression.

I agree with Seligman that memories of past traumas are not what cause anxiety. From my own personal experience I can say that I have emerged stronger from difficult events in my life. I think that the main reason why people who have gone through trauma tend to imagine fewer positive scenarios and overestimate what could go wrong, is because they have not consciously become aware of the meta skills they have acquired that enabled them to survive their past traumas in the first place. We often survive difficult situations without ever really consciously understanding our own psychologies and HOW we did it.

To understand the unconscious mental processes taking place when we are in difficult situations requires the mental and emotional ability to “step back” from the situation and observe what is happening to us mentally and emotionally. What are we thinking and why? What are we feeling and why? This is not an easy task, because it requires quietening the mind and accessing the observer and trusting your instincts about what you are experiencing (something that is very difficult for a Ennea 6 to to).

When homesickness becomes debilitating, it is sometimes difficult to remember our own resilience and adaptability. Life presents us with these times of discomfort to stretch us and help us grow. So when it becomes difficult to focus on anything else but home, then make contact with someone at home. Vent and cry and then find something new and different but exciting or fun to do in your new environment to remind yourself why you are on this journey in the first place. Pretty soon, this unfamiliar place becomes a little less strange and a little more familiar. Whether it will ever be home, is another matter. We shall have to wait and see.

*You can read about Martin Seligman’s latest research here.

January 4, 2018January 15, 2018

Medical Hell?

When you plan an overseas trip, you look forward to all the exciting things you are going to see and do. Few people think about what would happen in a medical emergency or when they fall ill. For most tourists, I suppose the answer would be international travel insurance*, so that you are covered in a medical emergency. It is a bit different when you emigrate to a new country. Then you have to figure out how their medical system works and how you get access to their basic medical services or day-to-day medical services.

My experience of trying to obtain access to basic medical services for my daughter has been frustrating, stressful and emotionally exhausting. When we arrived in Canada, my daughter had a touch of flu. So we actually needed a doctor within the first week of arriving here, because exposure to the extreme cold , resulted in her getting very sick in a very short space of time.

British Columbia’s public health system requires that you obtain a BC Medical Services Care (MSC) card that allows you access to all medical services and doctors. This card is your golden ticket into the health system. Without this card, you have no chance of obtaining medical help when you need it. Unfortunately, when you arrive as an immigrant, you first have to apply for the card and then you have to wait three months before you are covered by the public health system and can use the card. So basically if you get sick in the first three months after arrival you have a problem.

So when our daughter got sick, we started asking around to find out where we could go to see a doctor. We went from clinic to clinic and they all turned us away. We soon learned that in order to see a doctor, you first need to register with a particular physician as your family doctor. Once you have a family doctor, you are only allowed to see that doctor. But only by appointment, which can be made online, but which has to be made well in advance BEFORE you actually get sick. So if you plan to live in Canada, you should also try to enhance your clairvoyance, since you need to predict when you will be ill to ensure you have made a timely appointment to see a doctor.

So what happens if you don’t have a family doctor and you don’t have a MSC card? You can go to a walk-in clinic. Walk-in clinics operate in most malls and shopping centres. There is one in Walmart, for example. However, they only treat minor ailments, so if you are seriously ill, they still need to refer you to a family doctor or send you to hospital. I am not sure what the actual purpose of these walk-in-clinics are because they charge you $125 so you can see a doctor, but then the doctor does a quick check to ensure you are not dying and sends you home. No medicine, nothing.

We took Emma to a walk-in clinic where we had to wait 1 hour and 40 minutes to see a doctor. The doctor looked at her and confirmed that she had a sore throat and the onset of an ear infection – her ears were red and swollen – but because she did not have any puss in her ears yet, the doctor sent us home. I asked what I could do to treat the pain and fever, and the doctor recommended I buy Advil from Walmart.

So my daughter needed antibiotics but had to settle for Advil, because she wasn’t sick enough. On top of that, the doctor ensured us that all three of us would probably be sick for the next two years while our immune systems try to adjust to the foreign viruses and bacteria we are exposed to here. She reckons she sees it all the time. Foreigners come here and are exposed to so many foreign entities that their bodies simply cannot cope and they end up having continuous flu for two years. Joy. Just before we left her office, she also took it upon herself to tell us that perhaps we should consider going “back to South Africa“, or “rather go to Australia or New Zealand” since we will probably not cope with the lack of sunshine. “You people love your sun too much” we were told; which is probably true, but I was’t sure I was happy about the fact that she felt she had the liberty to decide on our behalf what we could cope with and what not, or advise us on our immigration choices.

A week of Advil, and other medicines brought from home, and with the advice of my sister-in-law, who is a doctor in South Africa, we managed to get Emma through the worst. Or so we thought…She started getting better for a few days and then got sick all over again. As we were approaching her 15-month mark, I realised we were going to have another problem, since she needs a Measles, Mumps and Rubella shot at 15 months.

Being an Ennea 6, of course I anticipated this risk and did the research BEFORE we left South Africa. Nothing I read or heard was encouraging. We were told about the MSC card and the three-month waiting period. But Amazon reassured us that we would be covered under a private medical health that they would provide for the first three months. I asked our new “friends” in Canada about vaccinations and they did not provide us with any real answers or suggestions. I could not fathom their lack of response and nonchalant attitude to my series of questions around vaccinations until I tried to book a vaccination for Emma. Then it all started to make sense.

I figured I needed to secure a family doctor before we would be able to get help for Emma. So I started the process…

Step 1: Find a doctor in our area that is willing to accept new patients

In South Africa, you have one of two options, you can go to a public medical clinic, open a file and wait in line to see a doctor or you can book an appointment with a doctor in private practice. Either way, if you arrive to see a doctor, the doctor is obligated to see you and to treat you. In Canada, if you arrive at a clinic or doctor’s rooms without an appointment, the receptionist (read “bodyguard”) requests that you leave and informs you that the doctor only sees his registered patients. If you are not registered with the doctor, you cannot see the doctor. Even if you are registered with the doctor, you cannot see the doctor without making an online appointment and waiting for an allocated appointment date and time.

So how do you register with a family doctor? Here is Google’s advice: “Let those around you know that you are looking for a new family doctor, and take to social media, too. It’s often a reference from a family member or friend that gets you into the doctor’s office and onto the radar of a doctor accepting new patients.” So, that means we are screwed since we have NO family or friends in Canada.

First you have to find the name and contact details of a doctor that is willing to accept new patients. For that they have this “nifty” service called College of Physicians and Surgeons British Columbia. It is an online database of all the registered physicians and surgeons in British Columbia with a list of their qualifications and an indication of whether they are actively practicing and willing to accept new patients or not.

Step 2: Contact available doctors and make an appointment to see a doctor

Next you do a search to find out which doctors are in your area and then you start phoning. Simple right? Not really. I was on hold for four and a half hours just to be informed that the doctor is no longer accepting new patients, because he has reached his quota. I was told to phone back in a few month’s time.

I insisted that receptionist at least gives me some advice, since I don’t have a few months to wait before Emma can get her vaccination. She explained that I need to register with the Public Health Unit. Every area in British Columbia has one Public Health Unit that serves that particular area and that is basically like a clinic where you go to have your child vaccinated. However, they only help you if you have a MSC card. Great! So I don’t have the card yet. So I ask if I can take Emma to a walk-in clinic to get her vaccinated. No, unfortunately they do not vaccinate. She inquires about Emma’s age and then tells me that they do not vaccinate babies at 15 months, only at 12 months and 18 months. I explain that I am from South Africa and according to my clinic card and vaccination plan, my daughter is due for a vaccination at 15 months. She declines to help me further.

My frustration sets in and I start fuming. The vaccination debate has been a hot topic over the last few years. Those who are in the know are often furious with irresponsible moms who refuse to vaccinate. But I AM a responsible mom who has ensured that my daughter got every single vaccination she was supposed to get, only to have her be put at risk by a system that simply refuses to help me do the right thing!

Step 3: Register with the Public Health Unit

I phone the Public Health Unit to inquire about the process. I have to go to their offices and submit Emma’s passport and medical records and then wait for them to evaluate her records. They then inform me when I can come and book an appointment for Emma to see a nurse. For the appointment with the nurse, I will need the magic MSC card.

Step 4: Phone the doctor and beg for a private consultation

So I phone the doctor’s offices again and explain that I need the doctor to have a look at my daughter’s vaccination records and advise whether she needs to be vaccinated now or not. I tell her we have private medical cover through Amazon, only to be informed that they do not accept private medical cover. So I beg the doctor’s receptionist to allow us to see him without the BC MSC card and pay for the visit privately, because we need to register with them in any case so that we have a family doctor for future medical situations. I am informed that it will be $80 per person for a meet and greet. What is a meet and greet you may ask?

A meet and greet is an opportunity to meet the doctor so that he can assess whether he wants to treat you as his patient. In South Africa, a doctor is obligated to treat you. In Canada, a doctor can refuse to treat you and simply indicate that he/she is not accepting any new patients. Finally, I get why so many South African doctors want to work in Canada! You retain your title and work level when you move here despite having to redo their exams. And if you open a family practice, you can decide how many patients you want to treat and also WHICH patients you want to treat…

Lessons learned:

South Africa’s public health system is battling. They do not always have the facilities and the resources they need, but they have good, passionate doctors who care and who treat every single patient with compassion, irrespective of background or situation. Unfortunately, theses poor doctors are pushed to their limits. I don’t think we appreciate our public health doctors enough. We don’t always realise the immense strain they work under and the horrific things they have to deal with. On one day, the average public health doctor in South Africa could deal with knife-wounds, gun shots, drunken bottle fight injuries, women going into labour and rushing to a rural clinic with no resources and the list goes on… Of course you get much better facilities in the private health sector, but sometimes you have to deal with a doctor who doesn’t care as much for their patients as they care for the lifestyle it affords them as doctor in private health.

I have had the privilege to encounter some of the best doctors in South Africa in the five years that we lived in Randburg – doctors with heart and passion, doctors who care, and doctors who demonstrate expertise and skill that measure up any where in the world. I would even wager that South Africa has some of the best doctors in the world. My experience in Canada has left a lot to be desired. It is the absolute irony that you would trade poor infrastructure, a struggling economy and out-of-control crime for a place where there is proper infrastructure, the economy is strong, they have a firm legal system etc. and yet, they have a confusing and misguided health care system with doctors who seem to lack the compassion to actually care about the health and wellbeing of their patients.

*We had travel insurance by the way, but they were unwilling to cover our medical expenses since we could not provide evidence of a return ticket home. Make sure you read the fine print when you take out travel insurance to emigrate. Travel insurance only works when you travel for leisure, otherwise it is money wasted.

January 1, 2018January 15, 2018

New Year’s Resolutions?

Shortly after Christmas the countdown begins towards the end of the year. People become nostalgic and reminisce about the year that has gone by. Whether you have fond memories or bad memories, this time of year always brings with it a measure of despondency and perhaps even frustration about failed resolutions and goals and plans that fell apart or ideas that did not exactly work out as planned. We all have our regrets of things we didn’t do or things we wish we had done differently.

With the new year, comes new hope. As New Year’s Eve approaches, a certain excitement builds. We start imagining the new things this new year could bring and we are excited about the possibility for positive change. Suddenly we are nostalgic about New Year’s past and what it means for new beginnings and we start making plans. We resolve to do it better – to start saving, to get fit, to lose that weight, to quit that job that makes us miserable and to find that dream job, to meet the perfect partner etc.

We all know the reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail. You’re on a high, you are a bit nostalgic, you’ve had too much to drink, you feel spurred on by the build up to the countdown towards this NEW year… but the next day you wake up, and nothing has changed and you face the reality of having to actually DO something for your life to change. The day after the New Year’s celebration becomes just another day on the calendar.

Leaving your home for new beginnings elsewhere during this time of year does something to your level of nostalgia and excitement about the New Year. Technically, you have already enacted your resolutions, since you have left your home country and moved to a different country on the other side of the world. The other problem of course, is you watch the rest of the world and everyone you know, enter the New Year and leave you behind in the past – literally, since a 10-hour time difference means everyone back home celebrates the New Year and gets into bed all while you haven’t even started your countdown. A bit anti-climatic. What is the point of counting down when you are the only ones left to do it? Everyone else has already crossed over to the other side. They are living in 2018 and you are still stuck in 2017.

Then you think about the irony of that, because in so many ways you are still stuck in the past. You keep thinking about what everyone else is doing back home and about how you might have celebrated had you still been back home in your own country. You think about past New Year’s celebrations and the people you shared it with. You remember your house, and the familiar stores you would visit, familiar routes you would drive, familiar places you would holiday at and suddenly you don’t feel like new beginnings. You wish you could travel back in the past and spend a few moments in one of your memories of celebrations past.

You wish you could be there for one more family braai, one more song on the radio, one more movie in your favourite cinema, one more coffee with a friend, one more hug from a loved one… You realise how important it is to build memories that carry you through the hard times in your life. We all like to hope that the coming year will be better than the one just past. But perhaps the coming year was filled with so many last times, so many special moments that might never come again. So stop living in the past. Stop living in the future. Just live for now. Take in THIS moment and savour it. Remember what it sounded, tasted and felt like, because in the end, our lives are made up of these small moments that made us pause, that made us laugh, that insisted we be present and alive and in awe of this thing we call life.