Visiting Girona and Liceu, More on Health Care, & Nostalgia

Girona - Temps de Flors

On Tuesday seven of us took an hour long train ride to the city of Girona to meet up with our volunteer guide

Jaume to see the floral exhibition in Girona called Temps de Flors.  My expectation was that we would be going to a convention center of some sort and all the flowers would be set up there (like the Philadelphia Flower Show).  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the flowers in this exhibition were EVERYWHERE throughout the center of the city, integrated into the ancient urban cityscape of this medieval municipality.  What is also special about this eight day event is that the interior patios of many commercial and residential establishments, normally closed to the public, are open during this period.  We also got to see the large subterranean rooms underneath Girona's cathedral, which they have recently opened up to the public.  I very much enjoyed the sights, the company, and later the meal that we had together after our tour.  Although it started off cloudy and a little rainy in the morning, it cleared up nicely.  And our guide Jaume, a resident of Girona, did a superb job of showing us the hidden treasures of this urban gem.

El Liceu Opera House

On Sunday Barcelona's Opera House, Gran Teatre de Liceu, had an open house all day, which allowed the public to tour the building and to listen to various local opera singers that performed in the ornate "Saló de Miralls" or Mirrors Hall for the entire eight hours that the house was open.  I went with my friend Jordi (another Jordi who is from Barcelona but was visiting the city as he is currently working for the U.N. in Dafur, Sudan).  It was delightful to visit the various parts of one of the largest opera houses in Europe (2,292 seats) and to hear some wonderful performances by young local opera singers in Mirrors Hall.  Liceu first opened in 1847 and survived two fires, one in 1861 and the other in 1994.  The outside facade and Mirrors Hall are from the original 1847 structure.  Jordi and I listened to the opera singers for about 1 1/2 hours, standing the entire time.  We then visited the lovely opera theater and other parts of the building.

Health Care and My Private Insurance Plan

Although I asked many questions when I had to choose my federal health plan last November to cover me in Spain, I still wondered how it would all work when I would need to use it for some medical issue here.  Well, I had my first experience last week when, starting the prior week, I was feeling some numbness in my left toe. In my last doctor's visit in January I was in great health, so although diabetes came to mind, it also didn't seem to make much sense.  After a week of not seeing this numbness get any better, I went to a local medical clinic and made an appointment for that week.  It didn't take long for the young woman doctor to make a diagnosis - a gout attack or higher than normal levels of uric acid.  The next day I got a blood test and on the weekend the results confirmed her diagnosis.  In researching this some more, I determined that three things have contributed to this minor attack: eating more meat and fish than I normally had eaten, drinking more beer and wine than when I lived in the States, and not drinking much water here.  I had never been a big water drinker, but one of the first recommendations is to drink about 2 liters of water a day.  I have already made some dietary changes and I am already noticing a change in my condition.

I knew I had to pay for these medical services upfront (the office visit and the blood test) .  The question was what amount would Blue Cross Blue Shield reimburse me for.  I learned that because I went to a clinic and was billed by that clinic, rather than by an individual doctor, that my co-pay was $100.  Since I only paid 60 euros for the visit, I would get no reimbursement for that service.  The lab test was also a $100 co-pay.  I was not too happy about the extent of this coverage.  Since then, I have found at least two doctors here that have a private practice, which will reduce my co-pay to $25.

Once I move into my flat in June, I will attempt to register with the public health plan here.  Although I have some doubts that I will be accepted (I am a legal resident but have never worked in Spain to contribute to the public plan), all my friends here think I will be covered.  Come November during open season, I will also review my other federal private insurance plans that have international coverage to see if I can reduce my medical costs in the future, weighing the cost of premiums vs. the cost of co-pays.

Nostalgia

Besides missing Chris immensely in these last two and a half months of living here, I haven't had too many nostalgic feelings about the U.S. or the Washington D.C. area.  But in the last 24 hours, I am feeling more nostalgic for my past life.  In everything I read about the experiences of expats, this is a very normal feeling to have.  I think what brought this about specifically was to see on Facebook the  Gay Men's Chorus of Washington (GMCW) perform their final concert of the season at the Kennedy Center and it being director Jeff Buhrman's last concert with GMCW.  I would have loved to have gone to the concert with Chris, to have listened to the choral music with Laura Benanti, and to have chatted with a number of friends who were both local and who came from out-of-town to see the concert.  These feelings will come and go, I know.  I neither need to push them away nor indulge in them, but to honor them and to let them go.