Thank you for all of your good wishes; they worked! My flight home yesterday was uneventful, and I am now home in Denver. I am feeling healthy; the antibiotics seemed to do the trick.
Back stateside, I had to find a doctor just for a check up after I returned yesterday and realized that being without insurance in the U.S. is really scary. First I tried to go to a walk in clinic for people who have minimal or no insurance. It was full so I was shunted to the emergency room where I was told that the MINIMUM cost would be $500 to see a doctor. The room was dirty, people were sitting on the floor, and the wait was hours long. I left. Thanks to my resourceful sister, Kirk, and the Internet, I found a private clinic with an opening. It was good but not cheap, and had I been sick and needed more tests, the initial round of tests alone would cost $490.
The fact that insurance is tied to one's work - and I have worked many full-time, professional jobs that lack benefits - is really unfortunate. In addition the mega HMOs take a bunch of that money meant for healthcare for themselves. Between that and crazy malpractice insurance thanks to our equally crazy judicial system, healthcare and insurance costs are unaffordable for the middle class. Why do we stand for this?
Ok, end rant. On a positive note, next week Kirk and I are going to a strawbale building workshop in Southern Colorado. I have been informally studying strawbale building for years and participated in some 1-day workshops, so I am excited to spend 4 full days stacking bales, pouring earthen floors, putting up natural plaster, and . . .
On the job front I have an interview for a part-time position on Monday at D.U. and some other interesting possibilities.
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