STRENGTH OF FRIENDSHIPS THAT IS IMPERVIOUS TO TIME AND DISTANCE

 Today, two American Indian friends of mine, celebrating their wedding anniversary in Orlando, drove down to Miami, 200 miles each way.

ABB and I worked together at the Umonhon Tribe Diabetes Pogramme from October 2015 to October 2018, when we instituted a very successful Insulin pump programme for the native people. She furthered her education, attending the University to become a Nurse Practitioner. During this period of time, I had become close to her personal family, husband MBB and her two boy children. 

The year 2019, as if in premonition of what to come in 2020, was a fantastic year for travel for me, and the curtain suddenly dropped on travel, domestic and international in 2020. It is just opening up a little for me in July 2021.

During this period of seperation, both ABB and MBB kept in touch with me, I followed keenly their progression through the ropes of higher education and was immensely pleased at ABB completing her ARNP and MBB begining his ARNP curriculum.

I had such a lovely day with both of them today. I call her my Niece and him my brother, in the UmonHon kinship system. It was such a pleasure to be with them.

The greatest disappointment for me in America, especially the Banana Republic of Miami, during this Covid isolation of 18 months. People changed and many began showing their true colours, friendship with a purpose (tienen interes we say in Cuba, peoples selfish interests), and that their unhappiness and bitterness affecting relationships. Those who were not true to themselve became depressed and began isolating themselves from themselves and others.

To be in Miami, during the Covid Isolation was not a good physical experience with the people with whom physical contact. But it was a great spiritual experience. Calls, texts and messages with wonderful contents began to flow in from all parts of the world. The enrichment of my mind, my emotions, my spirit and my intellect has been without parallel.

From my blog on 20/8/2020 almost one year ago.

The fragrances of emotions, not the bitterness that may have exist among people, stays in your heart, even after many years.

La petite poete de Cote Sauvage once said to me 

I will not miss you when you leave 

How can I miss you when you are in my heart all the time ..

Today I tracked down the little poet with whom I have not spoken in a while, she is travelling around with her family in some distant part of France.      (written on 20/8/2020)

Words of the Little Poet came back to us, we said to each other: How can we change, how can we not think of each other, how can we not be faithful and loyal friends, because we have each other in our hearts.

I am glad both ABB and MBB understand this.

Happy anniversary to you.. on 1st august.. enjoy it very much.

 a friend of mine from Madagascar is becoming a professional translator from English to French and vice versa and she wanted to translate a blog of mine and here is her translation

 Le Médecin Anthropologue

J’ai l’immense privilège d’être associé aux cultures autochtones de nombreux continents… ce qui satisfait ma curiosité, mon désir de voyager et me donne la possibilité de les aider grâce à mon expertise médicale.

Ces notes sont issues de ces voyages.

Je suis professeur à l’Université de La Havane.

LA FORCE DES AMITIÉS IMPERMÉABLES AU TEMPS ET À LA DISTANCE

Aujourd'hui, deux de mes amis Indiens d'Amérique, célébrant leur anniversaire de mariage à Orlando, sont descendus à Miami, parcourant 200 miles (environ 320 km) à chaque trajet.

ABB et moi avons travaillé ensemble sur le Programme de Diabète de la tribu UmonHon d'octobre 2015 à octobre 2018, lorsque nous avons mis en place avec un très grand succès un programme de pompes à insuline pour les autochtones. Elle a poursuivi ses études, fréquentant l'Université pour devenir une infirmière praticienne.  Pendant cette période, je suis devenu proche de sa famille personnelle, de son mari MBB et de ses deux garçons.

L'année 2019, comme en prémonition de ce qui va arriver en 2020, a été une année fantastique pour les voyages pour moi, et le rideau a soudainement baissé sur les voyages, nationaux et internationaux en 2020. Ça s'est un peu étendu pour moi en juillet 2021.

Pendant cette période de séparation, ABB et MBB sont restés en contact avec moi. J'ai suivi avec enthousiasme leur progression dans les méandres de l'enseignement supérieur et j'ai été très heureux qu'ABB ait terminé son ARNP et que MBB ait commencé son cursus ARNP.

J'ai passé une si belle journée avec les deux aujourd'hui. Je l'appelle ma nièce et lui mon frère, dans le système de parenté UmonHon. C'était un tel plaisir d'être avec eux.

La plus grande déception pour moi en Amérique, en particulier la république bananière de Miami, pendant cet isolement de 18 mois dû au Covid. Les gens ont changé et beaucoup ont commencé à montrer leurs vrais visages, une amitié avec but (tienen interes disons-nous à Cuba, les intérêts égoïstes des gens), et que leur tristesse et amertume affectent les relations. Ceux qui n'étaient pas fidèles à eux-mêmes devinrent déprimés et commencèrent à s'isoler d'eux-mêmes et des autres.

Être à Miami pendant l'isolement de Covid n'était pas une bonne expérience physique avec les personnes avec qui le contact physique.  Mais ce fut une grande expérience spirituelle.  Des appels, des textes et des messages aux contenus merveilleux ont commencé à circuler de toutes les régions du monde.  L'enrichissement de mon esprit, de mes émotions, de mon âme et de mon intellect a été sans parallèle.

De mon blog du 20/8/2020, il y a presque un an.

Les parfums des émotions, et non l'amertume qui peut exister chez les gens, restent dans votre cœur, même après de nombreuses années.

La petite poète de Côte Sauvage une fois m’a dit

Vous ne me manquerez pas quand vous partirez

Comment pourrais-je vous manquer quand vous êtes dans mon cœur tout le temps.

Aujourd'hui, j'ai recherché le petit poète avec qui je n'ai pas parlé depuis un certain temps, elle voyage avec sa famille dans une partie lointaine de la France. (écrit le 20/8/2020)

Les paroles du Petit Poète nous sont revenues. Nous nous disions : comment pouvons-nous changer, comment pouvons-nous ne pas penser à l’autre, comment pouvons-nous ne pas être des amis fidèles et loyaux, parce que nous avons les uns les autres dans nos cœurs.

Je suis heureux que ABB et MBB le comprennent.

Joyeux anniversaire à vous...en ce 1er août

Profitez-en bien.

TWO PIECES OF GOOD NEWS FROM THE USA IN A MATTER OF DAYS.. WELCOME NEWS

 Poverty rates in the western world, while appearing to be different, are at a higher level than one imagines. 12.7% was the rate of poverty in the USA before the Covid Pandemic hit the Economy.

Poverty levels are defined, in my opinion, in very country specific fashion, different from what it appears to the eye. but social services in the majority of the rich countries soften the blow of poverty, such as the excellent medical care in France as against the shoddy, chaotic medical care in the USA, leading to many personal bankruptcies. 

But still, USA does a good job of supporting its population, but one has to be aware of what is available as there are plethora of available help. 

It is nice to report the two good news items that came out of USA in the last couple of days. In fact, lots of good news have come out of the USA this year, especially after the new administration came into office in January 2021.

Poverty level actually has dropped from the Pre Pandemic levels to an incredible 11.4 %. This has been attributed to the three stimulus checks issued to all USA citizens and legal residents.

What that says to me, is that there is a proportion of people who would need help from the government whatever is the situation.

There has been suggestions by the economists long before the pandemic that a certain proportion of the people be given a stipend to spend the way they want to.

These thoughts came to my mind when my good friend Jose recounted of an experience of his this morning. He had gone to a cuban restaurant in the neighbourhood, and there were two young women seated in a table not too far away from him. He saw a robot arriving at their table, with two plates, and when the young women removed the plates, the robot turned around and went back to the kitchen.

What Jose had witnessed is SKILLS GAP CREATION.. In a highly immigrant society such as Miami's, we are used to spanish speaking recent immigrants serving our rice and beans at one of the hundreds of latin restaurants. If robots replaced them before they could acquire a skill that is marketable, they would descend into poverty. What the stimulus package of the government did was to provide that cushion so that they did not have to descend into poverty but maintain dignity and move on with their lives.

Nearly 1/3 of the immigrants arriving at the southern border of the USA requesting asylum and there is a high level of lack of education especially among women.  The jobs they could have done, may be usurped by a robot.

I am for an universal basic income, that the government would guarantee a minimum income, this would benefit the less fortunate in our societies and would not affect those who are skillfully employed. They can survive while they learn an appropriate skill to survive in their new environment.

I strongly support the education of girls and women all over the world, regardless of the objections on cultural and religious grounds. Once girls are educated, the society as a whole stand to gain and certainly their contribution to their societies are immense. 

The second piece of good news today from the USA was that the economy grew by 6.5% which is its pre-pandemic level. It is contradictory in that there is a high rate of unemployment and high rate of job vacancies .

this is also a manifestation of the Skills Gap. The covid isolation and innovations revealed that rapid advancements in technology would make many of the traditional jobs obsolete, at least in the western world. 

Iranians are trying to cross the English channel, Afghanis and Iraqis and Syrians and now the Lebanese desperately want to get into Europe, along with a large swathe of sub Saharian Africa. 

Do they realize what is waiting for them on the other side of the fence?

In many of the cities in the western world, even middle class people would not be able to live comfortably: prices of houses, taxes, utilities, insurance etc etc add up to thousands of dollars.

I love the Monocle list of most livable cities and jealously imagine to be moving to one of them..

2021 Livable cities by Monocle

Copenhagen

Zurich

Helsinki

Stockholm

Tokyo

Vienna

Lisbon

Auckland 

Taipei

Sydney

Seoul

Vancouver

Munich

Berlin

Amsterdam

Madrid

Melbourne

Kyoto

Brisbane

Los Angeles

I am happy to say my hometown, Melbourne, is on the list. Apart from Taipei, i have visited all the others, and enjoyed their unique characteristics. There is not a single city in that list that I do not like.

Back to the Robot serving arroz y frijoles in Miami.

It is tragically crushing of emotions to think of what Yuval Noah Harari has called the Useles Class (he was not disparaging). 

In my field of Medical care, I see the technological innovation supplanting the human qualities of medical care, turning it into yet another business transaction. In this transaction, gone would be more jobs.

Israel has innovations in the medical sectors which would create an enormous amount of human waste in potentials. Currently when you enter a doctor's office in private practice (something I am not in favour), the majority of the people working there has nothing to do with the health of the patient: a good friend of mine who is a cardiologist has 4 people in his office, one of whom is a scribe who writes down the electronic health records and another one in charge of billing, one is a secretary and another is a receptionist.

Contrast this with a visit I had with a cardiologist in Paris. There was no secretary, no billing clerk, no receptionist and of course no scribe! An appointment was made on line or on the phone, you came at the appointed time, there were no double booking or patients waiting, you went to see the doctor and you chatted the allotted time, paid him in cash (the government stipulates that a consultant cardiologist can only charge 75 euros for a consult, that included a cardiograph and also an echocardiogram). You can imagine with the help of technology how many people would  become redundant.

USA is a very rich country and it is growing economically and under this president it has become gentle once again. A minimum wage guarantee might become the norm in the future.

So we have to do our best to reduce the useless class, start with education of girls and women, increase literacy and access to technology. and it is good to live in your own country..

Poverty rates in the USA were reduced even in these difficult times because of the generous stimulus checks from the Government.

HOW TO TRANSITION FROM ONE CULTURE TO THE NEXT: IN MY CASE AN ENJOYABLE SOLUTION OF FLYING EXPERIENCE

 In today's discussion, the airline in question is SWISS airlines. I have flown them a few times before, once Montreal to Zurich to Singapore and back, eleven years ago almost to the date, LX 64 to Miami. I remember that day feeling a lot of Saudade.. leaving Paris and going to Miami.. 

But this day was different. A lot of amenities are toned down and the passengers on this flight 64 from ZRH to MIA were almost all Americans.. as Europeans are still not allowed to visit USA.. all that might change pretty soon.

Europe is doing a wonderful job of containing Covid Infection and the personal responsibility is taken pretty seriously. I would be very easily reminded when my mask slipped off my nose.. On the TGV train in France, Police walked around checking the masks of people before the train left the station.

I had travelled from Paris CDG to ZRH Zurich International airport to catch my flight to MIAMI. I had no expectations. I am used to the kind of excellence of Qatar Airways and Swiss taught me something today. I am using these intercontinental flights to adjust psychologically from one ambiance to the other, from one civilization to the other without too much damage to myself 

Airbus 340-300 was the captain of their fleet even though SWISS has been switching to Boeing 777 lately, I was told. I looked at the aircraft that would take us all across the Atlantic in just a few hours. Thank you.

Most of the Lounges are closed around the world due to Covid and they are only now cautiously opening them. I remembered the splendour of the Business Class Lounge of Swiss from other times but now it is but a skeleton but it was nice to relax there for a while before joining the others to board the plane.

It was nice to se where the flights were off to. Definitely not too many flights east .. There was hardly any INDIAN or CHINESE visitors in the Airport as most of ASIA is cut off from travel to Europe.

The majority of the travellers were Americans, a mixture of tourists and residents. 

Very interesting to note the way the Americans walk, talk and dress for their International flights. Especially after two weeks in France where people pay attention to their appearance and apparel.

Many of the behaviours of American passengers would be culturally unacceptable to  European public but as they say to each his own. 

I was one of the first to board so that I could take some photos of the interior of the plane and I was pleased with the seat allocated to me 

We were asked to keep our masks at all times (except eating or drinking) during the flight and also not to congregate around common spaces. 

 

As soon as the flight took off, the service began. I had been thirsting for a drop of Champagne and as we used to say, it brought coolness to the tonsils.

I was able to rate the champagne using the Vivino app and I liked the taste.

Duval-Leroy Brut

Duval-Leroy -Vertus, Champagne

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

Made by the family owned winery Duval-Leroy, this award winning Champagne is the perfect balance of finesse and power. It displays a fine mousse, with aromas of citrus, baked apple tart and honey and a fresh, power finish marked by notes of ginger and cinnamon.

Regardless of what they say, my palate felt the difference, and I enjoyed it immensely. So much so that during the rest of the trip, I drank only Champagne foregoing the usual Merlot-Sauvignon Blanc of Switzerland or Riesling from France.. Had quite a few drops of this precious fluid..

I noticed that the person in charge of service on my section of the flight was a young man who was very polite despite being impeccable a la Suisse. I did note a wisp of etranger but did not wish to question until we chat a bit more about Swiss Airlines and the food in question.

Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian and I wonder Brussels Airlines fall into the conglomeration of Teutonic family, certainly I was not expecting any gastronomic excellence in this flight. (my flight over to Europe on Iberia served mediocre food that was easily forgettable)

Imagine my surprise when the plates began arriving from the galley which was close to my seat and I could even feel the flavours that wafted in.

I had chosen Mediterranean vegetable tartare with ricotta mousse. Pickled pearl onions and toasted sunflower seeds.

Once i had the first morsel on my tastebuds, I wanted to learn more about the chef in charge of Swiss Airways  on board cuisine.

Chef Francisco Sangali from Restaurante Vicania in the village of Morcote.

The food had a distinct mediterranean taste and I could feel the taste of Lake Lugano. Oh Lake Lugano, I had seen it as a school student once crossing on a train from Switzerland to Italy, the final destination being a student conference in Milano. Mmmm

Sea Bass with almond sauce. Potato, courgette puree, yellow and green courgette 

I made a mental note of the extremely smooth flight and there were no turbulences to speak off during the flight. I commented this to my new friend, BC, who was in charge of the side where I was sitting: filling my flute with champagne, and bringing me things to eat.

Elderflower panna cotta with salted walnuts and chocolate crumble

On the plate in the beginning you can see Broso and Gottardo cheese with Swiss pear bread

A very sumptuous meal and a nice drop of champagne.. thank god for the French

I was not at all bored during the flight. I had Yuval Noah Harari's book on Kindle and I "attempted" to read it .

also for a very small price, you could text during the flight, and it was a relief not to be using wi fi , so i could keep in touch with dear friends in Brasil or Cuba and also my colleagues in Miami.

My new friend BC was born in Switzerland and has been a FA for four years and absolutely loves his job for the freedom to travel that it gives him. Just two days ago he had travelled to Tel Aviv a city that he loves and a people he felt to be very friendly and accepting of him.

As an adolescent I remember hearing my father say: One day the Kurdish people will have their own state, Kurdistan.

Like the Jewish people have the most successful, democratic state of Israel. Kurdish people would be democratic not demagogues, would be innovative and a light to the people of Middle East including the Turks who took their lands , Iranians to whom they are related and to the Arabs, to whom they are not related.  

He and I chatted about the dreams of our fathers and I told him, hope in our lifetime we would have a Kurdistan.. not only that area in Turkey but also Lebanon Syria Iraq Iran Azerbaijan and Armenia!!!

Just an hour out of Miami, un repas léger was served. Do I want the warm pasta dish from Italy or a cold soba noodle plate from Asia?

I correctly chose the warm italian orecchiette pasta with lovely wild leaves and vegetables. It was truly out of this world.. congratulations to the Chef in that small village along the lake Lugano and SWISS air.. 

As the comforting voice of the captain came over the intercom, I got myself ready to leave this joyful accommodation of 9 hours with good company of BC from the Swiss Airways.

When I commented on the smooth flight to BC, he told me a story about the captain. I told him to give him my best wishes and  thanks .

As I was waiting for my luggage to arrive , I noticed the crew and among them whom I took to be the Captain.

I went up to him and said :

I want to thank you for the smoothest flight across the Atlantic. Also I heard that you had flown 6500 flights in your lifetime and that this is your last flight with Swiss before you retire. I congratulate you and thank you .

He was pleased, a bit quizzical how I knew about it, and people around me heard me and they also began pouring in their congratulations.

So this veteran pilot on his last International commercial trip had an unexpected moment of Gratefulness, from an itinerant traveller in seat 6K, Maqroll of indeterminate nationality.

TAP Portugal had cancelled  my Paris Lisbon Newark flight on this day and they did not make any other arrangements (a penalty under EU laws). Fortunately I was able to procure a seat on SWISS

Thank you SWISS for getting me back to my patients who are waiting to see me tomorrow.

Thank you BC for wonderful service, I mentioned that to the Chief FA, as I thanked her for a lovely flight.

A nice experience and this helped me forget the liminality of being in France and saying Good Bye to France (this time around I absolutely loved France) and then adjusting to the post-truth USA and especially the right wing ambiance of the Banana Republic of Miami . We were told that Public Health Officials would be waiting and would randomly check our covid test status, but unfortunately not a single one was to  be seen!

A heartfelt thanks.

ein herzliches Dankeschön

Un Grand Merci

there are both french and  German dialects in Switzerland. which differ from above.

Engraziel (rumanitsch)

THE BLUE HOUSE AMONG THE OMAHA IS NO MORE... BUT HOW IT SERVED ITS PURPOSE .. THANK YOU

 When I became a Consultant Endocrinologist to the two Indian tribes in the northeastern part of Nebraska, I was confronted with the problem of lodgings while I was there on a monthly basis. I tried to stay at hotels at the nearby town 35 miles away. Being an anthropologist, I realized it would be best if I stayed in the village of the people I had come thousands of miles to serve. To kill two birds with one stone, I also realized that we could invite students in medical, nursing and other auxiliary professions to stay in the house while they could be with us one month at a time.

Thus was born the idea of the BLUE HOUSE .

Within days, news arrived that an elderly lady who had lived in the house for 15 years was moving out to an assisted living facility and was willing to give me the house if I could pay all the remaining liens on the house which amounted to only about 6000 years old. 

When I met the lady, i saw that she was so happy to get rid of the house which has become an encumbrance to her. I remember saying to her: I am Jewish and I can see that this is a good bargain that you are selling this house at this price, but I must insist that i pay you a few thousands of dollars more. She was so happy and I am sure she left lots of blessings.

The house was blessed in the Indian traditional fashion by an elder of the tribe Elmer Blackbird, I remember that scene so vividly with my Indian colleagues present, including my coworkers for the many  years to come, Michele and the lady who would adopt me as her brother, Wehnona. 

My adopted brother Carlos (actually his name is Charlie but I latinized his name) got to renovate and rip off and make the house livable and the house blossomed into a two storey building with three bedrooms upstairs and a large bedroom, a large living room and a large kitchen downstairs.

It became a HOME

Lots of books and lots of memorabilia of the Indian tribes I had visited and the gifts I had been given by many Indians. 

Many many students passed through there, staying their one month rotation. Some doctors stayed for a year or two, as there were no living accommodations near by. Anthropology students, doctoral students in Linguistics all blessed the house with their presence.

It was also a refugee for my adopted family in that they could use the house which stood empty for months with brief visits from me.

Notably, I had many visitors. A Japanese visitor. A Spanish visitor. A Finnish visitor. A Malaysian visitor. A Turkish visitor. A Namibian visitor. over the years, many languages could be heard within the walls of the little house which was painted Blue on the outside and multicolours in the inside by a talented Omaha relative. 

The Omaha Cigar Club when we smoked good Cuban cigars were born here. Good friends from Miami visited..

The place held lots of memories but it was time to move on .

thank you Blue House.. thank you all my relatives..

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE FRENCH PARADOX ? THEY DEFINITELY EAT BETTER. VARIETY. SMALL PORTION. FRESHLY COOKED.

I have been in this small Breton city/large village of Quiberon which is very tourist oriented, but I had come to visit people who live here.

Our meals are usually freshly prepared by my host and he goes early in the morning to get fresh seafood, baguettes, and the vegetables as necessary. 

Today is Friday and this is our Lunch. First of all the Lunch is a little later than in other countries.

There are always

the first plate

the main plate

a salad

Fruits, cheese

plus dessert

I have noticed that they do not gulp down liters of water. A small glass or two of water at every meal. The adults may drink Wine or Beer with Lunch and Dinner. I very seldom see children drinking Fruit juices or fizzy drinks. During breakfast, children drink bottled fruit juices or home made juices depending upon the season. There is virtually no highly processed food.

We began with a plate of OYSTERS, fresh from this mornings catch. The host has been buying the oysters from the same fisherman for years.

My colleagues in MIami always scolded me for drinking hardly any water while they gulped liters of that healthy fluid. I do not see anyone walking around with a water bottle or drinking water on the street ..

as you can see at Lunch, I am the only one with a water bottle. Sparkling water is very easily available and dont expect to find those 36 bottles of water wrapped in plastic at the supermarkets.

There is no rush while eating Lunch or Dinner. 

Today some fresh shrimp was also on the offer, straight from the market.

In Brittany they do use a lot of Butter, that is why the scientists wondered about the French Paradox: half the rate of the heart disease while eating twice as much Fat as the Americans..

The main portion of the meal: Lamb from France. Salad made of Aubergine and Courgette. Steamed Broccoli and Rice. It was tasty.

In Miami, we tend to get the lamb from Argentina, Australia or New Zealand and we eat it on special occasions. 

The Shrimp in Miami could come anywhere from South America or Vietnam or China and very rarely you could get Florida shrimps if you are in one of the towns on the fishing route.

Normally I would end the meal with a couple of pieces of fruit but today I had an occasion (personal) to celebrate so I had some ice cream, the first time in the last two weeks but with some cut fruits.

It is nice to finish the lunch with a nice cup of coffee . With so many cafés nearby, I walked over to Cafe Hoche and had a cafe allonge and sipped it with great satisfaction.

You walk to the café, you go for a walk along the beach, you walk to the boulangerie to get your baguette.. 

No wonder I do not see people jogging or pumping iron or doing Yoga in this resort area facing the sea. Lots of people on the beach engaged in a wide variety of activities.

Activity as a part of LIFE 

rather than Activity as yet another Chore or Duty or Schedule

This is my own summary.

I am averaging between 3 and 4 miles per day of walking. I have not done any meditation since arriving here. Just twice daily walks along the water or slowly to the village centre and sit and sip my coffee.

So, those of us who are in the roles of educating others about nutrition and physical health, what can we learn from the FRENCH

who by the way are healthier than the Americans on the average

99 per cent of the children that you would see here are not overweight or obese 

Most of the young people are not overweight or Obese.

I have felt that the Americans have an obsession with exercise which is outside the every day life. Here it seems it is part of every day life. I was talking to a friend of mine who is doing a PhD in Art History at Sorbonne but lives at Montmarte.. he said he can access everything he needs: his university, library, food and entertainment on foot or on bicycle.

What can we learn from the French about NUTRITION?

They cook their food at home. They don't seem to watch TV while eating together. There is always someone at the table when I eat here and the TV is not on. There is no 3 minutes in the Microwave type of cuisine which we do have, thanks Trader Joe's. 

Even though I am here in a touristy town with lots and lots of restaurants, no Ethnic restaurants, all French or Local restaurants. I have eaten only once, at a Creperie. Everyday I do go to a café, spend some time doing little.

The decision to eat well is a personal one, my own adage is : Don't give nutritional advice to people who do not ask for it.

Eventhough I am from Australia, educated in London and have spent a lot of time in the USA (sporadically except 2020), I also have been very lucky to spend time in developing countries and have enjoyed excellent cuisines there 

Jamaica (who can forget Miss Evelyn's cooking with a dash of love?)

Malaysia (you truly need Malaysian Chinese friends who will guide you to the best food not easily available to the visitors or tourists)

Siem Reap in Cambodia (cannot wait to return, Food being a reason)

Cochin, India. Here it does help to have Foodie friends who could take you to a variety of cuisines all of them Local . (forget about the "Indian" restaurants abroad run by Bangladeshis)

I am lucky to have an younger brother, a foodie, a chef and apart from visiting him and his family, food is a central attraction to visit Israel.

In South America, without doubt, my food destination is Argentina.

Forget Fajitas and Fish Tacos, head to Mexico for incredibly varied cuisine. Mexico is a foodie destination if you know where to go. When I was a junior doctor in Miami, when colleagues asked me: What is the best thing about USA ? I would answer without blinking an eye lid: Mexico.

I have to thank my dear friends M and G, for our multitudes of FOOD experiences in Miami and thereabouts. I have never had a bad meal with them, in our last 10 years of Schmooze/Foodie encounters.

As I was writing this, a patient of mine from USA sent me his LUNCH plate: 

Without making any judgements on his gustational( a play of words on Gestational, Gustatory is the correct word) choices, I wrote to him

Please enjoy your FOOD mindfully: Enjoy the smell, the flavour, the taste and eat slowly. Talk to the person you are eating with. Send me your Blood sugar readings at one hour and two hours after the meal. Bon Apetit!

VIVE LA FRANCE: MISSIONARY APPROACH RATHER THAN THE MERCENARY APPROACH WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH CARE: AN EXAMPLE

 The sentence: Mission oriented rather than mercenary approach and in the end Missionary approach wins.. is from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com

I will tell you about a personal experience with a Doctor in private practice in the USA and how France figures into it.

I am a doctor with an international practice but I am not engaged in a fee for service system or an exploitative system which has become the de rigueur in many parts of the world whether it is Cambodia or Iran or Brasil or Jamaica or India ...

When I was in Miami, I was asked to see an Otorhinologist regarding cerumen in my ears. After inserting various tubes into my auricular canals and nasal septum, he did remove the wax and then pronounced that there was an inflammation in the ear, the origin of which he did not know and prescribed by ear drops:

ciprofloxacillin plus dexamethasone. His office made an error in calling the pharmacy and I was without medications for nearly two weeks and he still insisted that i get the medications. Taking a friends advice many years ago, I do have good medical insurance in the USA (assurance). I was surprised when I went to the neighbourhood pharmacy and asked for a bottle 7.5 ml of the aforesaid ear drops. My jaws dropped when the pharmacist informed me that it would be 211 dollars for the drops!! I kept on asking myself ..how can two medications which are both very inexpensive cost so much.. 

During my travels, i try to help people with their medications and I stock up on medications in INDIA, the best place to buy medications for common illnesses (and also twice I was able to save thousands to two friends struck down with Chronic Granulocytic Leukaemia, medicines in their countries cost 50-100 dollars for a daily dose and in India it was between one and two dollars. Thank you INDIA ..) I called my pharmacist friend in Cochin. Yes it is freely available here.. if you just want ciprofloxacillin ear drops they are 70 cents USD and if you want dexamethasone added it would be twice as expensive. But Covid restrictions had been reintroduced and neither he nor his pharmacy was able to help me, procuring, taking it to the post office etc. He said he will send me when the current lockdown was over.

I decided to check the price in the USA for these precious ? (are they made of gold pellets?) drops of two simple medications.

Believe it or not, the above prices are are for the proprietary ear drops. nearly one hundred times more than the price in India, from where the generic medications of Dr Reddy has recently been allowed to enter the US market. So I checked on the generic price.

The generic medications which are from India is sold for a price 75 times greater ..

Who's is to blame ?  I am sure it is not the poor doctor, who probably does not even know the price of the medication? The pharmacist whose hands are tied ? DEFINITELY THE INSURANCE COMPANY, IN MY CASE I HAD BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF FLORIDA who decide which medications can be covered or not covered. When I checked the web, it did say that 99 % of the insurance companies covered this drug with a copay of 30 to 70 dollars.. so if you are the lucky one, you pay only 30 dollars for a drug that is sold in India for less than 2 dollars. 

Talking to the pharmacist my impression was different. In his opinion, the easiest way to get the medication was to pay the generic price of about 125 dollars.

I was three weeks away from my diagnosis of inflammation and I was symptom free and within a  week I was leaving for France.

I am an admirer of the French System of Medical Care for its population. I am not a citizen of France so I do not have the privileges of this excellent system. But France does offer courtesy to the doctors registered in certain countries.

I went to a proper pharmacy in a small town and was received by a young pharmacist who spoke English very well. From an anthropological point of view, from her accent, I deduced that she had gone from Czechia, Slovakia or Hungary ? to England, possibly studied Pharmacy there and now living in France. She was very accommodating and helpful. After reviewing and validating my license, she informed me that it is possible for me to get a 5 ml bottle of the same medication. The cost would be under 5 dollars, I was willing to pay 20 dollars knowing the prices elsewhere. The drops were of German manufacture, so it was 50 times cheaper than in the USA..

THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN FRANCE IS MISSIONARY, ITS MISSION IS TO PROVIDE HEALTH TO THE POPULATION. THE SYTEM IN THE USA IS MERCENARY IN THAT IT MAKES SURE THAT THE PLAYERS ALL GET A GOOD SLICE OF THE PROFIT. HEALTH OF THE PATIENT IS SECONDARY.