Is going organic really worth it?

Look mommy....look what I have

Confused? Don't be...let me explain...

If you're from the U.S you've probably never seen something like this because well...unless you have a full time job with full time benefits you probably can't afford it or unless you're under the age of 21 and are covered by your parents who have full time jobs with full time benefits you won't have it either. It's called health insurance. Yes ladies and gentlemen....I paid $300 pesos (= $85.71 dollars) for full health insurance coverage for 2 months! Dos Meses!

Yes it covers prescriptions...yes it covers an ambulance....yes it covers any specialists I may need, including a psychiatrist! (unfortunately it won't cover tarot card readers or fortune tellers...bummer!)

Sooooo....what's up with that universal health care or I'd even settle for some affordable health care....I'm tired of calling my cousin who lives deep in Jersey to do some house calls and I'm sure my med school friend is tired of getting my house call text messages.

Gripe A: Presente, Presente!

Soooo...as if it wasn't enough back in NYC, it turns out that Argentina has an H1N1 outbreak or Gripe A as the natives call it. And yes, the rumors were true, upon exiting the plane on my arrival, all passangers were evaluated by physicians and provided with masks. At least 44 deaths have been confirmed, including 2 babies just today.

These are some examples of the paranoia. The first pic shows a woman in the Subte aka the train. Now let me just remind you that it felt like it was 90 degrees inside the train. The next is a hip restaurant in Alto Palermo...empty...then again it could be that the Argentinians eat late and I was there rather early (around 8ish)....

So yes, the H1N1 Virus is definitely something to be precautious about....but is this an over-hype? Check out this article in Clarin for more examples of "precautions".