Monday 28 February 2011

Getting ill in Singapore.

I reckon the one thing that any student going on the study abroad programme cares most about is not getting ill. The worst thing that could happen is for you to injure yourself or become unwell so far away from the love and comfort of your family. It really will bring out the homesickness you've been suppressing for so long.

So you can imagine how annoyed I am that I'm ill at the moment. I just came back from Thailand so everyone's got a plethora of exotic reasons for me becoming ill. I couldn't really care less about the reason I just want my mummy to give me a hug and make me some hot pepper soup. Singapore may not be able to give me my mum or the soup but they definitely make up for it in service.

Since I've fainted I've had numerous calls from the Resident Assistants checking that I'm ok. If I weren't the Cluster Leader in my flat I would also have the Cluster Leader looking out for me until I was better. The security guards wheeled me in a 4 person escort back to my room, and called a taxi for me to go to the hospital (I had rejected the possibility of an ambulance when I came around). I changed my mind about the hospital and so they cancelled the taxi for me and gave me the number for the University Health Clinic.

I didn't actually call the clinic, I just turned up, registered and took my appointment number. In the UK, registration would have to be a number of hours before you could even book an appointment. Singapore seems to be redeeming themselves on the efficiency front. The doctor was nice, polite and showed an interest in the fact that I was exchange, new to the whole thing and a bit scared. It didn't feel like a consultation really, it was a bit more laidback and felt like when your parents try to become homemade doctors (asking you to do all these things before reaching a conclusion) but of course with the added qualification of her actually being a doctor I was put at ease.

I've also got 3 group presentations due in this week that I haven't been able to finish. I emailed my lecturers and tutors and let them know and they were nice enough not only to grant me the extensions I asked for but to also ask about my wellbeing. That was nice. I mean, it's not guaranteed that every situation will be given that leniency but in this situation, it takes the stress off!

Now apart from having immense FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) I'm not worried about being ill in Singapore. They've got the whole care thing down to a T I reckon.

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