The longer I am here, the more I witness dynamics of the culture and the underlying prejudices/inequalities that exist. It’s always easier to just scrape the surface while visiting and embrace the differences. Reality is always much harsher and more difficult to comprehend, usually embedded in historical roots. This is the case with the immigrant workers in Phuket. They are treated differently in many ways.

When speaking with my Asian Cambly students, I’ve noticed that they really don’t understand prejudice or the divides against a race that we face in the USA. Their culture is not separated by religion or different ethnicities. The only examples they can discuss are the divides between male and female.

Recently one of my Taiwanese students mentioned that they have migrant workers from Vietnam, Burma and the Philippines and she is naturally scared of them when she sees them grouped together on the streets. It seems we are always nervous about cultures we don’t understand or people that may not look like us.

Knowing Mimi now for over a year and observing her slave like behavior at the Art C, (Tiffani will recall how she is constantly in work mode) I am seeing some of the economic divides and dominance between immigrants from Burma and the Thais.

Before the pandemic hit, Mimi had planned to go back to Burma to visit, knowing the hotel was going to close it doors to business. The Covid lockdown in Thailand started much sooner than her travel plans and the borders of neighboring countries were then closed.

Luckily she was able to continue living at the hotel but has since not been able to escape it. She is one of many Burmese workers who are stuck without work permits or any jobs to be had. The Thai owner of the Art C has since purchased an oven and has put Mimi to work making pizzas everyday to feed his family and start up a new business.

Mimi has not been paid even though she is told to cook and keep experimenting with recipes for the business. She spent 4 hours working up a sauce. She has zero experience cooking pizza and doesn’t want or enjoy doing it, but feels obligated even though she is not getting paid anything. The Thai government gave money for hotel workers to be allocated now that they are unemployed but she has seen nothing. Whenever she inquires about getting paid, or the government money promised, she is told that “they are also having a tough time, and she needs to be patient.”

I can’t imagine how trapped she must feel living in a vacant hotel with an owner than comes everyday demanding she work on his business with false promises of a future. But she feels she has no other choice at this time. She cannot travel anywhere, nor find work. She wants to move but has no alternative options.

She wanted to cook me some traditional Burmese cuisine. She hasn’t had a day off and was looking forward to having me visit. I headed to the Art C, worried about my inability to try new foods, but because I love and adore her, did my best to not gag and smile as I tried her ethnic dishes. I wished my daughters would have been there with me, as they love trying new things and it would’ve been a great experience.

Mimi is by far one of the kindest humans and that is probably the reason she is taken advantage of so often. From knowing her I have learned so much about the Burmese history, culture, her life stories of love and loss, but mostly, what it means to have humanity. She is always giving and even loaned money to Thais in need knowing she would never see it returned.

I wish I could help find solutions to her problems to enable her a life she deserves. But so often these issues run much deeper and are too complicated to resolve. Offering my friendship is all I can do. We are both thankful to have each other. I am wiser for having known her.

At my last check up in the USA, which was required for my Thai visa application, my doctor wanted me to check out a new heart murmur they heard. I told her I would take care of it when I returned to Thailand, knowing the services would be less expensive because I do not have health insurance in the US. I paid 200$ for that doctor visit in Cincinnati, where they weighed me, took my blood pressure, and listened to my heart beat, then chatted with me overall about my physical ailments/feelings.

My Thai hospital check up in Phuket was such a wonderful experience! Besides being cheap, it was like receiving a royal treatment in the classic, perfectly kind, Thai style. I wanted to share my experience in case anyone would want to consider treatments here. I had no expectations prior and was slightly hesitant to go myself. I have never been in any hospital overseas and hate hospitals in general. I’m not exactly a fan of doctors and I make a terrible patient, always questioning the advise or further testing suggested.

The Bangkok Hospital Siriroj is located right around the corner from my condo. I stopped in one day on my way home from a dental cleaning. (Now that was an experience!) I wanted to set an appointment for the EKG, but after speaking to the welcoming staff at the reception desk, I decided to also get all my blood work done since it’s been about 5 years since I have checked anything out.

This place is immaculate. On the day of my appointment, after checking in at the reception desk where they took my photo and scanned my passport, they escorted me to the Wellness Center. At the center they explained all the areas of the hospital I will visit and in which order I will go. I had previously been shown a price list to determine which package I wanted to purchase. I LOVE this idea. Very clear, you make the choices, and super affordable.

I chose the “active” package, so I wouldn’t have to give a stool sample 🙂 This included blood work for cholesterol, sugar tests, red and white blood counts, electric heart monitor testing, chest x-ray, and total abdominal ultrasound! (never had one of those before, except when pregnant- should be fun) They even gave me a lunch coupon for a Dunkin Donuts shop that was on campus.

The medical staff all spoke English. A different person came every time and escorted me to the next station for testing. I noticed the staff was mostly women, about 85%. I went to 5 different locations and it ran so smoothly, like clockwork. Never a long wait in between. Free bottled water for your pleasure at every stop. I was never trying to find a place on my own. The service was amazing.

No Insurance Blood Test Info from Web:

Although blood tests are important and often necessary, without insurance they can be quite costly. The cost of medical treatment has increased dramatically over the last decade, and current prices are high – even for simple procedures and tests. Blood work pricing at a lab can range anywhere from $100 for one simple test, to $3,000 for several complex tests. On average, to get blood work done at a lab when the patient is uninsured will cost around $1,500. This steep cost of the testing deters many individuals without insurance from getting the blood testing that they need. Individuals without insurance will often wait until their symptoms are severe enough that they need to seek emergency care. Ultimately, this leads to a delayed detection of illnesses, worsening the prognosis and usually increasing the overall cost of treatment.

The above recaps my situation and many other Americans I imagine. I do not claim to know much about our healthcare, since I am not working in that field and rarely have the need to ever, thank God, see a doctor. But now being without insurance, it is my biggest concern about coming back home. The costs are simply stupid and there is truly no excuse for it.

A standard echocardiogram and TEE can each cost $2,000 or more. If you do not have health insurance, you may have to pay the whole cost yourself. And even if you have insurance, you probably have a co-pay. This can be as much as half the cost of the test.

Above is from the web regarding costs for an EKG in the USA. The cost here at this beautifully run hospital= 3000 BHT/95$ USD.

My total charge for my services today was 8800 BHT/$260 USD> no lie!! AND I got all of my test results right then and there on the spot. The cardiologist told me what he saw and showed me the videos explaining it.

After my bagel sandwich lunch, I met with another doctor for my blood work and ultrasound results. He patiently explained every detail while flipping page by page in a booklet which contained all of my results. (which by the way, I am healthy as a horse) In the USA my blood test results usually showed up in the mail, via a typed letter with no explanation or doctor follow up. I always assumed if anything was too wrong they would have contacted me via phone.

When I asked the doctor for a prescription for some meds I take daily, (to keep my brain straight) he showed me the price for them at the hospital pharmacy and explained that he was sure I could find this medication at a different local place for 1/2 the price. He wrote me a prescription to help me to explain to the local places what I needed. I had been warned by my expat friends that the way the hospitals make money is through their pharmacy and pill pushing. What I didn’t expect was the doctor guiding me on how to save money.

If you think about it. It is worth the round trip plane ticket to simply come here for procedures. I can’t imagine the cost differences with surgery expenses or orthopedic needs. Some of you may be questioning how good their doctors are and claim the USA knows what they are doing and are the best in the medical fields. Maybe. But for someone like me who is very healthy and requires no special care, this island is my answer to growing old and making my own healthcare choices, instead of insurance companies guiding me.

Stretch Armstrong is a large, gel-filled action figure first introduced in 1976 by Kenner.^[1] In 2016, at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced the return of the Stretch Armstrong toy in its original 1976 design.

Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with gelled corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape. Stretch Armstrong is an action figure shaped as a short, muscular, man with blond hair wearing black trunks. The doll’s most notable feature was that it could be stretched from its original size of about 15 in (0.38 m) to 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m).

I was lucky enough to have one of these authentic toys in the 70s when it first came out and remember having a great time with my sisters playing with it. So a couple of years ago, when Zoe asked Santa for a boyfriend, I saw the opportunity to provide this hunky blond, flexible figure as a Christmas gift to leave under the fireplace. He is equally fascinating now as he was then.

This past Christmas when Zoe and Sedona came to visit, they brought me a boyfriend 🙂 A much smaller version- but appreciated just the same! We enjoyed carrying Stretch with us on many of our adventures. I recently pulled him out on my last Avenger Adventure. It reminded me of all the great shots I took when Z & S were here visiting. I wanted to share. It’s a great memory for me.

A gate is a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. Gates may prevent or control the entry or exit of individuals, or they may be merely decorative.

I will admit I am getting a bit depressed during this time, not being able to see” and feeling like I no longer have purpose. I wonder what this life is about and being stuck’ without a future vision of any planned adventures seems to be wearing me down. And yes I realize the future was/is never certain but for some reason the corona energy is picking away at me. Every conversation I have with my international students always ends up on this CV-19 crisis subject.

I have learned over the past year and understand that what keeps me grounded is getting out and exploring. But I really have covered this island and nothing seems new and shiny to me anymore. My eyes are growing tired with the media negativity and nothing seems to catch my interest.

As I was driving around on Mean Mia , just to get out one day, I started noticing the gates here. There are so many of them. Some are ornate, while others so simple. All of them keeping people out/OR in? It reminded me of the isolation I was feeling, so I started to take photos.

I shared this gate photography idea in a voice message with my friend Angie, who video chatted me back saying possibly I was noticing them because I was no longer restricted by the gates of life. I am free and am actively embracing my new style of living. Love that positive twist. Today, I decided to take pictures on my way to and from my scooter ride while in route to meet some friends for lunch just to capture the variety.

GATES- if you google it, the first thing that comes up is Bill Gates. Sometimes I miss the days of less available information. I am sure you all can appreciate that as well lately.

Saint Peter“ The image of the gates in popular culture is a set of large gold, white or wrought-iron gates in the clouds, guarded by Saint Peter (the keeper of the “keys to the kingdom”). Those not fit to enter heaven are denied entrance at the gates, and descend into Hell.