tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154569229380760325.post8523560626943855452..comments2023-10-10T17:07:36.114+02:00Comments on cross-cultural moments: Drinking codesElizabeth Abbothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09763064258020825441noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154569229380760325.post-78213207719505170162007-06-29T12:28:00.000+02:002007-06-29T12:28:00.000+02:00I have had good and bad experiences in both public...I have had good and bad experiences in both public and private health services here. You can have higher expectations in terms of creature comforts / service in private clinics, but you can also get excellent medical care in public structures. In an emergency you want to head to a public structure though, as they are better equiped and have all the necessary doctors and machines on call. It does help to have a doctor friend who can orient you and open a few doors....Elizabeth Abbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09763064258020825441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154569229380760325.post-68628233766796460742007-06-28T12:43:00.000+02:002007-06-28T12:43:00.000+02:00Thanks Elizabeth. I feel better now but I was nea...Thanks Elizabeth. I feel better now but I was nearly in tears yesterday at the USL clinic. They were just so nasty to me and that old lady who just went in front of me had absolutely no shame even when I called her on it. So when reading your "bella figura" post - I just thought "what bella figura"? I mean, you don't see much "bella figura" when you're dealing with the public health service here. Or do all the people who care about "bella figura" have private health insurance and go to pricey private clinics?<BR/><BR/>I'm seriously thinking about getting private health insurance as ridiculously extravagant as this seems. I just can't cope anymore with the chaos of Italian hospitals and clinics and basic rudeness to sick people- especially as we're thinking of maybe having a baby soonish. I figure if I pay them then they have to be nice to me, right?Kataromahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978496810226430712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154569229380760325.post-65392017881320039262007-06-28T00:14:00.000+02:002007-06-28T00:14:00.000+02:00It sounds like you had a very bad day...I think yo...It sounds like you had a very bad day...<BR/>I think you hit it on the head in your last line, there is a division, an "in-group" and "out-group" thing and if you are not in their circle of people that are treated like people, you are invisible and treated like an alien with no rights to common curtesy. Another side to the group thing. <BR/>I am still amazed at how workers (at the supermarket or the hospital) talk to each other without acknowledging that you exist!<BR/>Hope tomorrow goes a bit better, and it will. big hug, EElizabeth Abbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09763064258020825441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154569229380760325.post-4640567457991240712007-06-27T20:57:00.000+02:002007-06-27T20:57:00.000+02:00How would you explain the extreme rudeness of publ...How would you explain the extreme rudeness of public officials here and the tendency of people to cut in front of eachother in line (even while being yelled at by all of the people who were ahead of the person) in light of the whole 'bella figura' thing?<BR/><BR/>I guess I just read your post at a bad moment - but I went to the USL clinic today to try to retrieve my blood test results (my second attempt at retrieving the results and third visit to the clinic) and not only did an older woman blatantly refuse to take a number and try to go right in front of me as I approached the sportello - but the guy behind the sportello was really rude and nasty to me for no reason. Kind of a "brutta figura" - or does it not matter when you don't know the people you're dealing with?Kataromahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978496810226430712noreply@blogger.com