I am counting my days here, will be leaving New York in just a few days… giving my heart the same pain as breaking up with a boyfriend. I have overstayed my tourist visa and knowing that I won’t be able to come back in another 10 years making me frustrated. 

The first time I arrived here, I wasn’t care at all for the “American Dream” or tried to stay forever like most of the immigrants. I was on a holiday to visit my sisters and her family in Chicago. Yes of course, I was fascinated, America is the first world country… Everything seems to work in order, they have very good infrastructure for everybody who lives here. The citizens and residents pay their taxes, contributes to the community and environment directly. The system works in order because the taxes are not corrupted by the government.

 

The transportation with the train and bus- nothing like in Jakarta, definitely not like Metro Mini who stops anywhere… The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) management works so hard to improve the rails, cars, tracks and stations. Even though they are not the cleanest and the most beautiful train in the world but fast and reliable enough. It covers almost anywhere you want to go in Manhattan very conveniently. The roads, they have different lane for bikes, cars, buses and sidewalk for the pedestrians. Construction works are doing everywhere -in Manhattan-efficiently to build the city better and better.

The post office, they are efficient and reliable-you know that the package won’t be “missing” and they have insurance to cover that too.  The recreation park in every neighborhood- so the children can play at the park instead of hangin’ out at the malls. Public toilet, on my previous blog, I have only seen one Automatic one at Madison Square Park but mostly the conventional are also clean and decent. The internet service in public place like parks and hospital are free WIFI, I even “stole” my neighbor’s when I still live in Manhattan for months before the network disappeared and I have to get my own router

For garbage disposal, they still dump trashes on the street and the truck will pick up, gives the street the dirty look and foul smell…

but New York is all about cool and dirty! 

 

The good life about that made me wonder, could I survive if I go back to Indonesia with all the “not in order” condition? Ah… how spoiled I am with all the comfort and convenience! 

Even all the people I met on the street, they are the nicest people I know; hold the door for you, say hello how are you, say thank you or sorry if they bump at you, help you when you’re lost, give the seat to the elder… Every one is trying to be good or do better… All the attitude that build positively around made you a better person too. Well, you can walk safely on the street with mini skirt and unzipped purse. Nobody will blow a whistle because you can sue him for sexual harassment… You can sue anybody for anything here in the US!

Until it comes to healthcare… Everybody knows that Michael Moore’s latest documentary is true. It is Bullshit about Medical Care and Insurance in the U.S! The same medicine costs me like 10 times higher than in my country. The doctors and hospital care are insanely expensive too. It is true that they are very good, very clean, efficient and fast… but it doesn’t matter if you can’t afford it.

I was very “lucky” that I got involved with NYU research study that they have to take care for my side effect reaction; my lupus broke out. They paid for everything; doctor visits, labs, medicine, hospital rooms, chemo and other tests. The company already spent like 40-50.000 for me… If I wasn’t that “lucky”, I would be jumping out of the window because I will be in so much debt.

I decided to go back after all the good life I’ve experienced here, I am tellin’ y’all.. It’s no fun to be an unhealthy immigrant without insurance here in the U.S…

Life is all about choice anyway. I love Indonesia, where you are not treated as a second-or third class citizen (I said third because they now have black candidate for president they will be higher class now). America, they say it is a free country but it is not free at all  Nothing is free anyway…

I am coming back and can’t wait to see my beautiful dirty country where I can feel free!

(sigh)

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 6:14 am and is filed under Health care, Life, New York, Travel, United States. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.