A Fortnight 'til the Flight

I just looked at the calendar. I'm two weeks away from my trip to India. That was a fast five months. It hasn't quite dawned on me that I will be leaving before I know it and I will be arriving in a place that is foreign in every sense of the word.

The preparation, however, is pretty much complete. Passport, visa, immunizations and airplane ticket are accounted for, so there should be no problem getting to the subcontinent. Clothes, especially the microfiber pants and a hat that covers my neck, have been purchased. Malaria pills will be prescribed by the end of the week, and I'll be off to Longs to pick up the remaining over-the-counter medicine, especially Immodium.

Still on the agenda: finishing the India history book I bought back in July (30 more pages to go, I think); eat at an Indian restaurant (sounds like a dinner plan); watch “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” India episode (currently downloading the 500MB file); pack my bag (eh, I'll get around to it, and it is singular).

I did, however, pick up a digital SLR camera from my friend. It's been awhile since I've rolled with an SLR, but I've been warming up for the trip. I've framed the landscape shots and shot the swap meet booths because I thought they'd best replicate what I'd see in India, but any suggestions? Anyways, here are some photos below.






Today, I got an e-mail from Rick regarding our trip. It looks like we'll be building a check dam at the village we'll be at, which will be diverted into a reservoir, and will ultimately give some farmers a second crop for the year. (I'm not sure how detailed I can be, so I'm being vague and general when it comes to locations.) This sounds like something that will make a substantial difference in someone's life, and I'm prepared to do some heavy lifting and digging. (I assume there's no mini-excavator or Caterpillars onsite.) In addition, we'll join the villagers in a sports competition and we'll help out at the computer and English language center. Sounds like a good deal to me!

Other than that, I'll be reading up a bit more and packing the last bits of odds and ends. If there's anything you think I should see or anyone you think I should talk to, please let me know. Leave a comment or e-mail jasonu@hawaiibusiness.com

Immunize This

“Have you ever been vaccinated for Hepatitis A or B?” Sounds familiar, but I have no idea. Since I'm nowhere near my parents' house, I have no idea what I have or haven't been shot up with. So I checked out the U.S. Center for Disease Control web site to see what I should be getting.

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/India.aspx

Apparently, a lot. In the end though, I took shots for hepatitis A and B, tetanus and polio. I'll be getting malaria pills a month before the trip. The shots themselves weren't bad except for the Tetanus, which felt like a lumpy bruise injected into my deltoid.

It would've been nice to get it all in one place, but unfortunately I'm enrolled in an HMO and it needs to be bureaucratic, for no apparent reason whatsoever. I first called the Straub travel clinic, which most likely had all the shots lined up for me. Of course, the insurance wouldn't cover me. So I called HMSA (a Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance) and told them to direct me to their travel clinic. Of course, there isn't one, and I need to call my primary care physician. I made an appointment with him and got the hepatitis and tetanus shot, but he was out of the polio vaccine. He gave me a prescription for the polio shot, which I get to take at Straub travel clinic, which was the first place I called. Of course, my insurance still won't cover it, and I got a nice $66 polio shot.

But wait, there's more! I got a bill in the mail from the travel clinic with the following charges:
$30: Travel consultation, although I don't recall any sort of consultation at the clinic (unless they're counting, “Take this piece of paper and take it to that window”).
$65: Polio virus vaccine. That is one expensive shot.
$45: Immunization admin. This, I assume, is for the privilege of getting a needle stuck in my arm.

Luckily, I already paid $66 and I got a $12 credit, so now I only owe $62! However, I think they mistook me for an uninsured American. So I called on Friday, and the lines were busy, but I got to leave a message and the message assured me someone would call me within 24 hours (of a business day). On Monday, I got the call, and Straub tells me my cost is actually only $18 now, but they don't have any indication that I have insurance. When I told them if Straub should just charge my insurance provider, they said I should call them first. So I called my insurance, who informed me that they would cover it, but I'd have to call Straub and tell them to bill my insurance provider. When I called Straub, I left a voicemail, and the message assured me someone would get back to me within 24 hours.

And that folks is the American health insurance industry! Why did I choose an HMO again?