Sharing London
not having her insurance card on her person, and insures her that it is unnecessary. 15:45 – Simon, a smiling nurse practitioner, calls Ally’s name. 15:50 – While sure that Ally was getting adequate care, the girls notice a slight difference in the way in which Simon handles the medical instruments compared to the way in which they would be handled in an American hospital. Friendliness and conversation seem to be of greater importance to Simon than complete sterility. 16:07 – Brooke receives her first live suture lesson as Simon puts 9 stiches in Ally’s knee. Simon is confident, calming, and competent. Ally feels that she is receiving excellent care, despite her initial impressions of the hospital. 16:17 – At the completion of the procedure, Ally asks Simon where she should go to pay. He laughs and assures Ally that no payment is need. It’s completely free. 16:20 – Ally and Brooke find Sam, Laurel, and Dan. The group walks out of the hospital, exchanging surprised and joyful stories about the free-of-charge and once-in-a-lifetime experience. While the hospital was seemingly scary at first, the group was generally pleasantly surprised by the experience, and reflects on the possibility that Americans take unnecessary measures to achieve sterility. Ally was sure to mind the gap, and the sharp escalator steps for that matter, for the remainder of the trip. #atleastitwasfree
Scenario Number Four: Brain Swap Gone Wrong @DanPhalen I watched helplessly as my body ran through Hyde Park. I chased it as quickly as I could, but my little legs could only go so fast. The professor had warned me not to perform a brain-swap experiment on myself, but curiosity had gotten the better of me. I had decided to use my dog Benny as a test subject, as nobody else was in the lab. I had expected to brain swap with Benny for 10 seconds, and then be swapped back by the timer mechanism. However, as soon as we swapped brains, the silly dog started flailing around in my body and broke free of the machinery. He sprinted out the door and into the park. It looked like Benny was slowing down. For a dog trapped in a human’s body, he sure knew how to run well. This was my chance to catch up to him, although I had no idea what I was going to do after that. I suppose I could try barking at him to get his attention, or maybe I could scare him back with a threatening growl. Before I could reach a conclusion, I saw Benny reaching into a bobby’s pocket. “You stupid dog!” I tried to shout, “Don’t do that! You’ll get me in trouble!” Unfortunately, all that came out of my mouth were three loud barks. That got the bobby’s attention immediately. She turned to Benny and asked him what he was doing. I jumped around and barked at her feet, trying to explain the situation, but she ignored me. Before I could do anything else, Benny bopped her on top of the head. The next thing I knew, he was wrestling with two bobbies and shouting, “Police Brutality!” at the top of his lungs. I was so distressed that I didn’t even bother to wonder how Benny learned to speak English. They hauled Benny off to who knows where, and now I’m sitting in a kennel at the police station. If I could just get back to my body, I could explain this whole situation to them. I’m the victim of a brain-swap gone wrong!
London Review 2014
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