Nick and I usually meet with our family Sunday afternoons but lately things keep getting in the way of our visits. Last week, Bishnu called me on his new cell phone (he is one of us now) Sunday morning to cancel. It was quite early and needless to say it took me a good seven seconds to figure out who I was talking to. I sounded terrible because I was just developing a cold and my voice was not sounding great. He could tell and asked what I was going to do about it, I said drink tea. I didn’t want to complicate things by bringing up nasal decongestants and Nyquil over the phone. I realized it would be a good topic for later conversation though. Since then I’ve learned that in smaller villages in Nepal where there are no hospitals and “real doctors” people get treated by a type of herb specialist. A specific mixture of herbs would be given as treatment for a sore throat, for example. Eastern medicine has always intrigued me and the more I learn about it the more I understand why it would work, for me at least. Work much better than Western medicine. Unfortunately, going to see a herbolist or getting acupuncture is not covered under most health insurance plans making it essentially impossible to do. I wonder which method Bishnu would prefer if he was sick and had the option to choose. Coming to a new country one can easily be convinced by the power of numbers, learning by observing. What kind of healthcare choices do those living in the country with arguably the best quality healthcare in the world make? Would knowing that hinder his decision making based off his personal beliefs? Sometimes, when I constantly find new things to hate about my own culture, I ask myself am I just taking it for granted because I have the option to choose to leave? I try to put things in perspective by imagining how hard it would be to love your native culture but be forced to leave.