The Danish Social Model (healthcare)

One of the things I was aware of before coming to Denmark was the fact that it has one of the more stable models in terms of entitling social security benefits to its citizens regardless their affiliation within the labour market. When I learnt I was coming to Denmark, I knew I was going to be well taken care of, here all citizens have equal rights and social services are free of charge. I feel so proud I am experiencing the Danish educational system (of course I will post a blog about it as my semester progresses). Regarding healthcare, residents of Denmark as me, have a private doctor, whom we can contact when we have any health issues and I knew at some point I was going to use the healthcare system as well (I needed to book an appointment with my doctor because of my stupid joint problems); HOWEVERRR, I had to join a hospital muuuuch sooner than expected!!  

I will never forget this anecdote, it has been a month already yet I still remember it as if it took place yesterday!!! A normal Monday, and me riding my awesome bike to the city centre to do my normal duties before my 2 pm class, there is a downhill rode to take from my home (note I was not riding crazy fast, I am a very careful girl) and suddenly, my shoe somehow slipped with the pedal, leaning my body forward and unable to hand-break because of my useless joints (they get really numb and sored every morning because of past problems --I had the Chickungunya Fever on July before coming to Europe and joint pain is an aftermath of it, unfortunately, buuuut that is another story---  also the Nordic cold weather does not help either)!! 

Long story short: My tiny body swept the downhill road, ended up landing below a car smashing  it with my head and pelvis (as far as I remember)

Result post accident? injured knees, disgusting horrible-looking wounds, overstretched thighs and bruised hips 

Bike condition after the accident: A totally useless twisted front wheel, more and less damaged basket,  yet the rest remained in good condition.

My first reaction was to try to stand up, however, I was unable to do so! Some people saw everything (of course it  was super embarrassing) and tried to lift me up, but of course they couldn´t, therefore, I was invited to an ambulance ride and rushed to the hospital, once there they made tons of x-rays to exclude major damages on my head and dismiss the possibility of having a broken pelvis. Luckily, I was "okey" in terms of "not broken bones nor damaged head", however, they told me this could have been much worse. I am again so grateful to have my friends with me, they never left me alone and it is very special to feel their love and support!

Now I am fully recovered, my bike is fixed, and as I said before, if you come to study in Denmark, no matter how safe you feel, you are not exempt from these type accidents. I am speaking based on my own experience yet more students also have gone through same situations, nonetheless, you will never be left alone, the system guarantees welfare and you don´t have to pay anything back, hospitals have excellent facilities and most of the doctors/nurses/administrative staff speak English, so you have nothing to worry about; however, just try not to end up visiting hospitals without planning to do so, as me ;) ... In any case, a piece of advise for the ones reading this post, please wear a helmet if possible, always and I stress it aaaaaaaaaalways use front and back lights  when riding at night (I am going to be serious on this one), I have heard many horrible stories about it!!! Anyways you don´t want to get any hilariously high fine for not having your bike lights, do you??? and bring your documents with you even if you are not going far away (residence permit card and CPR) !!

That´s all for today!!!

cheers :D

Scholarship Issues? =(

I cannot believe we are half way through the semester, my studies are going really well and I am really excited about my big project, I will write about it in a different post, though ;). A lot has happened since i moved to Denmark, and as I mentioned before, I came here thanks to an Erasmus Mundus scholarship. However, having a scholarship does not imply that our lives will be much easier!! When people ask me why I applied to scholarship I reply the following:

Education is considered a luxury in El Salvador, if you have money then you can go to school, it is just as simple as that!!! (unless you find yourself a scholarship) and even though most of us don´t have financial means to afford education in our countries, nor even in a foreign country, our dreams and goals remain alive, and they encourage us to fight for these opportunities, which are not easy to achieve. It took me three years to get this scholarship award, and now that I finally get it I never thought I also had to face some unexpected hurdles. 

Scholarships are not supposed to be paid back nor cut into percentages, (note that I am speaking on behalf of the Global UGRAD grant, which I was part of in 2011-2012 and EM grant, the one I have now) yet in this case, somehow being Salvadoran is playing against me. I was notified my scholarship is not free from taxation,  I of course was very shocked!! and when asking the reason behind this is? then again, My Nationality :(  Yes!! Indeed!! I never expected this, it is very disappointing that my country does not have a bilateral agreement with Denmark, and therefore I have to give the 38% of my total scholarship. I believe it is very unfair, especially when most of your scholarship out of tax goes towards your rent, it is nearly impossible to live by a couple of hundreds of Danish Krone, and the fact that I don´t speak the local language makes it more difficult to find a student job. 

I am extremely disappointed with this news but I will not let this take over me, I am determined to find a solution to this inconvenience; it is of course unfair that my Erasmus Mundus friends have no issues with their scholarships because their governments have bilateral agreements with the Danish government but I am also hopeful that something can be sorted out. 

I won´t give up, though, a positive attitude during hardships is a good point of departure, and it is also healthy to keep smiling, even throughout low moments. I will keep everyone posted regarding this because I am sure more Erasmus Mundus international students coming to Denmark might have to face the very same issue on the near future if their government happens not to have this agreement!!!

Wish me luck and hugs from Denmark !