It was probably just a matter of time until something in Singapore drove me to actual unhappiness.  Starting the day off with the debate didn’t help …

This candidate match-up felt appalling and embarrassing when we were in the US, but now that we’re surrounded by people from all sots of other countries, it feels even more so.

But while I’ve grown grumpily used to US politics, what really set me off today was the Singapore health care system.  What they tell you before you move here is, “Singapore has one of the best health care systems in the world.”  And though they may be correct in absolute terms, here’s what they don’t tell you:

• Singapore has one of the most expensive health care systems in the world, and your health care plan will be no better than what you had in the US.
• Singapore does not have all of the same medications available that you had in the US, so if you have spent the past ten years trying to perfect the cocktail to control your restless leg syndrome, those experiments were largely for naught.
• Singapore has lots of dentists, but it’s not filled with endodontists.  Oh, and you have no dental plan (yes, I know — should’ve checked on that before flying all the way around the world).

I never thought I would miss my endodondist.  Really, that’s nutty.  But now that my crown has fallen out and re-cementing it looks complicated, I would do a lot to have her somewhere nearby.  As it stands, it looks like I’m going to get a second opinion when I head to a conference in Bangkok on Friday.  Medical tourism.  That’s not something I thought I would be exploring out here.