Postcards
This section showcases the biweekly postcards I would create to send to my friends and family back home, detailing my experiences and observations regaridng health in London and Paris.
Post Card 1: Initial Excitement
Hi family and friends,
I have one week left before I fly out to London, England. I am so excited! I cannot believe the time has come already. I have been doing French DuoLingo as well as planning all of my London and Paris Pass excursions. On this abroad experience, I am most looking forward to all of the different food I will eat and the different people I will meet and talk to. In particular I am excited to see how the difference in food quality is directly correlated with health. Many people report losing weight when visiting Europe even though they are eating a lot, simply because of the quality of the ingredients and lack of excessive processing and GMOs. In addition, since these cities are primarily walking cities I am looking forward to seeing how the environment and infrastructure is more conducive to increased physical exercise due to city walkability. I am also curious to see the difference in pharmacies, as well as the prevalence of cigarette smoking. I can't wait to send you pictures once I am there! Wish you were here.
Love,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 2: Social Determinents
Dear friends and family,
Through my adventures abroad, I am learning a lot about the difference in lifestyle in the United States and Europe. As I noticed these lifestyle choices, I began to consider the varying determinants of health.
Some determinants of health in the United States:
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prevalence of fast food that contributes to obesity
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more expensive healthcare
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buying processed food in excess/in bulk at grocery stores
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heavy binge drinking culture
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reliance on cars for transport
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increased vaping
Some determinants of health in Europe include:
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increased risk of lung cancer due to popularity of cigarette smoking
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availability to buy more local and fresh foods at reasonable cost
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better health care and maternity leave
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more social drinking culture
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increased city walkability
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improved public transport
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better public education
I hope you found this as interesting as I did!
Sincerely,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 3: Healthcare in Europe
Dear family and friends,
London has been amazing so far! One thing I have found very interesting is the difference in pharmacies in the United States versus in London. The toothpaste bottle on the left says says whitening, whereas the bottle on the right says whitening for smokers. This image was taken at a pharmacy in London, but I would imagine I will likely see similar products exist in Paris. This is because smoking is heavily prominent in Europe's culture. Therefore, They have developed products specifically catered towards smokers. I have never seen these types of products in the United States, but it would make sense that avid cigarette smokers would require a special type of toothpaste in order to improve their dental health and remove excess tar build up caused by smoking. I thought this was super interesting and wanted to share, especially because we have many smokers in the family. I miss you lots and wish you were here!
Sincerely,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 4: Spirtuality in London
Dear family and friends,
Today, I took a Big Bus double decker tour all around London. This allowed me to go sightseeing and see many of the major land marks and must see spots in London. I saw alot of really pretty buildings, including this one. To me, this image represents how Catholicism and religion have been heavily tied into culture in the UK. While traveling around London, I noticed that many historical buildings have crosses on them, as well as religious depictions of previous monarchs are common place. This shows how religion is heavily integrated with both of the culture, history, and architecture in London. By contrast, I did not see a lot of functioning churches with congregants as I walked around, which may be an indication that religion is less dominant in the modern English population as it has been historically. I compared this to my experience in Italy, where there are a lot of open churches for anyone to walk in to or crosses and rosaries for sale show that religion is still heavily prominent. Religion is not only central of the general culture of London, but specifically towards the royal family, as see with sentiments such as "God save the queen". I thought this was pretty cool and wanted to share!
Sincerely,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 5: Environmental Health in London/ Paris
Dear family and friends,
I have been having a great time in London! It has been so interesting to note all of the cultural differences. A major cultural difference I have picked up on is the strong sense of environmentalism in London that I do not see in the United States. One interesting thing is that I rarely see litter on the ground, despite there not being as many trash cans as compared to America. I think there are multiple reason behind this probably. One I would have to assume is more respect and value for the area in which one lives in contributing to less desire to litter and increased desire to keep the city clean. This is reflected by the sentiment shown in this image I took in the gardens of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Another reason is that most people will sit down to eat food and drink coffee, rather than take it to go. These to go cups often end up on the floor or in the trash, so less take away meals leads to less trash that has the possibility to end up on the floor as litter anyways. People in the United States often prefer convenience and value that more than environmentalism and sustainability. This differs so greatly from London, where I see an increased overall societal push towards sustainability. Most water bottles I see sold in glass bottles. Many stores offer discounts if you bring your own container. Many stores will charge for plastic bags, which leads to many people bringing their own reusable bag, or opting out of a bag altogether. I see a lot of people carrying around tote bags and using those to carry everything rather than a million plastic bags that will be thrown away as soon as they get home. Many restaurants use wooden cutlery and paper straws rather than single use plastic cutlery. These are just some interesting things I’ve noticed thus far regarding environmentalism in London. I can’t wait to keep sharing as I learn more!
Sincerely,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 6: Nutrition in Europe
Dear family and friends,
I am having such a great time in London! There are so many food options here. Normally in the United States, we go to a grocery store to get groceries such as produce, cheese, and breads. However, here in London we have been able to go to many different types of markets. This photo shows a produce stand in Borough Market. This allows you to buy fresh produce which is less processed and doesn’t have preservatives on a more regular basis as opposed to buying it in bulk at a grocery store like Costco or Sams Club. Something else I’ve noticed is that there are a lot of options for people with dietary restrictions. I usually have to pay extra for oat milk in my coffee at Starbucks, whereas here ordering milk alternatives is free. There are a lot of good options for vegans and vegetarians as well. I am used to having to look at menus ahead of time, or having to order meals without a main protein. Here, they have a lot of vegan versions of the same meals using beyond meat or jackfruit which has been really cool to experience! I am having a great time and I can’t wait to see what else I get to eat in Paris!
With love,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 7: Child Development in Paris
Dear family and friends,
I am having a great time in Paris! Interesting to me to observe the cultural differences, in regards to children and childhood development. One thing that I have noticed is that while children in the United States often prefer to stay indoors and play on their iPads, the children and often prefer to play outside. This picture shows a carousel fry outside of the Eiffel tower, and which many children were riding and playing on. During our Women in Paris walking tour, I passed by a fence that had a row of children’s scooters tied onto it. I notice many parents walking with their children and dogs outside in the large grass field outside of the Eiffel tower. To me, all of these experiences depict how children in Paris have a better social life and a more physically active playtime as compared to children in the United States. I think we as Americans can probably stand to benefit from altering the way we raise our children to include more outdoors time and physical activity centered play time. This is good for socialization and physical health, while also likely decreasing risk of childhood obesity. Stay tuned for more of my Paris experiences!
Best wishes,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 8: Health Communication in Europe
Dear family and friends,
This is my first week in Paris, and so far it has been an amazing experience! In Europe, I’ve noticed that health communications and messaging are often done via ads in the metro. In London, this meant that they were many health related advertisements and postings the tube. This included advertisements for vitamins, but also included mental health information and messages against hate crimes. These could take place on large wall advertisements along the underground or smaller advertisements within the train itself. In Paris, I noticed significantly less health advertisements. Many of the health messaging I have noticed is in regards to COVID-19 precautions, which, although important, may come across as a bit outdated. In general, it makes sense that the majority of health advertisements could be in the metro station sense in the majority of Europeans rely primarily on public transport to get around in the city. In the United States, however, it is much more common to use a car as a primary source of transportation. This has led to the increased popularity of billboard advertisements for the purposes of health communication, especially along high traffic areas such as the highway. In the United States, we also have a lot of TV commercials and advertisements regarding medications. This makes sense because the pharmaceutical industry is extremely profitable in the United States, whereas Europe has a universal health care system. I think the European methods of health communication is more effective and directly leads to more trust in the government and the healthcare system. We can clearly see this by comparing the reactions towards COVID-19 precautions and vaccinations between the countries. I am really excited to keep noticing more things regarding health as I continue to explore!
With love,
Alexa Arteaga
Post Card 9: Health Varience
Dear family and friends,
I have noticed so many interesting health differences between Europe and the United States. In Paris, it is very normal to have an alcoholic beverage with every meal. There is often happy hour from 4 pm to 8 pm and you will see all the outdoor seating at the cafe filled with people drinking and smoking cigarettes. This also reflects how cigarette smoking is much more normalized in Europe generally. Another health variance I have noticed is that Europeans tend to walk alot more. In Paris in particular, there are a lot of stairs. Even in the metro underground there are many flights of stairs both up and down as you walk through to the train. People will rarely take the elevator, if there even is one in the first place. This allows for the opportunity for increased cardiovascular activity. However, this also makes Paris less accessible for physically disabled persons. London is also largely a walking city, but I believe they had more elevators/lifts for accessibility. The last major health variance I have noticed is Europeans tend to spend a lot more time outdoors. In Paris, there is hardly any air conditioning anywhere. People prefer to seat outside to eat in a restaurant or have a stroll in the park as opposed to being cooped up inside with the AC blasting even when it’s hot out. This preference for nature and the outdoors is really lovely especially because more time spent in nature is directly correlated with decreased stress and improved mental health. I think it is so fascinating to observe all of these differences in real time as I am here studying abroad. Wish you were here!
Sincerely,
Alexa Arteaga