European Health Card
Thanks to the European Union agreements, free transit extends to free medical assistance within the member states. This way, citizens of EU countries can make use of needed health services via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) under the same conditions as people insured in the visited country, sometimes fully free, sometimes in need of a co-pay, depending on the country. The card is a personal and non-transferable document with validity in the following countries:TIP: click on your country to be taken to the official national site of the health department, and to obtain your EHIC Countries which are part of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. Countries which are part of the European Economic Area (EEA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, As part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Switzerland Special conditions: United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) With this card, you will have the right to receive medical assistance in your temporary stay in any of the above mentioned states. This card cannot be used when you move to the new country (for that, you’ll need the S1 form) or if your goal is to obtain some special medical treatment. For the latter, the Health Services should need to write a favorable report in your home country. Some of the covered benefits include providing services for existing or chronic illnesses, pregnancy or childbirth. It is important to know that: ⇒ It is a free card to obtain. Generally, the EHIC validity extends to TWO years, you can request it via the internet, and it usually takes about 10 days to get to your home. ⇒ It does not guarantee free services, as the healthcare system varies from country to country. It guarantees that you will be treated equally, with the same rights, as the locals. ⇒ It is not an alternative to travel insurance, as it does not cover private healthcare, specific travel requirements / benefits, lost or stolen property, flights delays, repatriation, etc. ⇒ Hundreds of millions of Europeans use this card. ⇒ If you ask for the EHIC, your local authority is obliged to provide you with one or, failing that, with a provisional replacement certificate if the card is not immediately available. If you are unsure about your rights, you can contact Your Europe Advice. How to recognize the cards? The front of the cards look the same in every country – like the main picture in this article. The back changes from country to country. If you are curious about the design, please click here to see more. Here are some examples: Do you need a travel insurance? Upcoming article on why you may need one:)
International Day of Yoga
We are back with yet another international day. Where do I get these from? Actually, they are official! The United Nations, under their motto «peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet«, declares international days to give room to and create awareness on matters of general interest, such as the protection of human rights, sustainable development or health. As you may already know, travel, sports and health are subjects that greatly interest me, and I enjoy writing and sharing about experiences that mark my everyday life and my life of travel. I recently published an article on superheroes (that I think you should read, and invite you to do so!), and today, 21st of June, we celebrate a new interesting day: Happy international day of yoga! I find it somehow funny that I remember getting really bored during some yoga classes I took about ten years ago in some gym. And for that reason I was really surprised when I got hooked on yoga during quarantine… I could not stop learning, meditating and practicing! Perhaps at this point in my life I was really prepared to receive all the wisdom that this discipline entails, in such a holistic way. Physical activity needs to keep happening! (I said to myself) So I surpassed the acquaintance status with the building stairs and paid my daily visits to the rooftop for training sessions and dancing under Mister Big-vitamin-D. Back on my computer, I randomly found a yogi girl who was offering short yoga guided lessons via youtube. I was curious. A few of my dearest friends told me how they practice it everyday, and I liked the way this online yogi talked in her videos: natural, with a smooth voice, without forcing or big ambitions for the newbies… just flowing. It was just a great way to connect with my own body, breathing and movement (just like freediving!), disconnecting from the frustrations and impotence of the lockdown situation, letting go, and becoming grateful and appreciative of the now and what I am and do have. I honestly cannot remember when it was that I first practiced yoga. Maybe it was when I was about five and started practicing rhythm gymnastics for so many years… the warm-ups and the stretches are so similar! It could have been before or after that. Perhaps that gym class, in high school or at university, or when I was training for my freediving competition! There was so much focus and attention on the body and breathing… I definitely recall studying and practicing while being the head of the PE department in a high school and preparing my student Lea for her GCSEs in yoga… It could have also been in the last few years, with my workmates during some of our fun free time. Actually, I could have also practiced without even knowing that yoga was the name of what I was doing! So when does one really start? I guess since the beginning. Who more is in the here and now than a baby? Anni Taskula So this makes me think. I don’t know even half of what there is to know about it. An idea popped up Who can tell best how yoga is lived but people who do it or have it as a lifestyle? I decided to interview a handful of beautiful people who I know and/or have served me as inspiration. Men and women from different backgrounds have dedicated some of their precious time to bring you, dear readers, a perspective on yoga that you won’t find in the books or navigating the Internet. So what is yoga? Yoga is more than a physical activity that comes from India: it is also mental and spiritual practice. That’s why it is an amazing practice for mindfulness! The actual word yoga means unity, as it symbolizes the union of mind and matter. Yoga is the ultimate practice for connection with our minds, bodies, and spirits. Patrick McConnell Yoga to me is a philosophy about unity; unity within myself, unity with the physical and energetic surrounding, unity through people – collective awareness and universal knowledge. Anni Taskula Yoga is a practice that makes me feel good and at peace with me and the world. Ricardo Ramos Yoga for me is recovery, healing, freshening, strengthening; exercise for the body and mind. Matt Richardson Yoga is everything: How you live your life, how you treat other people, how you treat yourself, etc. It’s a mindset that everything comes out of. Nuša Molek Yoga is my philosophy of life. Yassy MM A tool for taking care of the body and soul Jan J Yoga is a way of connection between my body, mind and soul. Julieta Virgili Yoga for me is a constant journey of learning more about how to live life in balance and harmony to create happiness within and with others. It’s a way for me to connect with myself and remind myself what is important in life and what makes me truly happy. Practicing yoga will never end for me, it doesn’t stop when I step off the mat as it is so much more than just the asana movements that a lot of people in the west associate yoga with. Cat Butterfield Yoga holds such significance that in December 2014, the United Nations recognized not only its universal popularity, but also the need to create awareness about its great benefits, emphasizing the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following lifestyle patterns that foster good health. So the international day of yoga was created, to share the advantages of this practice, for the benefits and wellness of the worldwide population. Yoga practice generates this feeling of deep awareness of oneself and the energy one feels, through mind and body alignment, reconnecting within to then connect with the outside. Here are some of the benefits that my interviewees and myself thought of: Physical benefits Flexibility Strength Balance Agility Lung expansion Body posture Limbering
Today is SUPERHEROE day
I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles Superman Yes, today 28th of April is international superheroe day! It was April 1995 when Marvel employees went out to ask children which superpowers they would love to have. Can you imagine that? I am not sure about how it happened, yet I love to imagine some business-man and woman wearing suit-and-tie, ready to switch for a hidden tight-spandex with the underwear on the outside… and that tiny blonde kid with an innocent yet sneaky look approaching and saying, hey, why is your underwear actually outside of your clothes? After a few laughs and some wondering gazes still in awe for not being sure about the authenticity of that Spiderman in front of them, they start replying… Flying! I want to fly! I want to make my bed by pointing at it with my index! I wanna do homework just by putting two fingers on each side of my head and closing my eyes strongly! I want to run as fast as I can! Now that I think of it… which super-power would you like to have? I’d love to fly and to teleport… sounds too cool! It was funny though when they were asked about their favorite superheroes, as most did not wear any tights with visible underpants. The vast majority looked like normal people. Just someone in their lives who shows up to solve a problem when threats arise. Their uniforms where not as tight. They would wear police badges, fireman’s hoses, a teacher’s smile, a doctor’s stethoscope, or a mum or dad’s helping hand. Heroes are made by the path they choose, not the powers they are graced with Iron Man This is where we all come in, comforting a stranger, sharing our belongings -even giving them away-, cooking for someone, helping them with their tasks… it is on the daily decisions that we can all be superheroes in our everyday lives. When someone should do something, we should double-check what we can really do to be that someone. A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended Ben Affleck These days are full of chaos. They call it quarantine. I made up a new word, cinquantine© (TM), cause it’s definitely been over forty days, and it will be fifty in a few more. A virus «suddenly» spread little by little and quite quickly, all over the World. Countries have been shut-down, yet proper resources not fully provided everywhere. Conspiracies on why this is happening rise, some which sound very convincing. Professionals of the same field swear the virus has been created, while others state that a virus -as life- cannot be created from nothing. Politicians state different truths, yet many confine us all to our homes, or wherever the virus caught us. In fact, several countries have been affected by indefinite restrictions, freedoms being cut, and new laws being implanted, creating a vibe of communism to which citizens respond with revelry, anger, and the calmest, frustration. Masks become a must in many countries since moment zero (where the number of cases is neither high or growing too quickly) yet in other countries, governors still insist that they are not really necessary. Media gives hundreds of different and opposite versions of the same one thing, contradicting each other and even themselves. TV programs, facebook pages, and twitter accounts get mysteriously banned after sharing certain information. Phones are controlled. Communication is controlled. Approach with others is controlled. Physical closeness to our beloved ones is controlled. A document named ID2020 shows even more control. Maybe this post will also be controlled. Sounds too crazy. Yet it is all real. Chaos. It is also sadly real that hundreds of thousands of people have died of covid within the past about two months. And millions are ill, with this and other illnesses. People are still getting, treating and dealing with cancer, leukemia, fibromyalgia, heart attacks, panic attacks, anxiety (which is obviously raising)… Other people are losing control, setting up bombs in medical centers, going to the streets with swords, jumping off balconies because they do not know how to deal with this uncertain, chaotic situation. Mental and physical health is at risk. Amidst all of this though, we find immense beauty Hundreds of thousands of people find hope, peace and balance, and use their inner strength and seemingly infinite love to help others. From anonymous people to famous artists (please stop hating them just because they have mansions or found out how to make an immense revenue before you and I did), people are making funny videos to make others laugh, creating challenges to keep each other entertained and looking for little big steps to take towards some specific goals. Some are donating tons of money for the cause, and some are making masks for their families and their neighbors. Some are offering cheaper plans for the phones, giving free advice on the internet, preparing yoga or home-sports routines -and for free-, checking up on the neighbors, helping the elderly, going shopping for others, singing songs or dancing in the balconies. WE ARE BIG INDIVIDUALS, WE ARE BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEINGS. We are little-big heroes winning a battle that we didn’t want to fight. Yet we are armed with big resources, incredible minds and unbelievably beautiful hearts. Today is my brother’s day, my cousin’s day, and my best friend’s day. Today is my other friend’s day, my cousin’s friend’s day and my blogger-friend’s day. Today is every nurse’s day. Every single day since the 13th of March, we are going out to our balconies at 7pm to clap to the healthcare personnel and first-line workers. And we do this because we acknowledge and recognize that they are risking their lives for us. They wake up everyday knowing that