I wonder if I am the expat who complains a lot about Korea and misjudges everything or am I the expat that is too obsessed with Korea? Everything in Korea that appears odd to expats has its own logic, and once explained (as the Korean tries to do in this blog,) they are completely understandable and not very odd after all. But because expats never talk to the people responsible for creating such logic, (it is, after all, people in their 40s through 60s who run the country,) the oddities continue to remain incomprehensible. And instead of coming to an understanding, expats go on with their complaining.
Very good point~! When I do he or read from another expat a complaint about Koreans, I always wondered if they considered where their issue stems from and why they are confused.But Roboseyo and Ask An Korean are attempting to pinpoint why exactly foreigners in Korea tend to complain about Korea. I would take the time to scroll through my blogs and see for myself if I am a complainer, but I am not going to do that. Instead I will just conclude that I feel I don't complain as much as I could be, considering instinctively I do find things to complain about. Instead it has always been my goal on my blog to write about my experience living in South Korea, while at the same time respecting the differences around me. Also I have strived to digest what it is I reject in Korea and why, so that my opinions come out thoughtful.However, I know that there are complainers on the internet and unfortunately they take up a lot of space. I hope I don't become one of them.
This weekend wasn't as eventful as previous ones, but that was okay because I really needed to get some things done.First off was a visit to the GI Doctor:For those not in the know, I have a chronic illness called Crohn's disease. When the conditions are bad and I am not in remission the symptoms are the equivalent of having the stomach flu. Needless to say it is important that I keep in regular contact with a doctor and also keep my medicine replenished.One might think that living far away from family and their local health care system poses as a threat to someone with a chronic illness, for example if you have diabetes too.Questions like:How do you get your medicine?
Is the health care system up to date on your disease?
Will it be costly to receive treatment?
Will I receive insurance or should I buy travelers insurance?
Answers:So yesterday (Saturday) I managed to get these answers up close and personal. I visited the Yang Hospital. Amazingly to get to this hospital all I had to do was walk a couple of blocks in my own neighborhood.Inside the hospital was neat and clean, with friendly personnel at the front desk. BK went with me so all I had to do was follow his instructions. I think if you are a foreigner visiting a hospital in a foreign country and do not speak the language, it would be wise to take with you a native speaker.Within minutes I was sat down with a GI specialist. I brought my medical records from back home and handed them to the doctor. He seemed to not have a problem reading it, but did read it carefully. He spoke to BK and then he went on his computer and searched to see if he can prescribe me my medicine. This he was able to do, except one of my drugs he could not find a matching company but was able to find the matching formula from a different company. Afterwards he discussed something with BK and we were dismissed.Blood test:As part of my drug treatment I take a pill which works against my liver, so I need regular blood tests to determine whether the drug is depleting my white blood cells.So we went upstairs in the hospital to the blood room. I for one can't stand needles, no matter what hospital I am in. So I looked away and hoped it would be over soon. The first try I didn't hold my fist hard enough but managed to do better on the second try.Results of visiting a Korean hospital:Keep in mind that this hospital basically specializes in just gastrointestinal issues. It isn't a big University hospital and so I think that can be cause for its genial atmosphere.All in all, I have been very pleased with Korea's health system and National Insurance Program. The total I had to pay from this visit was 10,000 Won, or about $10. Compared to America, when I had no health insurance, this visit would have cost me on $35.Filling Prescriptions:I take a large amount of pills, lets just say 13 in one day. So making sure I get each and every pill is important.Going to a Korean pharmacy is just like visiting one back home. You take your prescription slip to the pharmacist, they mumble something and then you sit on your ass and wait.One particular difference is that they don't put your meds inside a bottle, rather inside wax paper daily packets. Here is a photo explanation: 
Next to my package of pills is some Birth Control Pills. I was not able to bring with me a year supply of what I take at home, so I am going to have to switch to what Korea offers. Looks pretty similar to what I take, so I hope there won't be any complications. Total cost was roughly 87,000 Won or abut $88 US dollars.
Back home I was on the Poor Man's healthcare system, so my drugs only cost $5 a month...looks like I have to spend more. However still affordable.
Well that is my experience of the health care system. This won't be the last time I visit the doctor so we will see if this good service keeps up.
Life revolves around many particular patterns. The patterns can cycle around other spheres of change in your life.Ummm nevermind...trying to sound philosophical here but failing.Anyways when my life is turned upside down for whatever reasons or when it is going awry the one thing I most like to do is organize.Organizing my thoughts is one place to start, but another area is my surroundings. So tonight I did a little quick organization of my desk and living area. It is like giving myself a big sigh of relief.Anyways, work is still work but I am feeling more confident now and a bit less ashamed of myself.Of course here comes the weekend so I can feel a sense of relief. I hope I get time during this weekend to relax. :)To end here is a picture of my desk at work:
My cubic feet of space:
I now admit my stupidity for planning so much. Sure the result of having it all ready to go for every class is a great pleasure, but the work that goes into is not. Not only have I been planning so much but worrying and stressing out as well. I seem to worry like it is a bad addictive habit and thus causes me to stress out.What am I worrying about?I worry that I could become a bad teacher/worker. In my other jobs I tended to slack off a lot and ended up disappointing my superiors. I always felt terrible for this and so I think in this job I am trying to do my best. But now that I am doing all I can and working so hard, it seems my reward is that I am tired and stressed out.So I need to let go. I know that now I can get by without planning everything in advance and can show up about an hour early each day and just plan for the day. However:The intensive period schedule came out and I will be teaching 10 classes everyday. That does not please me and I am not looking forward to it. So all my planning for next month will pay off I think because I won't have time to prepare easily.But after the intensive period...I am going to switch to just taking it easy. ~Waking up at 2am and stressing about work, is well not a favorite past time of mine.
Yes you too can enjoy the luxuries of a sauna. The steamy air and the clingy moisture ... can all be yours for the price of ....Nothing!That is right, just step outside and enjoy the hot steamy pleansantries of a sauna. Act now and we will even throw in our free Sweating to the 80's soundtrack!!!(It is hot here, steamy hot!)
Anyways, been finishing up planning for August so that I can have a worry free time. We have an all teachers meeting tomorrow, so that will be interesting. I hope they discuss the intensive week and what will happen in September (perhaps class changes ?)
Other than that have some usual items to take care of now that I got paid.
- Visit a GI doctor
- Buy new clothing
Yep!
