No Sleep and both Excited and Sad

I knew I'd end up doing this. I was up all night simply sorting through my things. Since those things represent the last 8 years of my life, it was no easy task. I found things like Russian currency that I saved from a trip to stashes of old pictures that I brought with me here simply because, when I found them in storage, the images were so touching that they made me cry. I would have certainly cried if I'd realized I'd left them behind.

A friend of mine, who has seen me through most of my ups and downs while I've been here, stepped up and helped me. Honestly, without his help, I'd be in the fetal position bawling trying to make the choice whether to delay my departure one day to Saturday or to just say "to hell with it" and leave any unsorted boxes, piles, or stacks as they are. However, he got here at about 9:30pm and fought the good fight by staying here until just after 5am helping me out. Yeah, I know, what a great person, and, yes, the generosity of that did make me cry (not in front of him, but I did). I'm leaving, at least, one truly great friend behind.

So with just a few more hours to my departure, I'm bittersweet. I'll be sad to go in some ways as I've really been forced out of my comfort zone here and challenged to grow and adjust. However, now I'm excited to go back because maybe these new habits and instincts will benefit me at home. Plus, the fact is, it's home and I've been away for awhile. It's time to go back and start writing the next chapters of my life.

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도장 Discovery

My departure is imminent and I'm goofing off. NOW I want to read other K-blogs ;)

Actually, that's not fair to me. I was looking into the process of getting a 도장, dojang, at the last minute. A dojang is the official and legally binding Korean stamp that Koreans use for official documents. Someone suggested I get one today, so I was seeing what info was out there on the net about them to see if the process of getting one is worth it for me. (Probably not, BTW.)

What I found was Surviving Korea, a blog written by a Filipina who is married to a Korean, and her post on registering a dojang at the local district office. It was great to find and, honestly, a pleasure to read because it was minus the whine-quotient you find on so many expat blogs from people from the West. Yes, I know, I've had my bitchtastic "hatin' on Korea" moments too. However, I have tried to keep that to a minimum or, at least, balance it out by blogging about the good or fun stuff that happens here too. There is some really practical survivor advice out there. One of the first friends I made in Korea was a young Filipina who'd met and married a Korean man. We've grown apart because she's still in Yeosu, which is a small city down in Jeollanamdo, and I've been gradually migrating north to Seoul as a huge number of people seem to do in South Korea.

Anyway, it occurred to me reading her blog and seeing what she's writing about is that there are at least three strains of K-bloggers out there: the Koreans, the English-speaking expats and, at least, one more, the immigrant housewives. Yes, I know there are definitely other types too, but these are the types I'm most likely to trip over.

These wives come from mostly Asian countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and China. However, of course, they have their own networks, tricks and survival tips. It was there that I got enough info on a dojang that I decided, eh, screw it. It's different when you're married to a Korean I'm sure.

I don't have the time right now, but I'm going take the time to find a few more and link to them. I'm sure they've got some interesting stories and probably very practical advice.

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Okay, I Lied

Okay, I lied. That previous "Last Shout Out" post wasn't my last shout out. And, learning from that, I'll only go as far as saying this ~might~ be my last shout out to the awesomeness that is the South Korean medical system. Who knows what might happen between now and getting on the plane.

I had a few things on my list I wanted to get done before leaving. One was to go through the gauntlet of medical exams I have to get that ranged from exams everyone ought to get on a regular basis to the specialized ones I need because of my two auto-immune conditions.

However, there are other things. I figured out when I got here that prescription eye glasses can be a bit less expensive out of pocket than back home. I'm near sighted, so for most things, I don't need glasses. However, even though I rarely drive in the States, I do sometimes and I ought to wear glasses when I do. It's not required...yet, but why take chances? I got two pair of mad stylish frames and prescription lenses yesterday for less than I'd pay out of pocket for the same frames back home. Frame shops are everywhere in Korea. If you're curious, I'll say I got mine in Myeongdong in the underground center next to Lotte Department Store, and I probably paid more than I would have if I'd gone to a different part of town. I just wanted something on the high end of the style scale and, frankly, I'm out of time. So I went where I know the drill.

Also, regular readers know that I got a bad toothache over the summer that ended up being a deep cavity that needed filling and during the treatment, which took a few days, I ended up loosing the temporary filling. That required a late night run to Yonsei's Dental Hospital. My love for my primary dentist dimmed over time because, like a lot of medical professionals, he was much more used to talking than listening. Also, I think just being in pain and having him take that pain away caused a bit of euphoria. This all happened about 8 months ago, so it was time for another dental cleaning. Yonsei was definitely where I was going to go.

It was easy. I called the day before and was told to just come in, no appointment required. I got there and asked where to go. I was escorted upstairs, even though I asked the woman to just tell me, she insisted leading me upstairs to the second floor. I payed for the initial visit, went back down to the first floor and waited maybe 10 minutes to see a dentist. He checked my medical history and asked me the basics. There was a bit of running for x-rays and a blood pressure check. A thorough exam, including a bit of consulting with senior dentists, proved things were normal to his satisfaction and he put me through a fairly gentle dental scaling. I'm sure some of you have experienced the teeth cleaning that felt like it was done by Marquis de Sade. I've got to say this was almost painless - not completely, but almost. After, I went back to the second floor cashier to pay up for the x-rays and scaling. Virtually painless.

So for those I'm leaving behind and to those that will find this after I'm gone, when you need your teeth cleaned (that's every six months, BTW - yes, the Freakeconmics guys might not agree), try Yonsei's Dental Hospital (click the picture to go to their home page, then click "English" if you need to). It's new, it's huge and you can easily get lost but the basic services are on the first two floors and there are enough staff members who speak enough English to point you in the right direction.

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Repost from the Marmot's Hole: English Teachers and Korean Discrimination in LAT

I'm procrastinating and goofing off on the net when I ought to be packing up.

Anyway, while procrastinating, I found this gem. This is a good one and I'm reposting it because Robert breaks it down with a force that is awesome. I'm closing off comments, so if you've got a comment, take over there. It's just in some tangential way it actually echoes some of what I just said in this post, Confessions.

There’s another thing, too. As bad as the media supposedly is, fucked if I can remember seeing even one op-ed, letter-to-the-editor, etc. written by an English teacher taking said publications to task for their story writing. Sure, I’ve seen it discussed ad nauseum in the Korea Times/Korea Herald, but nowhere Koreans actually read. The fact that this is so may indicate much about the underlying problem — most of those who can bitch in the Chosun Ilbo, etc. don’t feel there’s much to bitch about, and those who bitch the most can’t.

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English Teachers and Korean Discrimination in LAT

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