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I think that's an interesting twist. I'm sure it's not exclusive to expats in Korea, but, being someone who has done a couple of big moves before, I know I've never experienced this. Maybe it's a feature that is present in other expat communities. I don't know, but if you have experiences like this with other ones, let me know. However, when I moved to San Francisco for law school, folks were supportive, wished me well and assured me I could come home to open arms. When I moved from San Francisco to Korea, in what I thought would be a year or two of adventure overseas, pretty much the same thing happened. I mostly had well-wishes from friends and family but sometimes there was concern as San Francisco to Korea is much further away than L.A. to San Francisco.
All-in-all when I move on, things are pretty standard. The Koreans I know provide the litmus test here. With them, it is heartfelt goodbyes, well-wishes and sincere promises to try to make our paths cross again. However, with some in the expat population something else is happening.
What I've noticed is I say I'm going and, depending on who I'm talking to, I end up getting a confession. The person will start telling me why they're staying and giving me tons upon tons of information that feels oddly inappropriate and, in some sense, insecure.
I've also gotten people launching into attacks of the foreign population here. I know I've made my quips about not missing certain types of people, but, I know that there are some I will miss. I've not made my dislike for some a secret; I have no love for particular types foreigners here. However, I do realize that people are here for a range of reasons. Some are bitter losers but others are new graduates looking for adventure and a way to put a dent in their student loan debt. 
It's a concentrated population for sure, but there is a spread that goes from pathetic to surprisingly impressive and inspiring. There are some unique and interesting stories with some. With others, not so much. However, what it comes down to with some of the odd responses is that I've gotten is the feeling that some feel that they're closer to the pathetic end of the spectrum and feel more trapped than anything. That's interesting but also sobering and sad.
Considering all the mess foreigners talk about Korea, what's also interesting is when I say I'm going someone tries to sell me on reasons to stay. These are often the very same people who just a few minutes before were talking mess about the frustrations that come with living in Korea. I've been here for a number of years. I KNOW both the pluses and minuses of living here as a foreigner. I guess that flip and hard sell is a particular strain of misery loves company. But that always has me thinking "wait, if it was so terrible last week or five minutes ago, what's changed and why are you trying to sell me on staying?" I'm known to be a pretty happy expat. I have my gripes and bad days, but I'm not one to go on an extended bitch-fest about life here. I've always known that when and if it became unbearable,
The economy is another reason people give me to consider. While it is a concern, I think I'll be fine. I know the current economic situation is definitely stirring up fear. Actually, that's part of the problem, a loss of the public's confidence in the markets. Things in the States and worldwide are overwhelmingly intimidating. Korea is an export driven economy. No one is buying, so demand for goods has plummeted. The Korean won is weak, but, trust me, it's going to stay weak to make Korean products the better buy against its competitors. (I know there is more to it than that, but that's one feature of it.)
What that means for people earning Korean won is anyone who transfers money has taken a big pay cut. That's just a long-winded way of saying, the economy isn't really an issue because, even if I stayed, I'd be making less. I might as well go home and see how things go for me there. There will be tough economic times no matter what country I'm in.
It's just interesting that these confessions reveal much more about the speakers than I suspect they realize. Many around me have made my imminent departure about them and make me feel like Oprah. Unfortunately, it's being an Oprah without the couch jumping celebrity confessions and the fat paycheck.
With one week to go, my Blackberry arrived :) I knew I'd get it today, so I went out and bought an 8GB micro SD card for it yesterday. It's charging now and I'll set it up later. Of course, no calls until I'm back home, but that's going to be in just a few days. Yeah!!!
I'm that much of a geek that I have to be plugged in when I touch down.
Update 1: I went to install the memory card I got for it and saw that it came with, get this, a 256MB card. Hahahahahahahahaha...256MB!!! Yes, I'm geeky enough that 256MB is laughably low memory for me.
The card I have comes with a regular sized SD adapter, so I put the tiny memory card in my camera as a backup.
My OB/GYN was female, as I requested, and her English was pretty decent. She talked me through the exam and caught that I'd not had a mammogram in over five years. It was time for another one. The nurse sped me off to pay for the exam and then took me to the exam room. The exam tech was really friendly and was honest that it was going to hurt. It did. Ouch. I have my final appointment with my endocrinologist tomorrow, so I had to go to give them what they needed for a bunch of lab tests. Then it was off to my scheduled eye exam. For those that don't know, diabetes wreaks havoc on your blood vessels, internal organs and also messes with your heart. That's why it's really important for diabetics to keep their blood sugars in as normal a range as possible. As a result, diabetics ought to do yearly eye exams. Not just the ones where you look at a chart but the unpleasant one that requires your pupils to be dilated. That way the doctor can literally get a good look inside to see if there is any diabetic retinopathy (eye damage from diabetes). Right now, that's the phase I'm in. My pupils are dilating, and I've got to refocus every minute or so because I'm sitting here typing on my laptop. So, for those that don't know, it's worth saying again. At least on the university hospital level, medical care here is modern, affordable and efficient. Like any system, there are frustrations and glitches. It's not perfect. I went to one clinic that really did cut corners to the point that all I did was walk in, say what I needed and walked out with a prescription. That's dangerous. Also, a lot of doctors here have a God-complex, so their listening skills aren't the greatest. They're not really used to a pro-active patient.. They're much more used to telling a patient what's wrong with them and not being questioned. In contrast, I'm the sort of person who gets out and does the research so I know a fair bit about the latest research regarding the two conditions I have. Those are the most irritating points, but there are doctors with God-complexes back home. At least here I can afford to see a doctor. As a whole, the system is much easier to navigate and much more accessible in terms of cost. The worst thing would be communication issues. If you don't speak Korean, it can be a problem. If you speak Korean, it can be frustrating because almost everyone assumes you've got no clue. Today I had a doctor express pure shock that I could read her name in Hangul even though she could see from my chart that I'd been here for a few years. (I'm sorry but how dumb must a person be to not know how to read Korean after being here that long?) However, I've learned to just smile, realize they're doing their best and try not to take things at more than face value. It's worked well for me. I've blogged about having a scratched cornea and having excellent service. I've blogged about other positive experiences here as well. Being someone with experience in both the US and Korean health care systems, I've got to say Korea slays the US in terms of accessibility. When I was at Ewha, I didn't have the public health insurance card and I could afford to pay out of pocket for my medical exams, tests and medicines. I could never afford that out of pocket in the States for two years. I truly think the US system is a travesty. How can such a developed nation have so many people who don't have access to basic health care? With that said, I'm not looking forward to wandering back into the morass that is the US medical system, especially in this crap economy. However, it comes with going home and having two chronic conditions to manage. The fact is, I can't avoid it even if I wanted to. 
