Dazed by a Day

So there are good days and bad days, but some days are both. Yesterday was both.

The day day started well. I slept in, I got lots of cleaning done (everything in my apartment now sparkles), I did some well deserved relaxing, and I decided to go into town. My plan: catch the 3:40ish bus into town, transfer at the terminal onto another bus that would take me into Sarabongsan, climb to the top of the mountain, have a nice picnic, read a good book, and watch the sunset. Let's just say things did not go exactly according to plan.

I made the first bus, but when we got to the terminal it was going to be 30 minutes before the next bus was going to show. I decided that I could just walk to the mountain; I'd done it before. And I forget just how far it was. I wasn't a difficult walk, just one that takes an hour and a half. I finally made it to Sarabong Mountain. I had made it past the point of exhaustion and was feeling confident that I could make it up the mountain straightaway. I was wrong. Long story short, if you're going to walk for an hour and a half, wait 5 minutes before climbing a mountain, even a little one. Eventually, after much effort, I made it to the top. And I was just in time to see the sunset.

These sunsets are the reason I love going to Sarabong. It may be my favorite place on the island. You can see the whole city and watch the planes fly out from the airport. It's quiet at the top. And there's a friendly atmosphere as families, hikers, and the elderly made the climb up to the top to watch the sunset. As I was getting ready to descend I saw something very interesting. A large, black rabbit.

I have no idea what he was doing there, but he's the first real wildlife that I've seen since coming to Korea. I followed him around for a while, which confused to locals, but I was pretending that I was Alice and he was going to lead me to Wonderland... and then I realized that I was already there!

Yesterday I had a grand total of three human interactions (not counting my Skype chats with some of my favorite people). Not that that's good or bad. First, as I was heading downhill to the bus stop (munching on a very tasty cinnamon sugar roll) a truck pulled up along side me and the driver, a middle aged ajussi, shouted out the window at me, "You are very beautiful!", which was very nice of him. I responded "Mfmbft mwoo!" because I had just shoved a big bite of sugar roll into my face. But he understood.

Second, once I boarded the bus, I found that there were lots of empty seats, but people were usually sprawled, sleeping, or had set their bags in the "empty" seats beside them. I resigned myself to standing, but a young, pretty female student from the Tourism College moved her bags so I could sit next to her. And I said, "Thank you!" Clearly this time.

Third, when I was leaving Sarabong, I was walking along the sidewalk and a young student was coming towards me with his mother. He ran up and shouted "HELLO!!!" and I enthusiastically said "HELLO!!!" right back. His mother thought it was adorable. He wasn't even one of my students. Just a friendly kid.

So yesterday was a pretty good day for me. However, it was a bad day for some of my favorite Kpop groups. You might not care much, and it won't really affect my life terribly, but it was disappointing news to get.

First, it was announced that U-KISS' maknae rapper, Dongho, is going to leave the group. I love U-KISS, they're definitely one of my favorites. Dongho isn't a critical member, but he is definitely one of the popular ones. U-KISS is already struggling with their popularity levels in Korea. While they are fairly well liked abroad they're not that popular here. I'm hoping that the rest of teh group can really pull together and keep producing the same awesome music of which here is a sample:

The second bit of bad news came from the more obscure group DMTN. DMTN has had a rough road. They debuted as Dalmatian, kind of a last chance group of talented failures in the industry, but never really made it big. They have undergone a lot of member changes since debuting as well as company changes. One of the most talented members from the beginning was Daniel. He has an amazing voice and has sung with some of the best. But, he was just sentenced to one year in prison for selling marijuana 4 times. Korea is very strict about drug use and distribution, especially around idols; they make them an example in many cases to deter the average joes from dealing or using. I don't know how DMTN is going to pull through. They were already struggling, but I really hope this isn't the last we see of them.

A Trip to the Hospital

I would like to preface this blog by saying that I am now 110% and that my mother knew well in advance (I love you Mom <3 [and Dad]).

So I discovered that the Korean healthcare system is very different from our own firsthand last Monday (I know I should have told y'all about it sooner but I've been sleepy [read lazy] and I've written it a thousand times in my head). To make a long story short, I found myself in increasingly intense pain and I knew what I needed to make it better. Home remedies weren't working, so a trip to the doctor it was. But they don't really do private practitioners here. If you're sick you go to the hospital. I knew exactly where the hospital was, I pass it everyday going to and from work. I knew where the Health Clinic for Foreigners was (third floor, friendly lot but don't count on proficient  English speakers). I suffered through the weekend and by Sunday night, when nothing had changed other than to get worse, I decided I had to bite the bullet and make a trip into the hospital.

I'll easily admit that I was not looking forward to the trip. Yes, the pain would end, but I've never had a good experience at a hospital (has anyone?). I knew it was going to be a solo trip, and while I do speak some Korean, the extent of my terminology around the topic of hospitals is the word hospital (which isn't very helpful once you're inside).

So Monday morning I get up, I'm nearly immobilized, but I have classes to teach and I can't let the other teachers down. The whole way to school I'm thinking: It's just one class full of second graders then I can leave and get this straightened out. I get to school and I'm going to request an early leave when my co-teacher informs me that there's been a change in the schedule. I was now teaching the other 2nd grade class for the day and at the very end of the day we would have an open lesson (meaning all faculty and parents could attend). So leaving at 10 was out of the question. I threw together a quick plan for my 2nd graders and I knew immediately it wasn't going to be easy. I had been dreading climbing up to the second floor and now I was going to have to sing and dance Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. I made it to the classroom, I made it through the "lecture", and started dancing. It was pretty obvious very quickly that small Korean children LOVE Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. And by love I mean that they wanted to sing and dance to it on repeat for 15 minutes. And they were so happy that I couldn't say no. So I put on a smile and hobbled my way through Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes an ungodly number of times. After class I slunk back downstairs to my desk at the back of the classroom. Luckily, it was Byeongon's day to teach the 3rd graders so I could just observe. After a short while I realized that the pain was gone! Ta-da! Cured by Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. I was debating calling the whole trip to the hospital off, but I knew if I didn't go things could go from bad to worse.

We succeeded in our open lesson, and when 2 o'clock rolled around I went to the hospital. I found my way up to the 3rd floor, found the Foreigner's Office, conveyed to the nurses approximately what I needed, they handed me over to an English speaking doctor in the office (who knew that Michigan had lakes and black people [where do they learn these things]). He promptly told me I was in the wrong place (go figure) and he had a friendly nurse escort me to the proper office. I went right in chatted with that doctor (who spoke a little less English but we managed), and he wrote me a perscription. After a quick stop by the Foreigner's Office (again), and another friendly nurse showing the lost foreigner where to go, I found my way to the cashier. I paid, received my paperwork, and was given directions to the nearest pharmacy (right next door).

The exact same reason for a visit in the States would take more than 4 hours and would cost at least $150 USD after the insurance company had a whack at it. This trip took a little over... 30 minutes. And my grand total bill for consulting with TWO doctors, an exam, and the drugs they prescribed (an anti-biotic, a pro-biotic, and an anti-inflammitory) all cost me 10,000 won... approximately $10 USD. When Byeongon asked me the next day "How was your trip to the hospital?" I told him it was amazing because it absolutely was!! I still had all afternoon to recover, I still had money in my wallet, and the service was truly five stars. And! To top it all off, on my way home I stopped by a hair salon and played with the biggest, fluffiest, friendliest white dog imaginable, which was exactly what I needed (the ice cream helped too).

I can now say that I have no fear for any future trips to the Korean hospital system. Koreans seem to go there a lot and now I understand why! It's great! I can't believe we can't have something as amazing as this in the states! If you're in Jeju and you find yourself in need of medical treatment I would highly recommend Halla Hospital. You'll be in for a treat!

On a different note, here's your dose of Kpop culture! I decided to stick with the hospital scene (even if it's a bit different sort of institution) and do a bit of a throwback! Co-Ed School is the only group I know of that has both guys and girls. Unfortunately, the group has been split into two groups. The guys now promote as Speed and the girls as 5 Dolls. Anyhow,