What I’d Give For a Snow Day! (16 December)

I wake this morning to discover there has been fairly heavy snow overnight.  Looking out of the only outside window I have in my apartment, I’m mesmerized by the pureness of the white snow that has blanketed everything in its sight.  To say that I’m enthralled by the snow is something of an understatement, but seeing everything so white and clean is beautiful and puts me in a good mood as I get ready for school.  The sight that greets me as I leave my apartment building is breathtaking and I can’t help taking photos as I cross the road to school.

Unfortunately, the day ahead isn’t looking quite as beautiful and I soon find myself wishing that Korean schools had snow days like American schools.  Of course, if the snow were so heavy that school were actually cancelled, I probably wouldn’t be wishing quite as fervently as I currently am but a day of no classes would be great considering the amount of work I need to catch up after yesterday’s ‘sick day’.

Since I missed my last debate class with my second graders, I now have to squeeze in two debate topics which proves to be an interesting challenge for both me and the students.  As long as they give some type of an opinion on each topic, I’m happy but I do feel guilty for giving my co-teachers extra work today.  The rest of my classes are not as demanding although I wish I could use the time for other work since the students are currently using class time to practise for the school festival next week.  By the end of the day, I’m a little stressed about the fact that I still need to finish my notes and tasks for the winter camp workbook and that has to be finalised by tomorrow.

My final task before I head home, however, is to edit a short speech for one of my students who is participating in the school’s model UN debate competition on Saturday.  She asks me to leave the speech on Mr Jeong’s desk since she’ll see him later that evening anyway.  As I enter Mr Jeong’s teachers’ room, I notice that he’s not there but someone is sitting at his desk.  When that person turns around, I notice it’s Six-pack who hastily springs from the chair and greets me like a deer caught in headlights.  I’m still uncertain of just how good his English is so I simplify my question of whether or not this is actually Mr Jeong’s desk.  He nods and smiles broadly.  I place the single page on the desk, say a quick thank and attempt to scurry out of the room with flaming cheeks.  As I’m leaving, I hear a very soft, perfectly enunciated “You're welcome” from Six-pack.  I already know he can speak English but I turn around with a look of feigned surprise and respond with a shocked “You speak English?”.  He pulls a face and says, “Just a little” – all with a perfect English accent – so I respond by pointing to myself and saying (in Korean), “Korean, little”  which elicits a rewarding laugh from him as I flee the room and head home.

Hospital Reviews (15 December)

Disclaimer: I am fully aware of the absurdity of writing reviews about hospitals in Korea.  I find it ridiculous that I have been to so many hospitals and had so many tests done that the irony of this post is not lost on me.  Consequently, everything in this post should be taken with more than just a pinch of salt…

I’ve been in Korea just over two months and have been to three Emergency Rooms in the past six weeks.  I’ve never been to an ER prior to moving to Korea so this is starting to seem a little ridiculous.  I jokingly told friends that I should start writing reviews of the different hospitals in Korea so this is exactly what I’m going to do….

Each hospital’s ER will be rated in terms of professionalism, friendliness of staff, thoroughness and overall approach to foreigners.

Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH)

My first ever visit to an ER (both at home and in Korea) was at Seoul National University Hospital.  It was a Sunday afternoon and I arrived at the ER at approximately 16:00. I thought my appendix had burst (it hadn’t).  This was an interesting experience and my induction into the Korean medical approach which sees all patients being placed on a saline drip to re-hydrate them while they await test results.  I’ve since learnt that Koreans tend to get very stressed due to their competitiveness in school and work and long working hours all around so most of them probably need rehydration more than anything else.

I have my blood pressure and temperature taken by a triage nurse (I thought triage was something doctors did in a real emergency situation and only when dealing with hundreds of people but that’s an understanding formed from information gleaned from one too many episodes of Grey’s Anatomy) and am then told to wait to see a doctor.  The doctors were friendly and really tried to help me by speaking in English.  One doctor in particular really went out of his way to try and help me as much as possible and even took the time to personally escort and translate things for me at times.  When I made it clear that I did not want anymore tests done because I didn’t understand why they were being done or the procedures involved, I appreciated his understanding and the fact that the supervisor of the ER then took the time to speak to me, also in English, and do a thorough physical examination before discharging me. 

Rating:  The staff was exceptionally friendly and professional; their thoroughness was overwhelming as they seemed determined to investigate every possible cause for my abdominal pain even if it took all night.  The nurses and doctors went out of their way to assist me and were fairly foreigner friendly.  However, the long wait between tests and consultations is a little overwhelming at times.  Overall: Not a bad ER to go to if you’re in Seoul but you need to be very patient.

Soon Hyung Chang Hospital (SHCH)

The next ER is that of Soon Hyung Chang Hospital in Itaewon, Seoul.  For the details of this visit, please read the following post “New Clothes, New ER, New Embarrassing Experiences”.  This was more of an emergency clinic and it is considerably smaller than that of SNUH.  Since it is much smaller than SNUH – and very quiet despite being a Saturday night in a rougher part of town – the ER was very quiet.  Also, when I arrived there unable to breathe, it was a genuine emergency and not just my hypochondria acting up. 

The staff were quick to respond and attend to me and, initially, I must have had at least half a dozen doctors and nurses attending to me. The nurses were friendly and went out of their way to communicate as much information as possible to me even when they felt uncomfortable in English.  They were also very accommodating of our concern and tried to discharge me as quickly as possible in an effort to help us get home that night. 

Rating: The staff was extremely professional and had the perfect balance (from a Western perspective) between professionalism and friendliness.  They were very thorough in all of their treatment but also very foreigner friendly and patient in understanding all concerns and questions.  Although I’ve been told that Yonsei University’s Hospital is the best place to go, Soon Hyung Chang Hospital was pretty incredible and definitely where I’ll go for emergency medical treatment in Itaewon.

Gunsan Medical Centre (GMC)

The final ER is that of Gunsan Medical Centre which is where I usually go for all doctor appointments since they have an international coordinator and several doctors speak pretty good English.  For the details of this visit, please refer to the previous post “Gunsan Medical Centre’s ER”.

This was perhaps the most disappointing of the three ERs and the most frustrating.  Although they treated and assisted me and were prompt to respond, I still don’t understand why they didn’t call the international coordinator soon after I arrived – or at least at 9:00am when she starts work. The lack of information was especially frustrating!

Rating: The staff is professional but not very friendly.  They’re a bit dismissive of patient concerns and some of the doctors definitely need to work on their bedside manner.  This ER is not as foreigner friendly as those of SNUH and SHCH in Seoul.  In addition, I don’t think GMC was as thorough as the other two hospitals although it is convenient if you live in Gunsan.  Overall, if you have a medical emergency and can make it to Jeonju (approximately 45 minutes away from Gunsan) rather aim for Jeonbuk National University Hospital instead.

Gunsan Medical Centre’s ER (15 December)

I wake much earlier than usual with bad chest pain and I’m startled and scared when I’m not able to get out of bed for nearly 20 minutes.  After all, I’m living in a foreign country where I not only don’t know my neighbours but can’t even communicate with them.  I try to go back to sleep but am unsuccessful so I get up as soon as I’m able to do so and try to distract myself. My head feels like it’s going to explode and, nearly two hours later, I phone my co-teacher to tell her I’ll be in later and drag myself to the ER at the Gunsan Medical Centre.  I also text my Kiwi-mom so that another English speaker knows where I am – I’m not feeling too optimistic at this stage so I’m covering all of my bases.

Hypochondriac

I feel like a hypochondriac going to the ER but it’s too early for any other doctors to be available and I’m starting to wonder if there is something seriously wrong with me.  Part of me wonders if I’m having a mild stroke but I scoff at this as ridiculous considering there is no real history of heart disease in my family and I’m only 28 years old! Still…rather embarrassed than sorry for my paranoia so off I go.  At the ER, I have to attempt to communicate my concerns to nurses who don’t really understand English.  When I see them reaching for the phone, I assume they’re trying to contact the international coordinator (interpreter) who works at this particular hospital. 

Frustration

The usual string of tests follows and I’m once again having blood drawn – Do I even have any blood left at this point? I’m then placed on a drip which is the standard procedure in Korea, and told to wait for a doctor.  When the doctor arrives, I show him the notes that I’ve written down in the hope that his English reading comprehension is better than the average listening and spoken comprehension.  It turns out this particular doctor speaks English fairly well and just has terrible bedside manner.  I spend the next 8 hours in the ER where I have to wait for the drip to finish and a chest x-ray.  The international coordinator arrives late afternoon and tells me that I can go home – without providing any information as to what happened to me or what they even think might be wrong.  The doctor’s given me a prescription for a sedative so it seems that all they think I need is a good night’s rest.  I leave the hospital more frustrated than ever and head back to school to face my co-teacher who is probably thinking I’ve left the country in a hurry.

By the time I get back to school, it’s 16:45 so I go straight to the International Department where I’m bombarded with questions about how I feel.  My honest answer is to burst into tears – tears of worry that I still don’t know what is wrong with me or what happened and tears of frustration at constantly having to seek medical treatment.  I probably am just stressed out but that’s not a very reassuring diagnosis when I don’t quite know how to effectively communicate with a doctor in Korea….

No Lazy Saturday (11 December)

After a rather stressful night, I wake rather early and prepare to meet my Kiwi-mom at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Soryong-dong.  There’s a family doctor (GP) there so it’s a starting point to find out if I’m actually okay or not since I had really bad chest pains yesterday afternoon.  We get to the hospital and we chat while waiting for the doctor.  He speaks a little English so I’ve written down everything for him as suggested by my Kiwi-mom.  An hour later, after doing an ECG, he tells me that everything is fine and if it happens again, I should go to the emergency room at Gunsan Medical Centre – like I really need to visit another ER at this stage of my contract.

I’m not really in the mood for going back to my apartment so I accompany my Kiwi-mom to Lotte mart where she wants to print some photos.  We end up doing a bit of shopping and having coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts before she heads to the hairdresser and I meander around Naun-dong.  I’ve barely said goodbye to her when I receive a text message from Catfish asking if I’ve had lunch yet.  Perfect timing since I’m not only starving but currently on her side of town.  We agree to meet outside of Lotte Cinema and attempt to find the restaurant she’s been telling me about for days.

Hot Dog Soup

In the daylight, the restaurant is only one block away from the Galbi restaurant we went to on Monday night.  Delighted to have finally found the restaurant, we attempt to order food.  It’s a bit of a comedy of errors as Catfish tries to recall what she and the other South African ate the last time she was at this restaurant.  We mistakenly think that we need to order two of something so the server tries to explain that it’s one portion that is shared – he communicates this by showing us that two will give us a large stomach and shaking his head.  We order what we call “Hot Dog soup” which is an interesting combination of vegetables and highly processed meat.  This is all cooked together to create a type of soup.  When we see how much food is served in one portion, we can’t help but laugh and be grateful that charades is at least somewhat successful.

After lunch, we decide we’re in the mood for a movie and the new Narnia installation has just opened so we head back to Lotte Cinema.  We’re in luck: We’re just in time for the next show and we can watch it in 3D.  It’s the first time I’ve been to the cinema here on a Saturday afternoon and today is particularly busy since Narnia has just opened.  I’m excited at the thought of watching my very first 3D movie which Catfish finds amazing.  Now if only we can find the right cinema.

Touring the Cinema

Our last visit to the cinema (on Monday night) had us walking in circles as we attempted to navigate the different floors of the cinema via the elevator.  Today is no different.  We purchase our tickets and head to Ediya Coffee since we have nearly an hour before the movie starts.  When we return, we go through our usual guessing game as to which floor we need to go to – somehow we always choose the second floor  first and only when the doors open to a solid concrete wall do we remember that this is not the correct floor.  We then proceed to the third floor, realise that we’re back in the cinema’s lobby and somehow find ourselves returning to the first floor of the building where the group of girls we passed on our way back from Ediya Coffee are probably commenting on the two strange foreigners who appear to be riding up and down in the elevator for fun.

When we once again reach the lobby of the cinema, Catfish shows our tickets to one of the girls and points to the lobby – the girl confirms that we’re in the right place so we head across to the theatre side of the floor where we proceed to take the escalator to the next floor (the second elevator is where we usually get very lost and end up exiting and re-entering the cinema at least once before finding our theatre).  At the top of the escalator, there is what appears to be a service door which Catfish tries to open.  The Koreans monitoring the security cameras are probably having a good chuckle at the two crazy foreigners at this point.  Three escalators later, we reach the top floor only to be told (in true Korean style – i.e. hands crossed to form an ‘X’) that this is not the right floor so back to the third floor we go.  Finally heading in the right direction (i.e. following the endless stream of kids who are obviously also watching Narnia), we reach the correct escalator where we relax in the knowledge that we’ve found the correct theatre.  When we reach the end of the escalator, however, there’s no space for us to stand.  Feeling like hamsters stepping backwards on a wheel, we are literally running right into the Korean people in front of us who are lined up waiting to get their 3D glasses.

By the time we have our glasses and have found our seats, we’re surprised to discover that we still have a few minutes before the movie begins.  Like any true waegook in Korea, we naturally find cameras to take photos of ourselves wearing the heavy-duty Korean 3D glasses.  As Catfish says of the following photo – Stevie Wonder: South African style…

It’s being snowing while we watched the movie so it’s unbelievably cold by the time we leave.  I’m suddenly wishing that I had brought my jacket with me this morning instead of telling myself that I would only be out for the morning.  Really, after two months in Korea, you’d think I’d know better by now….

Baking in Korea (9 December)

It’s been another long and tiring week but tonight’s Game night has been changed to a baking night.  Our Kiwi-mom has a proper stove and oven in her apartment so she’s invited us to bake a few goodies since we’re unable to do so at our own apartments.  I haven’t had enough time to try and work out where to buy ingredients or something to make so I decide to just assist where needed.  Catfish, however, has come prepared with apples for apple crumble which turns out to be delicious and our Kiwi-mom decides to show us a really easy brownie-type recipe.

The best part of the evening is seeing the apartment decorated with Christmas lights and a proper Christmas tree.  It’s a real home and we all like hanging out in this apartment rather than our own.  Before we know it, it’s 23:00 and time to be heading home.  We’ve tasted the baked goods and our Kiwi-mom is sending us home with extra supplies as usual.  The difficult part is cutting up the delicious ‘brownie’ thing we made – it’s like hacking through iron and requires serious effort on the Canadian’s part while the rest of us comment and document the attack with our cameras.

Close Encounters With Six-Pack (10 December)

Finally, the last day of the exams has arrived and, for the first time this week, I’m not late for school – in fact, I’m at school by 8:45am – so I’m feeling rather relaxed as I head to my teachers’ room confident that I’ll have a few minutes to start up my computer, check messages and figure out which exams I’m invigilating.  I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

As I move to open the office door, it suddenly swings open from the inside and I find myself face-to-face with a very startled Six-pack.  Expecting him to ignore me as usual, I step aside to let him pass only to find him doing the same thing for me.  We have an awkward few seconds before I step through the door and greet him as I pass while another teacher behind him checks the roster for my name.  I’ve barely made it to my desk when she tells me to please follow Six-pack who is currently standing and grinning at me broadly in the doorway.  There’s still another 10 minutes before we need to be in our venues but sure, I don’t mind following Six-pack.  As we start walking up the stairs, he says something to me in Korean while staring at me.  All I can understand is “English” and I’m feeling somewhat bashful looking directly at him – this is the first time we’ve actually had to speak to each other so I feel rather awkward.  Whatever his comment is, it makes the teacher behind us laugh and I’m a bit relieved when he ignores me for the rest of the stairs to the fourth floor. 

When we arrive at the classroom, he holds the door open for me before entering the classroom through the second door.  Once inside, he ignores me which is what I’m accustomed to in these sessions.  With the exam underway, I stand at the back of the classroom where I’ve been told to stand and try not to stare at Six-pack who is one of the most attractive men at school. 

An Intense Hour

The next 50 minutes are the most peculiar by far.  While I now have nearly an hour of nothing to do but admire his beauty, I also feel extremely awkward and don’t quite know where to look.  I find myself looking out the window and fiddling with my necklace while sneaking glances at him and averting my eyes each time he looks up.  About 20 minutes into the exam, I become aware of the fact that he seems to be doing the same thing that I’m doing.  We’re both clearly feeling a little awkward and I can’t help laughing at the absurdity of the situation – which prompts him to laugh too.

He then starts walking around the room which is what I’m used to doing in South Africa but not here.  I also can’t really move from my spot since I’m wearing heels and they make too much noise when I walk so I stand rooted to my spot.  As Six-pack inches closer and closer to me, I find myself holding my breath uncertain of what to expect – if anything.  We have several moments where we happen to catch each other’s eye before looking away and laughing.  As Six-pack passes me, I notice him pause in front of the mirror to fiddle with his hair.  I am suddenly aware that I’m fiddling with my own hair and quickly look for something to occupy my hands.

When he reaches the front of the classroom again, I make a quick assessment of his body language: His chest is facing me, his hands are hanging from the belt loops on his jeans, his feet are both pointing in my direction and he’s standing upright – all really good signs if Western non-verbal flirting clues apply to Korean men too.  He’s definitely showing himself to his best and we seem to make eye contact more and more regularly.  The tension in the room seems to increase as time slows…

Two For the Price of One

Halfway through the exam, the Oh-so-gorgeous Maths teacher appears to ask if the students have any questions about the paper.  He enters the room, bows in greeting to Six-pack, turns automatically to the back of the room to greet the second teacher, sees me and grins broadly (as he’s been doing ever since my students were kind enough to relay to him that I think he’s gorgeous!) while bowing.  I notice Six-pack watching this and can’t be certain if I’m imagining that he seems somewhat deflated by Mr Maths’ appearance.  I don’t understand much Korean but I do know that 7 is “chill” which I find really funny so when I hear Mr Maths say “chill”, I can’t help but smile with joy at recognising a Korean word and laughing at the fact that it’s one of the more humorous words too.  The reaction from the two men is polar opposites: Mr Maths laughs at me while Six-pack retreats further into a corner for reasons I’ll probably never know.

When Mr Maths leaves, the peacocking resumes as Six-pack returns to the status of alpha male.  He and Mr Maths are in the same teachers’ room so he’s probably heard about the comment I mistakenly made about Mr Maths in front of some of my students.  Who knows?  The atmosphere in the classroom is crackling with tension and not only from the students who seem to be writing an awful exam paper if the number of times Mr Maths returns to announce changes is any indication.  By the end of the exam, I’m not sure who is more relieved: the students or teachers.  As I leave the  classroom, a student talks to me: “That was intense!” is all she says to which I cunningly reply, “Yeah, that looked like a tough paper…” and swiftly walk away before she can clarify her statement. 

The rest of the day passes with far less excitement.  Six-pack is constantly in and out of my teachers’ room but doesn’t say a word to me.  My only other conversation for the day is with Mr Jeong who tells me that I’ve done a great job with the journal comments and the students will be very grateful for the amount of detail I’ve provided.  An early afternoon is my reward after a very long and tiring two weeks.  If only I weren’t feeling so ill…

Carefree in the Snow (8 December)

Day two of the final exams starts of slowly.  I have to invigilate two exams today and will be free from 11:00am to concentrate on the journal comments that need more urgent attention.  The first exam seems to pass without much excitement so I’m not really paying attention to anything when I leave the classroom.  I need to ask my co-teacher about something so when I see that she’s in the classroom next door to mine, I wait for her to finish counting the papers and leave the classroom.  As she exits, she grabs my hand turns me around to face the outside window where I see that it has started snowing.  Everything else forgotten, I excuse myself in my excitement of the first snow in Gunsan for this season.  My colleagues have been telling me for weeks that it’s going to snow that I’d almost stopped believing them.

Let it Snow

I fly down the stairs, pausing just long enough to bow and greet all of the teachers I pass in my haste to get outside.  As I skid in my sudden attempt to change direction at the front door, I hear several people laughing at me as I narrowly avoid landing head over heels before charging down the final path to the snow.  The snow is beautiful! It’s soft and fluffy, each snowflake is large yet gentle and it lightly kisses my eager, upturned face as I stand in the parking lot with my arms stretched and staring at the snow in wonder.

This is not the first time I’ve snow – in fact, when I was an exchange student in France I saw a lot of snow – but this is the first time I’m seeing snow fall and I feel like I’ve entered a movie set.  It’s incredible how quickly the snow collects on the ground and I have a sudden urge to make a snowball.  Considering that I ran out of the building without my jacket and gloves, I have to fetch these before playing in the snow.  As I enter my teachers’ room, I’m greeted with amused laughs and surprise as my colleagues take in my snowy appearance – snowflakes still decorate my hair and hug my clothes and eyelashes.  I grab my gloves thinking I’ll cope without my jacket since I only have a few minutes anyway and then I remember that my camera is still in my handbag so I sprint back to my desk to grab it before I’m once again out the door must to the amusement of several other teachers.

Playing in the Snow

So contagious is my enthusiasm for the snow, however, that while I take random photos of the snow around school, several teachers have put on their coats and gloves and are joining me outside in the snow.  When the bell rings for the next exam to begin, I return to my desk long enough to put down my camera and gloves and tell Mr Jeong (who is still laughing at me) that I’ll be standing next to a window for the duration of the next exam.  Fortunately, I’m invigilating an exam with my co-teacher who allows me to stand beside the window and watch the snow outside – she loves the snow as much as I do.  I’m so engrossed in the snow that I’m not really paying attention to what is happening in the classroom.  When I hear the door open, I automatically turn to greet who ever has entered the room and blush profusely when I realise the teacher at the door is Six-pack.  He seems equally surprised to see me and I’m suddenly very self-conscious of the fact that the snow that had clung to me outside had now melted and turned my hair frizzy.  There's nothing that I can do about it at this point so I turn back to my gazing out of the window and studiously avoid his amused gaze on me.

The students finish their physical education paper ridiculously early so the next 30 minutes seem interminably.  I’m overjoyed when my co-teacher tells me that she’ll stay with the students for the rest of the period while I go and play in the snow.  Her only instructions are to take lots of photos which is exactly what I do.  I take photos from every possible vantage point in the school before heading outside.  Within an hour, the snow has melted and there’s no sign of it ever having snowed at all except in my happy expression.

Amusing and Confusing My Colleagues

Much to the continued amusement of my colleagues, I remain enthralled with the snow for the remainder of the day.  I shock them further when I ask Mr Jeong to teach me the Korean word for snow and the expression “It’s snowing!”.  His initial response: “Why do you want to know that?” I feel like a naughty kid for playing in the snow and then asking him to teach me the appropriate Korean expression but he nonetheless complies.  It’s then that I realise how carefully the other teachers in my teachers’ room are listening to the conversation and that I’ve just completely upset their view of me (and foreigners) – I’m not supposed to be interested in Korean language it seems….

Snow makes everything beautiful and it’s difficult to be unhappy when it’s snowing.  Perhaps the snow has made me look very relaxed and happy which is what I hear later in the day. As I walk past one of my second grade students, he comments that he envies me because I look so carefree while he and his peers are sweating it away in self-study sessions preparing for the next day’s exams.  The school passes quickly and I now find myself looking for a way to pass the time until 21:30 when Catfish and I are meeting another Canadian at a new Western bar.  Since neither Catfish nor I know where The Rok is, we agree to meet each other at Ediya Coffee for a chat and moral support.  We’ve been invited to a ladies’ night with several of the other foreign teachers who we have not yet met.

Coffee Encounters and The Rok

When I arrive at Ediya Coffee, I realise that the next hour is probably going to be a ‘token foreigner’ moment.  There is a group of Korean guys sitting at the corner table and two Korean guys behind the counter which means that not only are we the only women in the coffee shop but we’re also foreign – something they’re very much aware of too it seems.  As we try to order something to drink, we’re aware of the heckling that this crowd seems to be doing – everything we say is followed by seemingly suggestive comments and the guy behind the counter is not looking comfortable at the moment.  Catfish and I talk about the snow while we wait and, when she struggles to remember the Korean word that she learned today, she decides to play on the foreigner card and bounces over to the table of guys to ask them.  Whether they’re amused or surprised by this, I don’t know but, by the time we leave Ediya Coffee, they bid us farewell.

The new Canadian is very bubbly and lots of fun.  She drives Catfish and I to The Rok which is completely empty apart from the foreigners we’re meeting tonight.  It’s an interesting mix of people and a lot of fun but 21:30 is a bit late to be starting a night out during the school week so by 23:30, we’re ready to call it a night with promises to get together again soon.