I am a Proponent of Privatized Medicine Due to the Following:

Unlike many Saturdays, today was intended for efficient productivity. I awoke this morning at 6:30 am and was on the elliptical trainer at the gym by 7:00. After exercise, I came home to shower and head towards an area called Sinchon. The reason for my adventure to Sinchon early this morn was because through my employer-granted insurance, I was entitled to a free doctor's examination which included blood, urine and x-ray tests. Just to ensure that I am in working order and it was free of charge, I thought it was a good idea to have done. This test was only available at Sinchon Leader's Hospital. What is absolutely hilarious is that the name of the hospital is in English, yet not one of their employees are capable of speaking English. It was the epitomy of what "Leaders" in healthcare should be.

I made it to Sinchon on an old rickety bus by 9:45 a.m. I arrived to the hospital by 10:45 a.m. Completely shank directions to this establishment were given to me and I stopped for directions approximately five times. Now, I was positive this hospital was on a particular street. Each person I asked for directions, or "helpers" told me to walk down (in opposite directions) for 5 minutes. After dealing with those five Koreans who passed along completely false information, I hailed down a cab driver. I showed him my paper with the Korean name of this place. Surprise! I was in the cab for 50 seconds and my total was still $2.40. Whatever. I hopped out of the scam car and found myself in a fairly low-end healthcare facility. Another surprise, 1st floor did not host the reception desk or signs...in English (aka current "Language of the World"). I pressed the "Up" button on the elevator and decided to take a guess and head to the 4th floor. Hand motions and slow talking with employees wearing scrubs directed me to the 2nd floor. The document which had the service I was to receive was crumbled and sad looking. Anyway, I handed that to the receptionist. In return, she gave me another document asking health history and personal information. This was anticipated, the only problem is that I do not read, speak, hear or understand Korean. Excuse me for saying this, but I was entirely prepared to punch someone's face.

I was told to sit down (not escorted nor directed). A woman then summoned me and I followed her to the desk of the meanest, baldest little Korean man I've ever met. He gave me a cup to conduct the urine sample. He scribbled Korean on the cup, and I am positive that it translated to "Stupid girl with orange hair." I went to the restroom and while I took a deep breath and tried to reassure myself that this bizarre "healthcare" situation would be over in 20 minutes, my hands forgot they were holding my pee cup and I dropped it in the toilet.

With my head hung low and troubled because I had no idea how to tell this mean little Korean man that I dropped my pee cup in the toilet, I went back to his desk. He gave me the eye, did not understand a word I had told him and proceeded to stick me with a needle for the blood sample. Next, he scooted me in to have my height and weight measured. After that, he threw me at the woman who took x-rays. After the x-ray, low and behold, this mean little man found an English speaker.

She said, "And where is your urine sample?

I replied "It fell in the toilet."

"Why did you do that?"

"It was completely unintentional. How difficult is it for you to give me another pee cup?"

Seriously. I wanted to find that same cab driver to rip me off again and drive me to the airport with nothing but the clothes on my back.

The woman hurled another pee cup my way and I went to the bathroom. I have never had this problem in my life, but today when I was told to pee on command, it totally wasn't happening. I felt like an abused animal at the circus who was whipped and cursed at (in Korean) and then told to sit, beg, do a somersault and then urinate into a cup.

I finally produced 3 cm. of urine for the mean little bald man and ran out of Sinchon Leader's Hospital like the dancing monkey who escaped the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

This, my friends, is my essay of complete distaste for socialized medicine.

Teaching and Costco...Love or hate?

It has been almost a month since I had my last entry, so I shall recap. Throughout the month of May, highlights have included; having been flowered with gifts for Teacher's Day, I attended an employee retreat with my co-workers, experienced a phenomenal night view along the Han River (Hangang) and ventured to Costco. These experiences have been wonderful to say the least, however I will not stifle my tone of excitement for I have ten work weeks remaining in Seoul!

Teacher's Day happened first amongst the array of events. Teacher's Day was equivalent to...Christmas. Aside from Christ's birth, the amount of gifts I received on this day aroused a tickle of Yuletide cheer inside my heart and made me consider re-signing for an additional year. Then, I came to the realization that such gifts would not be given to me on a daily, or even weekly, basis. Also, I contemplated the crying, whining, bloody noses, tattle-tales and fighting between students that I deal with...therefore no, I'll be home at the end of August. The fabulous items bestowed upon me included soap, shampoo, lotion, pizza, make up and gift certificates. The parents of my students were very generous and of course, I will put forth my best efforts in making fluent English speakers out of their offspring before I depart for the motherland.

The joyous holiday was quickly followed by a retreat provided for all SLP Yongsan and Mapo employees. Mr. and Mrs. Yang transported us on school buses (in seats intended for 20 kilogram students) to an herb farm called Herbnara. En route to this earthy venue, the previous president of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun had committed suicide by jumping off of a cliff near his home in Bongha. He was under corruption allegations and many of his friends and family members were on trial alongside him. Two friends of mine were strong supporters of President Roh's administration and it has been very interesting speaking with them about the issues of his presidency and suicide.

Anyway, Herbnara was about 3 1/2 hours outside of Seoul. When we arrived, all of the teachers from both schools met in a conference room. Later, the foreign teachers and Korean teachers parted ways to have discussions pertinent to our individual teaching experiences. The owner of Herbnara is a close friend of Mrs. Yang and we were consequently scheduled to stay at this venue the same evening as a very popular music artist, Lee Moon Sae. After plenty of soju that Saturday evening, Mr. Yang proceeded to inform me that the owner attempted to re-schedule the SLP gathering so Lee Moon Sae could stay in our executive lodgings, however Mrs. Yang would not budge. Now, I am very thankful to the Yangs for holding us in such high regards, but tell me, is this Lee Moon Sae character the caliber of say Bruce Springsteen (high) or Nick Lachey (very low)? I'd really like to know. Our time at Herbnara consisted of eating, bonding, drinking and bus riding. I thoroughly enjoy the time with my co-workers, but a weekend of rest and relaxation in my bed (not the floor) is the ultimate.

On a Tuesday evening a couple of weeks ago, my friend Sang Ho took me on a ferry boat ride along the Han River (Hangang). The view was tremendous at night because all of the lights of the city made it amazing! I really need to make it a point to do more Korean things while I'm in Korea...that's why this was a perfect activity. The boat left at 9 p.m. and it ran for approximately an hour. Where I am living is also very close to the river and I enjoy walking or bike riding on the path which runs alongside the river. At this time of the year, the mosquitos are in abundance, but the weather is so nice in the evenings this time of year!

Costco was the most bittersweet experience I've had in South Korea thus far. First, you probably know, I love American things, particularly food. Costco is a haven for people such as myself who have about had it with octopus legs (which I will not eat) and other bizarre cuisine eaten in this land. I hauled my Latina self and my South African friend, Miranda, to Costco last Saturday. My shopping list included: tortillas, cheese, avocados, pineapple, Fiber One bars, V8 and Coke Light. I have ranted about tortillas before, every care package I receive contains tortillas and I cuddle up in my sarape blanket from Mexico every night. I can't shake my Hispanic roots. Cheese and avocados are vital with tortillas and I could live on those three ingredients for the rest of my life. Pineapple is my favorite fruit in the world and I consumed almost a whole pineapple in less than three days. The three remaining items on my list are things that I love and are very convenient when I'm "on the go." Liquor at an acceptable cost is also available at the Costco warehouse if you're curious. I was, so I slipped a little vodka into my cart for the weight of my cart to be balanced. I have finished telling you why Costco fulfilled "sweet" feelings, now I shall go on to describe why it was "bitter" as well.

Saturday is by far the most heinous day in Seoul when it comes to doing shopping or walking in public areas. I will not fib, for there are some weekends when I want to be reclusive in my little American apartment and forget that I am in Asia. That is another reason I went to Costco...I wanted to forget that rice is a staple food and that western items exist. On Sunday, I awoke with bruises because of the amount of shopping carts that slammed into me during my shopping adventure. Just a peek into my cart made my mouth water, so much in fact that I scurried to the check out. Surprise! Cash only! My ability to work under pressure and make instantaneous decisions is strong (just see my cover letter I wrote for job applications). My keen instinct noticed an ATM right outside of the check out so, I omitted the avocados and vodka that had been tightly gripped by my white knuckles, quickly hurled the correct amount of won at the cashier, shimmied to the ATM, did a round-about and low and behold, I was back in line with another pack of avocados and bottle of vodka. Whew. If that doesn't make you sweat, I don't know what would.

That about sums up my most recent Korean experiences. Oh, I also included a night scene of the Han River, but I didn't take it, so please do not feel obligated to "ooh and ahh." I hope all is well and I'll try to blog more often :)

See you soon!