Let it Snow...

So, today was the first day it snowed in Busan! I like to think of it as a late Christmas gift. I’m convinced the reason it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be to get through Christmas here (apart from being away from family) was because there wasn't any snow. As soon as one of the kids in my classroom hollered "Snow, teacher, snow!" I couldn't help but feel far away from home. It was like seeing a little piece of home which made me instantly miss it. I started to tell my students that my parents have a few feet of snow at their house and that they have to go outside with shovels and a snow plow to make room to park their car. I was depicting it on the board with my markers as best as I could. They were so interested in what I had to say that they couldn't take their eyes off me. And trust me, for this class, having their full attention was especially rare. The only thing they had trouble understanding was when I told them that you can walk on top of a few feet of snow and not fall through because of the different layers being compacted into one solid mound. They were truly amazed and in awe by it... the look on their faces was priceless cause they just didn't understand why you wouldn't fall through.  

As I sit here at school, I can see still see the flakes outside the window. They look like they would take a while to melt on your tongue, they're that big. The snow comes in waves of barely there, to obviously snowing, to not there at all. I don’t think they’ve ever had enough snowfall to accumulate anything on the ground, atleast here in Busan anyways. It makes me wonder what the foreigners from non-snowing places think when they come to school in Canada and see snow for the first time (in massive quantities, at that). My hairdresser here lived in Canada for 5 years and said that at first she loved the snow because she had never seen the likes of it before, but then quickly got tired of it (like most) and doesn't miss it at all now that she's been back. Most of my friends think i'm crazy for loving the snow so much - but there's just something so clean and pure about it that warms me from the inside out. Maybe it just reminds me of Marshmellows and Hot Chocolate - who knows:)  

As a side note, I've always wanted to visit the Hôtel de Glace in Quebec. I remember seeing it on a "unique getaway" show and have been curious about it ever since. The same show covered lodging located high amongst the trees in Costa Rica, which I found to be equally intriguing. There are so many places I want to experience! For now though, I think I have a good plan to pay off my debt and then take it from there. After taking this leap, I don't think i'll ever know what's in store for me until it actually happens now. Happy Trails... and Merry Christmas!! I'll leave you with the pictures I took at Nampo-dong (the outdoor market - which for the record wasn't an eighth as busy as it was the day I originally went) and a Christmas letter to Santa that one of my students wrote in one of my classes.

Dear Santa,

Hello. My name is Timmy. I know that you have a Rudolf sled. I know some good parking lots you can put your sled in for free. I want to ask you some questions. Where were you born? How do you make the presents? How old are you? What do you do in the summer? I’ll leave you some milk and cookies and Rudolf some vitamins because you’re heavy. Finally, show me the money! Good bye.

Sincerely,

Timmy

Doctor, Doctor, give me the news!

So I had my first medical experience today. I came down with a sore throat and a swollen gland the other day, no less something I caught from the millions of germ filled hands I come in contact with in the run of a day. Being the person that I am, the first thing I did when I woke up with it was take out my trusty wind up flash light and check things out. I knew right away this ailment wasn’t going away quickly on its own. So, when I went to school that day, I asked around to find out how I go about seeing a Doctor. One of the other foreign teachers helped me find a local hospital that was close to where I lived and I asked a Korean teacher to write down my symptoms so I wouldn’t have to struggle through sign language and the frustration of not being able to speak the same language. I was all set.

The hospital was easy enough to find and really close to my house. When I got in, there were probably three dozen people sitting in the waiting area. I grabbed a number and waited to the side. They give out numbers at most places here, which works well. It wasn’t five minutes before my number was called. I went up to the registration counter and she handed me a form that was translated in English... how convenient! I filled out what I could on the form (which was basically just my name since I have no idea what my address is, I don’t have Korean Health care yet, and I currently don’t have a phone number). She was completely understanding of me being oblivious to everything.  She even left her station to take me by the arm up a few floors to where the Doctors have their consultations. On top of that, she actually apologized for not having better English. I couldn’t help but think how different it would be if I was a foreigner in Canada going into a Hospital with little to no information or ability to communicate. As bad as it sounds, I’m positive I wouldn’t get the same treatment. I’ve learned it’s partly because Korean’s are very proud and want foreigners to have the best opinion of their Country and also because they seem to genuinely look out for one another “Do on to other’s” as they say. Anywho, when I got upstairs there was a slightly smaller room with people waiting. From what I could tell, there were three examination rooms off the reception counter in the middle. The woman from downstairs told the reception desk my name and I took a seat. I started to read a book my old co-workers bought for me titled “Never trust a smiling bear”. It’s full of anecdotes from short and long distance travellers alike. I was one story in when the woman from behind the reception desk came over to take my temperature (no fever in sight) and my blood pressure. I was three stories in when she called me to the examination room. When I went inside, the first thing I noticed was that it was large and comforting, with plants and homey knickknacks. There was also a man sitting behind a computer at a desk. He welcomed me and I sat in the backless chair next to him. His English was broken, but good. He listened to my heart and looked down my throat, then typed some things into his computer and said he would give me a prescription. I thought he was going to write something down so I waited awkwardly but then he signed for me to go back out the door I had come in. I must have only been in there for five minutes tops. When I came up the woman from the reception desk guided me out to another desk. I wondered about my prescription, but figured they knew what they were doing since I’ve only been in their country for a month and they’ve probably been doing this longer than I’ve been living. Buddy from behind the desk signed me to sit. Not two minutes later he called my name. He said “Prescription” as he printed something from his desktop and handed it to me. Everything is done by networked computers; from registering downstairs to the receptionist in the clinic, to the Doctor’s computer, to the prescription desk. My prescription looked long, but I didn’t question it. I wondered at this time how much this speedy experience was going to cost me. The Korean teacher from my school said that without proper Korean Health care it was going to cost me five times more. She said that I should worry though because I would get the money back as soon as I get my health card. The prescription guy got his calculator out and typed in some numbers. To my surprise, the consultation came to a grand total of 13,500won ($13.50). Are you kidding me? Again, I didn’t question it.

I found my way to the pharmacy which wasn’t far from the hospital. I hesitated going in since there is no way of telling it’s a pharmacy from the outside. Most of the signs here are in Korean for things like that (to be expected). I semi-remembered one of my friends here telling me where it was before, but I wasn’t certain. When I walked in I almost walked back out because I thought I saw a Korean version of Raid on one of the shelves, but figured I’d give it a shot. I went up to the counter and hesitated to gave the woman my prescription. Really, the worst she could do was give me a puzzled look and I would just go in search of another place that semi-resembled a pharmacy. Thankfully she took it and gestured for me to take a seat.  About five minutes later my prescription was ready. It was an array of pills sectioned off by dose. I suddenly had a flash back to when I was six and use to watch Grampy with his gently used, pale yellow, 7 section pill container, and how he use to put all his different colored (and sized) pills for the week in. He kept his container in the cupboard above the kitchen table. It was the same cupboard that Nan use to keep her cards and jar of pennies for betting in. My favorite thing to do was empty out the jar of pennies and see what other random things found their way in. The memory was so vivid, I could almost smell copper pennies mixed with the smell of smoke and turkey that always seemed to linger in their apartment. It was definitely a moment in time for me:) Slowly, I came back to reality. I don’t even like taking pills for headaches, what am I going to do with a whole salad of pills? The pharmacist started to go through them... two kinds of pain killers, something for my stomach, something for my sinuses, something for a headache, something for everything, oh, and the antibiotic that I had originally gone in to get! Maybe i’m sicker than I thought, or maybe the note the Korean teacher gave me said “give her the foreigner special”... that’ll cover everything!  My immediate after thought was, holy crap, how am I going to pay for this? And, do I really need everything? I asked how much and the pharmacist got out her calculator to show me. The whole thing came to 23,000won ($23) without a drug plan and it probably took me a total of 45 minutes to get in to see a Doctor and to get my prescription – including walking time. Seriously.... how much more efficient can you get?  

I can tell you one thing, I’m not exactly sure what all those pills where, but after I took my first dose, I felt as good as new - everything was “Irie” from them on, as Jamaican’s say.  It’s just interesting how I had a certain view of how the healthcare here would be and what it actually is. As far as I can tell, it’s better than anything I’ve encountered before. Hopefully my experience will open up your eyes too :P

My Apartment

When I first walked into my apartment I was greeted by four cleaning ladies busy at work. My landlord was supervising them as they were perfecting the job they had just done. My landlord is a funny little woman that talks a mile a minute, as if I understand everything she says. Language barrier aside, she seems a bit cookie, but I know she means well. My second meeting with her was to fix my cable/internet. She kept patting on my bed to get me to sit down as she kept talking and running around my place. As you can see from the pictures, it’s not very big so it’s not hard to imagine how much you could feel the energy radiating from her body. I find it hard to tell how old Asians are, but I can say with confidence that she’s old. Her son was the one doing the fixing, and I think he was in his mid 40’s. In the mists of my landlord talking, she stopped and to look at me, laughed, and then gave me a hug. She probably said “Dear, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about”... she was definitely right about that one.  

My apartment is a lot newer and bigger than I first pictured it to be. As soon as you walk in, there’s a little area to put your shoes, then a small step up into the main area. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my bed is a double. It’s still as hard as a rock, but it works. I have an armoire, two other storage units, a desk, and a dining table. As you can see in the picture, I’m using my dining table to prop up my mirror – A girls got her priorities. Both the dining table and desk are used without a chair. This is the same at some restaurants too. My back was killing me my first week cause even when there are chairs most aren’t equipped with backs. I’m still getting use it that one, but I bet it’ll work wonders for my yoga poses!

My kitchen has sliding frosted doors to get into, and another set of sliding frosted doors on the outside wall that oversee the “Mart” next door. It has metal bars as a barrier so I don’t fall out which conveniently double as a drying rack. Oh, and the washer is in my kitchen too. As far as the window goes, I don’t keep it open much on account of the air that will come in - I think I already mentioned what that smells like L but the weather is still nice enough during the day that I can if I wanted to. I also have a microwave, which I’m quite happy about, and a gas stove top to cook whatever my little heart desires. The fridge is more like a bar fridge so I’m having a little trouble fitting as many condiments in there as I’m use to. One thing I miss is an oven and a dryer... I’m told that they are rare and are only for people with lots of money. I still haven’t met anyone that has one. When you really think about it, they do consume a lot of energy and are more of a convenience than anything. Maybe I’ll have to invest in a toaster oven!   

The washroom is small and a little awkward, but it’s still nice and bright. The only thing that’s really different is the shower, as you can see from the picture. The entire room transforms into a shower with the flip of a switch. That’s right, I have a drain in the middle of the room and I shower right next to the john. It was a little odd to get use to at first, but now it just seems normal. It’s great to be able to shower and brush my teeth at that same time! And cleaning it is so much easier. I’m actually surprised the style hasn’t caught on in North America – or atleast a variation of it. Another thing that I’m surprised hasn’t caught on is using scissors to cut things in the kitchen. I use scissors to cut almost everything now, from meats to vegetables to fruit, it’s great!

I’ve saved the best part of my apartment for last. It’s how it’s heated. Three words; in floor heating - it’s amazing. You know how great it feels when you put on a pair of pyjama’s when it first comes out of the dryer... imagine getting into clothes everyday with that same feeling. I try to put out what I’m going to wear the next day on the floor the night before. It warms them up which is especially nice now that it’s getting colder outside. I’m sure even parents would encourage keeping clothes on the floor once they’ve felt the toasty warmth which coming from their clothes. It’s especially nice when I’m sitting on the floor watching tv or I’m on my computer – keeps my buns nice and toasty!

That’s about it for the likes of my apartment!  I'll leave you with a picture of the Christmas wreath I made the other night. Until next time... J