Drivers in Korea

When I lived in California, I constantly heard people of all different ethnic backgrounds, including other Asians, say, “That crazy Asian driver!”  and since there are tons of drivers in Southern California, I didn’t really take it to heart. However, upon living in South Korean for nearly two months, I have found that this cliché really rings true here. Here are a few examples of incidents that might have helped strengthen that opinion:

1.      From the very first time I set foot in Korea, I noticed that there were these little foam things on the sides of a lot of cars. Most of the time, they were on new cars, but you’d see them on cars of all shapes and sizes. I didn’t think to ask what they were for because I just figured they were for general protection. But then I started to ponder how exactly they worked. I should have figured this out much sooner, but sometimes seeing how something works in action is  better. 

      In Korea, like many other small countries with high density populations, the streets are pretty small. Parking lots and spaces are also small. So, one afternoon, a co-worker took me and two of my co-teachers to a prep meeting for an English Speech contest. I was sitting in the back seat so my co-worker pulled open the back door for me to get out and bam, she hit the other car with the edge of her door. At first, I was a bit horrified that she had so blatantly hit the other car while trying to help me get out, but then I saw the foam pad on the car and the light bulb in my head flashed on. Ding ding ding. You win a prize for that one. It only took you one and half months to figure out what those foam things are for.  Here are a few not-so-good pictures of what they look like:

3.      I’ve noticed that people tend to think of seat belts in the back seat as optional. Here’s one example: I was given a ride by a co-worker one afternoon and his kindergarten son was facing us( in the back seat) sitting on the center console while we drove through the neighborhood. We weren’t driving fast, but it made me so nervous. I kept thinking, “one little accident=one dead kid.” I had to really restrain myself from saying anything or pulling the kid into the middle seat and buckling him in. I am a seat belt freak. If I can’t buckle my seat belt, I get antsy.  Also, taxis often have seat covers in the back seat so try as you might, you can’t get to the seat belt buckle. This drives me crazy, especially since cab drivers drive pretty fast anyway.

4.      One morning, as I was walking to work, I saw a car crash into a bus. Yes, a bus. And the bus was not moving. This guy must have been really out of it because he wasn’t going that fast, but he failed to see the big bus in front of him.  The bus was stopped in front of an intersection in traffic and the driver of the car just kept going and going and bam. As a witness, I was wondering what the protocol was for something like this, but the girl next to me who had also seen it, looked for a second and then kept walking. I was about to take a picture, but then the bus driver got out of the bus and started wildly gesturing and yelling at the man so I walked away. Later I was told that people just tend to mind their own business about those things unless they are involved.

5.      During the first week of school, when my friend and I were exchanging stories, she told me (amidst peals of laughter) that her co-teacher had gotten in an accident in the parking lot when they were shopping together at the local HomePlus (think Target, but smaller scale). I’m sure if I had been there it wouldn't have been funny, but from the way she described it, she couldn't stop from laughing at the incredulity of the situation. Her co-teacher, too, hit a parked car.

6.      And last but not least:  When you stand at the crosswalk and the little green walking person comes on the signal, no one crosses the street right away, and with good reason. Nearly every time I’m at an intersection, some car blows through their red light with no regard to any other cars or any pedestrians going the other direction. This is a regular occurrence, but it still blows my mind when I see it.

So needless to say, I thought that it was quite an exaggeration that in so many Korean dramas, people get hit by cars or hit by cars while in a car, or die from getting hit by a car, but it is isn't dramatic at all.  I might even go as far as to say that drivers in Korea really are crazy. So, if you ever visit Korea, be warned: Stay safe out there!

           

Bomun Lake Bicycling Adventure

After about four days of being lame, I joined my South African friends from out of town for lunch in downtown Gyeongju. We had a delicious meal of shared panchan or side dishes, Kimchi Chigae, Bibimbap, and Bulgogi. We almost even walked out without paying because the money collector out of us got distracted and put the money in his wallet instead of paying the lady. That was embarrassing, especially since the girl who was left behind to decipher their Korean kept saying, “It’s okay,” in Korean and then ran to get the one person whose Korean was more advanced. Whoops.

After filling our bellies, we rented bikes ( 10,000 won for the afternoon) and headed out on the pathway following the river to the Bomun Lake resort area. It was a lovely afternoon full of sun soaking and people watching…especially watching Korea couples wearing matching outfits. One of these days, I will capture a couple on camera. It's very intriguing and apparently fashionable. I asked my co-teacher one day if she would wear matching outfits when she has a boyfriend and she surprised me by saying "yes"...as if there could be any other answer.

From Acupuncture to the "Real Deal" Hospital

I would not consider myself an accident prone individual, but leave it to me to require serious medical attention in a foreign country from a kitchen mishap.  In fact, in the moments following the incident itself, I looked at my arm with a bit of yellow fatty tissue oozing out and couldn't really understand what had just happened. Luckily, I snapped to, covered it with a paper towel and put pressure on it. Then, I dialed my one good Korean-English speaking friend and tried to keep my voice calm while I asked him what he was doing. He immediately rushed over from a family dinner to help me get to the hospital. What a nice guy! About a half an hour prior to this, I had been with all three of my co-teachers and my principal at a dinner so they were probably all still trying to get home. My main co-teacher doesn't have a car and I’m not sure about the other one, so it would have taken much longer for them to come help me out. And thank goodness most of the people at the dinner were women, otherwise I might have consumed too much soju and bled out like crazy. I will spare you the pictures in this post.

I’m not sure what I was expecting out of a University Hospital emergency room, but I don’t think it was anything like being in one back in the States. There were adjummas and adjussis lying on beds half covered, feet hanging out and I’m pretty sure I saw dry blood smeared on the floor as we walked over to a bed. At the time, I couldn't help thinking, “Well that’s another good reason to leave your shoes at the door of your house.” The biggest thing that got to me was the lack of wearing gloves. I remember at my orientation medical exam, no one wore gloves to take our blood samples. I feel like in the US, no one will even touch you without wearing gloves. It could be our medical culture, I don’t know. The nurses or whoever was helping me did put on gloves to clean out the wound, so that was promising. But they had me lean my arm over a bucket on the floor to clean it out.  As soon as they opened up the wound with tongs to flush it out with liquid, both my friend and I had to look away. I guess neither of us would make good doctors.

After that, I got asked when my last tetanus shot was. Since I haven’t been to the hospital in over a dozen years, I couldn't even remember when. That shot wasn't covered by insurance so it cost 50,000 won or about $44.29 right now. Since I was in a foreign country and didn't want to have any other infection issues, I agreed to the tetanus, but I didn't realize it entailed shots to the bum so when my friend disappeared saying “good luck,” and the nurse looked at me, I huffed and said, “are you serious?” Good times.

Next was on to the stitches. The wound didn't hurt too much and the pain came in random waves( probably mostly from body shock), but I am really glad they numbed me up to do the stitches because I had to keep my mouth clamped shut to keep from yelling, “What are you doing? Do you know how to put in stitches?” They used a big hook-like needle and though it was only two stitches, it ended up being about four because he had to redo them. Even though I couldn't really feel it, I couldn't take my eyes off of that needle. I wonder if that made them nervous. I wanted to cry for my poor skin. And it was even worse when they cleaned it with an iodine solution. It was such rough brushing. I wanted to say, “Hey, just because I can’t feel it, doesn't mean you should treat it roughly!”

All in all, it worked out, but I can’t say I have warmed to being in hospitals at all. I avoided them in the US and I will continue to do so if I can help it. I can’t believe I made it in and out of the hospital ( x-ray, cleaning, stitches, tetanus shot, 1 day of antibiotics, etc.) for less than 105 USD. Thank you Korean National Health Insurance. So, the moral of the story is: No more trying to cut hard sesame snacks out of a pan. I even have a nice “reminder hole” in the fleece I had on at the time. I will definitely use wax paper next time. That is, if I’m not too traumatized for there to be a next time.

Acupuncture in Korea

     If you work at a school, you are probably exposed to hundreds of different bugs. Every day, some student or teacher or administrator is coughing, sick, or wearing a mask.  Last week was no exception. After feeling a sore throat, I decided to brave bad communication and went to the acupuncture clinic that my co-teacher showed me a week or so before.

     By the way, in Korea, if someone says, “I need to go to the hospital,” they generally just mean doctor, not an emergency situation. That was a little confusing at first.  Also in Korea( or maybe just in Gyeongju), if you say you want to go to the acupuncturist, they will ask you, “Acupuncture for what? Are you sick somewhere? What hurts?  What’s wrong?” After getting this several times, by several different people, I proceeded to explain to my co-teacher that in the US, I would get acupuncture for digestive issues and also for general fatigue. In fact, after taking Chinese herbs for so long, I felt my muscles loosening up and I didn't need chiropractic treatments anymore. It’s not that something major was wrong, it was more to feel the best I could feel and to avoid major complications later. I suppose lots of people do go to the acupuncturist for body issues, especially after accidents or things like that, but I went for other reasons.

     Anyway, back at the clinic, I walked in, took my shoes off( probably put them in the wrong spot now that I think about it), put on slippers, and took a few hesitant steps up to the receptionist. I pulled out my Korean National health insurance paper (not a plastic card, by the way, which is way more convenient) and told her my name. Then, I tried to tell her I had prepared a symptom list just like I was asked last time…unfortunately, my co-teacher had said the translations ( from Google Translate…so go figure) were a little off and that I should just try to talk to him. Okay. So, I sat until summoned to the doctor. I did an awkward bow, said hello in Korean and sat down. He seemed nice and made it a point to tell me that his English wasn’t very good. I said, “That’s okay,” and told him my Korean was bad…in Korean.” Then he asked me, “What’s your main complaint.” I had to think about that for a moment. I went for the stomach/intestines and threw in the side effect of tight shoulders. So, it was a mixture of hand gestures and a few Korean and a few English words and we got it handled. For the longest time, I've always wondered how people travel and get along in a country where they don’t speak the language. Now I know. A few people here and there will speak a few words of English, but for the most part, it’s gestures and pointing and Korean here and there.  It seems to be working, but I need to up my Korean. My co teacher keeps reminding me that I've only been here for about a month. She has a point. But, I still feel like I should be speaking more Korean.

     After talk-gesturing with the doctor, he led me over to a chiropractic-like table and did some simple adjustments. I was not expecting that at all. I was also bit curious to why he didn't take my pulse or look at my tongue, but I went along with it.

     Next, he led me over to a patient table surrounded by a privacy curtain and I hopped up, pulled up my pant legs and shirt to my mid- section, and laid myself down. He pressed on my stomach in a certain spot, asked me if it hurt and then proceeded to put in the needles. He popped needles into my legs, feet, abdomen, and hands. He was so fast! It was: unwrap the needle and pop, unwrap the needle and pop. I could feel them working right away. Then, he asked me if I was okay in Korean, which was funny because if he thought I wouldn't understand, I would think that “are you okay?” might be in his English repertoire, but luckily I knew what he said, so I could answer in Korean. He left me for 15 minutes and I just chilled out on the table, eavesdropping on the conversation next to me where a guy was talking on his phone pretty loudly. Unfortunately, it’s not proper eavesdropping if you only pick up every third word or so. Let’s call it practice.

                                    What the herbs came in

     I felt great afterwards, though a couple spots on my body were a little sore( not where the needles went).  That was intriguing. After all of that, I only spent 7,200 won which is about $6.47 USD right now for both the treatment and two days’ worth of Chinese herbs. I’m not sure how much it would have cost me without insurance, but that’s a great deal!