a breath of fresh air

A breif thundershower this afternoon helped clear up the air a little. I like the freshness of the air in Seoul after it rains. I try to breathe as much in as possible because I know that it is only a matter of time before it becomes stuffy again. I am still going through a record number of tissues and nursing a raw nose as I continue to manufacture copius amounts of mucus. I've come to the conculsion that there really is no such thing as fresh air in Seoul. With a population density of 70,000 people per square mile I don't know why I would expect the air to be clean.
It's Friday..I'm going to find something to do with fellow English teacher J. It should be a fun evening. She's really low-key. I keep thinking that I need to hang out with her more.

2 months in

Ah..Spring! Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, the weather is getting warmer, and yellow sand is in the air (and my lungs.) I've had a pack-a-day smoker's cough, sore throat, and runny nose for about two weeks now. My sinuses are killing me, my head hurts, and I'm not sleeping very well. I think the first wave of homesickness has officially hit. I'm cranky and all I want to do is bitch about everything. I'm trying to keep to myself because it's not really anybody's fault that I'm in a foul mood..I would rather not make the mistake of going off on someone for something stupid.
Oh well..tomorrow is a long day. Evaluations are due, I need to get stuff for cooking & arts/crafts, I've got rehearsal, I need to find an Earth Day project for the kids, and..I can't remember what else right now. Ugh..how much snot can a person blow out their nose in a day?! This is ridiculous. I'm going to try and get some sleep now. Hopefully I will feel better when I wake up.

Time to Kill

The steam from my ramen noodles is fogging up my glasses as I sit here pouring over the EFL Phonics workbook unit 8. Two pages..two lousy pages are all that is left in unit 8. That ought to take them about 10 minutes to finish. Great..right? Not really, the class period is 35 minutes. I figure that it will take me about 5 minutes to get them in their seats, pass out the books, calm them down, and get them all onto the right page. Oh wait..add another minute or so for "teacher, tissue please," "teacher, eraser please," "teacher, what we doing," "teacher, pencil please," "teacher, lunch time?" "teacher, pencil sharpener please," "teacher, Annie speak Korean," "teacher, bathroom please," and other things that should have been taken care of before classtime. So we'll say about 7 minutes to start class and 10 minutes to do the workbook pages. Let's see..35 minus 17 equals 18. 18 minutes left until the next five minute break preceeding the next 35 minute block of classtime in which the same thing will happen again. Is it just me or does this happen to other people too?

I am sick of losing control of my classroom due to the fact that I am not able to keep them focused and/or busy for a 35 minute class. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that kindergarteners have a 12 minute attention span and the energy of a hummingbird on Red Bull. Or maybe it's because I am not prepared for them. You don't march into battle without a battle plan after all. I'm going to try and put together some activities at home to take in. I still haven't come up with much but I'll give it another go when I'm done blogging. This clock-watching stuff is for the birds.

a place called home

It's 12:00 am here. I just got up to go to the bathroom and came back to my bed only to realize that I was about to climb in while still wearing my bathroom shoes. I can feel the homesickness coming on already. There are so many stupid nagging questions about this place that are starting to bug me. How am I really supposed to take out the trash? How do I mail a simple letter? Am I supposed to swipe my T-money card both when I get on and off the bus? How do I read this bottle..am I buying dish soap or laundry detergent? What is morning care, does it work, where can I find some? Why do I have to scream like a mad woman to get my kids to pay attention? What am I doing wrong?
I keep thinking that I want to go home. I really want some things right now..my ferret, my cat, my friends, my family, my car, my clothes, bacon & eggs, meals with forks, milkshakes, weekends on the couch, having everything in English, and blending in. I could get lost in a world of pleasant familiar things. It almost makes me forget how unpleasant things were getting before I left. The daily endless, exhausting job searches. Sitting online filling out application after application for jobs I didn't even want but knew I would need when the time came. Dragging myself through an hour of traffic in the mornings after sleepless nights day after day to get to a job I couldn't stand.
How easily I begin to forget that one evening in early January coming home from work, walking through the back door, and bursting into tears crying and praying to a God I haven't spoken to in a long time. Something had to change. That's the night EC called with the job offer. Now I am in Korea.
I may think that I am homesick and I might say that I am but in truth I am longing for an idea of home that wasn't there. So I can run if I have to but where am I running to? Back to the desperation? No..I don't think so. Instead of "I want to go home" maybe I should be saying "thank you."

Learn to Fly

It's the little things that make me feel like I'm becoming more at home here. I realized this during my solo venture after work today. I went out to Insadong to meet a bilingual Korean guy and his non-English speaking friend for dinner/drinks. After work, I came home to chill for a few minutes then went back outside and caught the green 2233 bus to the subway station. Just the fact that I got on a bus and knew where I was going is a small miracle for me in my book. I swiped my new T-money key fob/cell phone charm thing to get through the gate and walked down to the train..just like a Korean would. After getting on the train I sat down and got out my ipod..just like a Korean would. And for a brief second I almost felt like I fit in. For the tiniest of moments I forgot all about being a foreigner and saw myself as just another person on the subway.
Dinner was interesting. I forget the name of what we ate but it's all stuff I've had before. There were so many questions throughout the course of the evening..mostly about me and how I'm adjusting to Korea. This was probably not a great idea but I decided not to do a finger stick test or administer an insulin bolus because I wasn't up for explaining diabetes tonight. It says a lot about a disease when it becomes more daunting to educate people about it than to manage it. The concept of health/wellness/illness is on such a different plane here that I can't even engage it..trying to do so has only frustrated me. I imagine that diabetes is a difficult concept though in any language/culture..how do you tell people "yes I have a serious disease" and "no, I'm not sick" at the same time?
We walked around a little after we ate then decided to call it a night. I waved goodbye while descending the stairs of exit 15, bought some 1,000 KRW earrings in the station, and headed for home..the JHP.

I'm hungry

I guess I'm still in stage 1 of the 12 month expat. I still feel very much in a foreign place even though I can find my way around the neighborhood. I like Korea. Lots of things are still new to me here but I haven't been taking near as many pictures as I was during the first two weeks. I miss home but I'm not homesick. My job is also much more enjoyable here. There is no traffic to sit in here; I walk almost everywhere. The food is still interesting and new as well.

Oh yeah..the food
I'm not sure if I can explain it very well but I've been having excessive hunger in the evenings. My blood sugar was 298 this morning! I had a full serving of rice & curry for dinner last night along with a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, a bowl of ramen and countless creme filled cookies. I just keep on eating with no control. Tonight I've had rice & curry, a pbj sandwich, and a few cookies. I am going to check my blood sugar before bed and make sure my levels are under control. I really want to eat more right now but I've forced myself to stop. Tomorrow morning is kiwi yogurt for breakfast..it's kinda yummy.
I'm trying to focus on something other than eating. I need to study for my Korean lesson tomorrow. If only I could convince myself that there are no more cookies..

Snow day in Seoul

Here are some pictures of the neighborhood covered in snow!

the Hangeul spelling for carbohydrate

Sniffing markers in class (as an educational activity)

I have to keep reminding myself at times here that no matter what insanity is happening in my classroom, learning is always taking place. This is especially true with my older students in the afternoons. I will let them get away with a lot of things as long as they are learning something somewhat relevant to the course material. We were doing a unit on the five senses: seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling, and seeing. One of the sentences was "My sister's shampoo _____ like strawberries." They had to fill in the blank with, feels like, sounds like, or smells like. I gave them a hint by making a smelling gesture towards the random object I was holding. That object just happened to be a dry-erase marker. I turned my head quickly and said "yuck!" That was all it took to get their curiosities going. Before I knew what was going on..they were passing around a marker and sniffing it one by one right in front of me. I don't think they understand the concept of getting high off markers yet. They couldn't figure out the shocked and worried look on my face. I just told them that some people in America have problems with smelling markers too much. They still didn't get it; they just think Americans are that much stranger.

So..when I get back home I've decided I'm going to Chick-fil-A and getting a #1 with a diet Dr. Pepper. God I miss carbs! Tomorrow will mark two weeks in Korea.

a white woman, a blue plunger, and cafe bene

So..here I am in Seoul, many miles away from Atlanta. Almost nobody here speaks English and I speak no Korean. You would think that's awkward enough by itself but somehow the quirkiness of everyday living follows you over here and occasionally you will have one of "those days." I went out drinking last night for the first time since I've been here. It was me and the four other American teachers at the academy. We had such a good time at dinner that we continued the party back at our apartment. Alcohol over here is the same as alcohol over there, or anywhere for that matter. The raspberry wine (bokbunjajoo) raised my blood sugar a bit but that wasn't the main problem. I got pretty drunk.

Needless to say, I had an award-winning hangover when I woke up this morning. I started feeling sick to my stomach after I got in the shower. I leaned over the toilet (Korean bathrooms are just one room with no separate toilet/shower) and puked up what was left of the galbi (Korean pork dinner) I ate last night. I went to flush the toilet but something went wrong..I had somehow managed to clog our toilet with my pork vomit! What makes this story even better is the fact that we had no plunger. Here I am hungover, running late, and desperately trying to remedy the clogged toilet situation. I ended up leaving a note for my roommates and going to work.

The school day was uneventful except for having a low BG and realizing that I left my glucose tablets at home this morning. There's a bakery next to the school so everything turned out ok. I asked one of the Korean teachers where the store was so that I could stop and buy a plunger on my way home from work. Luckily, there is a store not far from the school so I went in there. They only had one plunger left and it was bright blue. I paid for my plunger and walked back outside. I got a little lost trying to walk home from the store because it wasn't directly on the path between school and my apartment. I stood near an intersection looking around with a puzzled expression on my face. All I know is that Cafe Bene (coffee shop kinda like Starbucks) is probably the best known landmark near my apartment so when some teenagers came up to the intersection I said to them "Cafe Bene?" while shrugging my shoulders. They pointed down the street and I was on my way.

Overall it was a somewhat good ending to a somewhat bad day. I just keep thinking about what those kids must have been wondering..

Who is this white woman and why is she taking a plunger to Cafe Bene?

at the Korean doctor's

I woke up this morning with a slightly sore throat. I didn't think much of it at the time but by the afternoon it had snowballed into a semi-violn'ent illness complete with naseua, vomiting, fever, diziness, hot flashes, cold chills, and a severe sore throat. Throwing up Korean food is an experience beyond description. I can't explain it but I don't recommend it. Doctor's office visits are walk-in, not by appointment. I walked through the door and,before I even sat down, a chime went off signaling it was my turn to go in. I went straight into the office and sat down. The doctor said something to my translator and she told me to point to where it hurt. He took my temperature(38 celsius, 100.4 farenheit), looked in my eyes, nose, and down my throat then sent me on my way. I was out of there in less than 10 minutes! They gave me 5 pill packs and pouches of syrup with a picture of a frog on them.
I'm not exactly sure what everything is but it's basically a combination of vitamins, tylenol, and cough syrup. Overall my first Korean doctor's visit was alright. What would have taken about two hours and cost $50 in the US only took about 10 minutes and cost 7,000 KRW (roughly $6.30 USD)! We'll see how I'm feeling in a few days..then I'll make my official jugement of the experience.

So far so good

I've come home from work the past two days extremely exhausted. I can't tell if it's the kids or the time change. For some strange reason I'm also quite hungry..all I can think of is eating! Korean food is actually quite good. The only things that I've tried so far that I didn't like were the kimchi and the crab. They eat the crab here with the shell still on. It's a very unnatural feeling trying to chew up and swallow the shell..not to mention that the crab sauce is pretty spicy!










Kimbap is pretty good. It's kinda like what we think of sushi in the states but it just has other stuff rolled up in it. Here's the nutrition info: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/generic/kimbap





My blood sugar has been doing well with the Korean food. If you stick with what you learned in carb counting 101 you should do alright. My A1C had gone up to 8.2 before I left home. Most likely it was because of my bad eating habits that just kept getting increasingly worse as my departure neared. I'm going to use my time over here as an opportunity to improve how I control my diabetes.

Here!

I'm here..I'm exhausted. That's all I've got for now!

Disparity

I got my visa confirmation code and flight information the other day. Initially I was supposed to go out on the 22nd but that has now changed to the 19th. It seems like a trivial amount of time but when someone is trying to do as much as I am it makes a difference. I was hoping to get a non-stop from Atlanta to Seoul but I'll settle for the one stop in San Francisco.

Wow..13 days left!

I went out to Singapore Airline's website to do a little research about the Boeing 777 I'll be on. I looked at the features, amenities, and dining for the economy section and it looked awesome at first. I have never seen anything that nice! Then curiosity got the best of me and I scrolled to the top. The nicest of the nice seats look more like a hotel room than an airplane seat!

Economy seat

Looks pretty good huh?

ok..now compare to

Private suite

That's nicer than my apartment!

Economy dining

That looks awesome..they even give us ice cream!

Private dining

I've never eaten that well on a date!

It amazes me the difference a few grand can make. I'm going to have to try hard not to look down at my magazine holding a plastic spoon for my little cup of ice cream and not think of those people up front lying in their beds, watching their plasma televisions, and drinking their wine from crystal goblets. I'm sure I can find something to keep my mind occupied..just not for 12 hours and 55 minutes.

Just got text from my BFF. Trivia is on for tonight and possibly a tour of the Sweetwater brewery tomorrow. He's putting together a good bye party for me next Saturday. I guess that means I'll be moving my stuff back to my parent's house with a hangover. I'm falling behind on the to-do list.

get a haircut

get H1N1 vaccine

send visa info to the Korean consulate

appoint my mom as power of attorney

look into travel guard insurance

clean out my desk at work

I know there's much more but I keep forgetting about things that aren't written down on the list. Sleep deprivation is making my brain hurt. Thank God it's Friday.

Reaching Out

I've been searching the web for ESL Korea and Diabetic blogs to follow in hopes that I can make contact with another diabetic expat. It would be awesome if I could find someone who has the answers to some of my questions.

How much does insulin cost?
How expensive are pump supplies and how do I order them?
How does the national health insurance program work and what/how much does it cover?
Where can I get an ID card/bracelet that says "type 1 diabetic" in Korean?
How do they count/measure carbs over there?
How do I read a nutrition label in Korean?

Is there anything I'm forgetting?

Stocking up on Glucose

There's a listing on Ebay for 110 ReliOn brand Fruit Punch flavored glucose tablets. I like the fruit punch..they're pretty decent. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110452080617&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

$16.99 with $9.23 shipping doesn't sound bad. I'm sure they have glucose tablets over in Korea but it hasn't been easy trying to do the research. For $26.22 I'll be safe and bring my own. I've still had no luck trying to price insulin & pump supplies but I'm hoping to bring enough with me to get through the first few months.

Right now I'm searching the National Health Insurance website for information. There is some useful stuff on it but not exactly what I'm looking for. I'll keep looking.

Two Week Notice

I just saw my supervisor and put in my two week notice here at the office. I've been with the company for almost 12 years (if you count all the part-time years.) It's been great working here but after seven and a half years of schooling and two music education degrees I think it's time for me to move on. Forget the fact that the company is shutting down all it's offices (that's a story for another time!)

The new criminal background check is almost there http://www.fedex.com/Tracking?ascend_header=1&clienttype=dotcom&cntry_code=us&language=english&tracknumbers=860464218990!

Oh well..I need to get back to work now and start making my list of all the things I do that will need to go to someone else. At some point I want to go to jcrew.com and order some new khakis. I have so much left to do and time is running out!

Paperwork for Getting the E2 Visa in Georgia

I got my criminal background back today from the GBI and had the apostille put on it. Now all I have to do is FedEx it out. They already have everything else.

1. A copy of your passport

2. Your resume

3. The original diploma (Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree) and a copy of it (I have to submit it to get a permission to hire you. As soon as it gets finished, they will return to me and then, I will give it back to you when you arrive in Seoul.)

4. Criminal Background Check with Notarial Act (Authentication) of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in the US. (Go to the Secretary of the State to get an Apostille on the document of the criminal background)

5. Your Health Statement (I will send it to you with contract form soon)

6. Two sealed transcripts of your Bachelor's degree
7. Contract Form (I will send it to you within one or two days)
8. Six pictures

Please be ready with all of the above items, and as soon as you are ready with your statement of criminal check, please send all of the above materials to me immediately (Express-mail).

The Criminal Background Check

This was the most time consuming part.

The first thing I did was go to the local police department (Sandy Springs PD) to have two fingerprint cards made ($20). Then I went to Publix and got a money order for $20.75 made out to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. I took the cards and money order to the GBI office in Decatur and dropped them off with Ms. Fox (really nice lady.) Normally this process takes 10-14 days but I was in a hurry so I went back and picked it up myself instead of giving them a self-addressed envelope to send it back. All the instructions are on their website under the heading How do I obtain a Georgia criminal history record check from GCIC for immigration/visa/travel http://gbi.georgia.gov/00/channel_modifieddate/0,2096,67862954_67866875,00.html.

From there I went to the Secretary of State's office and got the Apostille ($3). They also have a good website http://www.gsccca.org/Projects/apost.asp.

Perhaps one of the most useful resources for how to get a criminal background check can be found at http://www.asknow.ca/criminalcheck.aspx.

At first I messed up and went to my local police dept for the criminal background check but Korean Immigration wouldn't accept it. My personal advice..clarify everything even if you feel like a moron by asking a lot of questions!

getting things together

The last week or so has been pretty crazy trying to get all the paperwork together and make a list of the things I'll need. I've spent way too much time on the phone with the folks at Minimed while figuring out how I'm going to get my insulin pump supplies. It seems like every other person I got transferred to was useless. .I was tempted to ask if they understood that the products they're supporting are life-saving devices and not refrigerator parts. Grace at Minimed Korea said she would email me a price list in KRW with health insurance information but I still haven't gotten it yet.

On a better note, I won an auction on Ebay for 900 One Touch Ultra test strips + 400 lancets for $421.00. That beats retail any day!

The family has been really supportive so far but my best friend is trying to talk me out of it. One year really isn't that long. I've had stuff in my fridge for longer than that! The main concern right now is getting all the paperwork to go through on time. I'm still waiting on my criminal background check from the GBI. I need to get that sent off so I can get my sponsorship code before my interview at the Korean consulate on 2/11. I've got a lot to do in the next 3-4 weeks..I'm just hoping it all gets done in time!

The Offer

It's 12:34 am but I can't sleep. My mind is still buzzing with excitement. EC called an hour or so ago from Seoul and offered me a job! Part of me has already said "yes" but I have a lot of things to weigh before making the final decision. Korea is pretty far away even if it is only for a year.

It will be a tough sell with the parents. They've supported me through some crazy endeavors before but this is by far the wildest idea I've ever had to pitch. I just need to think things through. There are lots of considerations I have to make.

What would I do with my car?
What should I do about my cell phone?
Are my finances in order?
Can I be ready to leave in 6 weeks?

And, mosty importantly..

How am I going to do this with diabetes?