Perhaps the hardest blog entry is the one I'm about to write. When I first wrote about my adoption story, my emotions were in checked because I had a lot of time to deal with it. While my mother's death is still difficult, I'm finally able to talk about it without bawling like a baby. And I never wrote a reunion story with my mother because it was such a long time ago and my memory is pretty fuzzy. I assure you, it was nothing like what you see on TV with streaming tears and audible crying. It was...cool. It was as if I had returned from several years at a boarding school rather than a separation of 7 years. Well, on to the Korea part.
When my sister came to visit me in May of 2012, I had a sense of urgency for her to meet our maternal side of the family. With our mother gone, I felt we still needed a connection to some kind of family. But for my sister, they were practically strangers with just a bond of genetics. I wanted to show my sister more then the traditional tourist sites. So, we took a trip to the police station with my mentor teacher. She explained our situation to the police, but we just didn't have enough information to give them. We left disappointed, but my sister said she remembered seeing some old documents that our mother had kept. She promised to send the documents next time she was home.
After a long summer, my sister finally sent what she promised. The document contained every resident my mother had ever lived in Korea. Her immigration paperwork listed everyone, except my oldest aunt. This document also included their Korean ID, similar to a social security number. After Chuseok, my co-teacher at my other school came with me to the police station. She knew some people who worked there, so it made the process easier. At first they were hesitant because of privacy laws. But I gave them my adoption paperwork, which got the process started. A little over a week later, my aunt contacted my teacher and we set a date for our reunion.
Reunion with my mother was a very different experience than with my extended family. When I saw my mother after just 7 years of separation, I was a mess. I was still going through an emotional roller coaster with my adopted family and I was just an angry, scarred person. It was really hard for my mother because I had become unrecognizable to her. There was a coldness in our relationship and we just tried to make it through without any big incident.
Meeting my extended family after twenty some years apart was different. I was back to myself as they remembered me. I was happy because I had purged all the negativities of my life. My relationship with my aunts, uncles, and cousins were also dramatically different than with my mother. My younger cousins and I grew up like sisters and we almost became sisters legally. And we fought a lot, as only true family members can. My uncles and aunts were always caring.
Perhaps, it is a family trait to be a little emotionally unavailable. Even with my first meeting with my aunt, we had no tears of joy. She just simply squeezed of my hand and wrapped her arms around mine. Meeting the rest of the family went just as with my aunt. We had a little awkwardness in the beginning especially because I couldn't speak Korean well. As we spent more time together, if was as if I had never left.
But here comes the hard part. I had for most of my life believed to be half Korean because of the circumstances of my mother's marriage and divorce. The truth tends to come out. My mother had mentioned a long time ago that I may be 100% Korean, but my stepfather believed the opposite. I trusted his memory because my mother sometimes chose to believe things she preferred rather brutal reality. Either way, I had a suspicion that there may have been another main male leader in my mother's life. When I asked my aunts about this, they were convinced that I was 100% Korean. As they are telling me this story, all the secrets that have been buried for thirty some years were coming out. It was easier to believe that my father left me and my mother for another woman. But now I have to come to terms with the fact that it was my mother's fault from the start. After my mother moved us back to Korea, my biological father offered to marry her. But she had refused because he was already married and had two daughters. Somewhere in this world, I have two older sisters, who may or may not know about my existence.
Whether my biological father is Korean or American actually makes no difference to me. I stand for what I believe in and not that of others. I pursue my goals and dreams because they are my own. I love my family, but we are different. They are Korean and I am American. We will always share a bond of blood and we will always be family. I can appreciate the culture and the history, but I cannot be like them. Perhaps this is a good thing. And most importantly, they already understand.
Here comes the so what part. I am curious about my possible sisters, of course. But I also know that finding them will be next to impossible. I also have have a younger brother, whom I like to meet. He should be easier to find. I feel that I should just enjoy the people in my life because they are all fabulous people and the thought of digging deeper is scary. What if I don't like what I find?
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
The Great Car Debate: To Buy or Not to Buy
For most Americans, owning a car is a necessity. And I was a part of that culture for many, many years. That is until I came back from Korea. There, I was able to make my way using the public transportation system, sometimes zigzagging all over the country or just going to the store. Now that I'm back in the U.S., I am somewhat reluctant to fork over all my hard earned money.
Living in San Diego, where public transportation is minimal, I have been debating whether I should delve back into auto ownership. Yes, there are definitely advantages of owning a car. I can go wherever and whenever. But I still need to justify the huge expense, since I am a new graduate student with student loans...a lot of student loans. So after a month without a car in San Diego, I have decided to wait it out.
How have I and will I survive without a car? Well, I have a shuttle that takes me back and forth to campus. So, I don't need a car for school. A definite advantage of having (semi) on-campus housing. I say semi because of the distance to campus...it's a bit far to be considered truly on-campus. But I digressed. Once fall quarter starts, I will be studying after which point I will be studying some more. And instead of fun, I will be studying. I also found a way to do my groceries shopping online and have it delivered for free. Yay! No grocery shopping for me!!! The point is, there will be days that I will not be using my vehicle. To top it off, I will be paying insurance for a car that mostly sits in the parking lot.
So, what about all the times I need a car? I have signed up for Zipcar, which is a car sharing program with a membership fee plus hourly or daily usage fee. I did the math. I can justify using Zipcar about 24-25 hours per month for the same price as I would pay for gas and insurance. I don't pay for gas or insurance with Zipcar because it is all inclusive. By using Zipcar, my money stays in my bank account.
I realize that this is not a long term solution, which is why I'm waiting it out. But my decision for now: I will be Zipping (at least for Fall Quarter).
On a side note: I haven't driven a car in 2 years and I will be making a trek from Denver to San Diego...ALONE. Yikes!!!
Living in San Diego, where public transportation is minimal, I have been debating whether I should delve back into auto ownership. Yes, there are definitely advantages of owning a car. I can go wherever and whenever. But I still need to justify the huge expense, since I am a new graduate student with student loans...a lot of student loans. So after a month without a car in San Diego, I have decided to wait it out.
How have I and will I survive without a car? Well, I have a shuttle that takes me back and forth to campus. So, I don't need a car for school. A definite advantage of having (semi) on-campus housing. I say semi because of the distance to campus...it's a bit far to be considered truly on-campus. But I digressed. Once fall quarter starts, I will be studying after which point I will be studying some more. And instead of fun, I will be studying. I also found a way to do my groceries shopping online and have it delivered for free. Yay! No grocery shopping for me!!! The point is, there will be days that I will not be using my vehicle. To top it off, I will be paying insurance for a car that mostly sits in the parking lot.
So, what about all the times I need a car? I have signed up for Zipcar, which is a car sharing program with a membership fee plus hourly or daily usage fee. I did the math. I can justify using Zipcar about 24-25 hours per month for the same price as I would pay for gas and insurance. I don't pay for gas or insurance with Zipcar because it is all inclusive. By using Zipcar, my money stays in my bank account.
I realize that this is not a long term solution, which is why I'm waiting it out. But my decision for now: I will be Zipping (at least for Fall Quarter).
On a side note: I haven't driven a car in 2 years and I will be making a trek from Denver to San Diego...ALONE. Yikes!!!
Monday, September 2, 2013
End of my second year in Korea
If the first year in Korea was a terrible year for blogging, the second year blog was nonexistent. There were so many things happening, so many things to blog about, yet I just didn't. But my second year was filled with things outside of the Native English teacher's Korean experience. It was personal. Perhaps, that's why it has taken me so long. But here is it anyway.
The most significant event came almost 2 weeks after Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. My co-teacher and I went to the police station to find my aunts, uncles, and cousins after my sister sent me some necessary documents. Fortunately, it contained my uncles and aunt's Korean ID, which is similar to our social security number. After an hour at the police station, I left excited, but somewhat doubtful that I would hear anything back quickly. So it came as a surprise when I got a call from my co-teacher saying that they have not only relocated by family, but they were eager to meet me. My co-teacher, who I adore, offered to come with me to meet my family. My Korean was still pretty terrible and it wasn't good enough to explain everything that has happened in over two decades. Even after not seeing them for years, it felt familiar and comfortable. From that time in early October through my last day in Korea, I have spent as much time as possible with them. I'm leaving out a lot of details about this, but I will save those details for another time.
The next most significant event: graduate school. I will NEVER, EVER take the GRE again!!! Since I've decided that I will not do a PHD and I got into grad school, I have no reason to ever take it. I am the example that you can bomb your GRE and still get into a good program. I started the application process with seven schools. You know the saying, "shoot for the stars"? I did. When I got rejected from my "safety" school, I panicked and applied to three more schools. I should have been patient and save some money. Less than a week after I spent hundreds of unnecessary dollars, I was accepted into American University's SIS program. It was in my top three choices, so naturally I was going to accept the offer. Then the UCSD's offer came and now I had a decision to make. As good as UCSD's program is, I hadn't thought too much about it and I focused on the DC schools. But as always, I started to dig deeper and read everything about the two programs. Then I made my famous PROS/CONS list. And here I am in San Diego with two weeks left of my summer prep courses.
Here is my thought about my last year in Korea. As my Korean improved dramatically and I spent a lot of time with my family, I didn't feel like I was a foreigner having some grand adventure. A foreigner, yes! Somehow my world was about my family and grad school. It all felt so normal. BUT none of it was normal. Perhaps this perception of normalcy and my personal journey throughout the year is what I needed to start a new chapter as a graduate student.
The most significant event came almost 2 weeks after Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. My co-teacher and I went to the police station to find my aunts, uncles, and cousins after my sister sent me some necessary documents. Fortunately, it contained my uncles and aunt's Korean ID, which is similar to our social security number. After an hour at the police station, I left excited, but somewhat doubtful that I would hear anything back quickly. So it came as a surprise when I got a call from my co-teacher saying that they have not only relocated by family, but they were eager to meet me. My co-teacher, who I adore, offered to come with me to meet my family. My Korean was still pretty terrible and it wasn't good enough to explain everything that has happened in over two decades. Even after not seeing them for years, it felt familiar and comfortable. From that time in early October through my last day in Korea, I have spent as much time as possible with them. I'm leaving out a lot of details about this, but I will save those details for another time.
The next most significant event: graduate school. I will NEVER, EVER take the GRE again!!! Since I've decided that I will not do a PHD and I got into grad school, I have no reason to ever take it. I am the example that you can bomb your GRE and still get into a good program. I started the application process with seven schools. You know the saying, "shoot for the stars"? I did. When I got rejected from my "safety" school, I panicked and applied to three more schools. I should have been patient and save some money. Less than a week after I spent hundreds of unnecessary dollars, I was accepted into American University's SIS program. It was in my top three choices, so naturally I was going to accept the offer. Then the UCSD's offer came and now I had a decision to make. As good as UCSD's program is, I hadn't thought too much about it and I focused on the DC schools. But as always, I started to dig deeper and read everything about the two programs. Then I made my famous PROS/CONS list. And here I am in San Diego with two weeks left of my summer prep courses.
Here is my thought about my last year in Korea. As my Korean improved dramatically and I spent a lot of time with my family, I didn't feel like I was a foreigner having some grand adventure. A foreigner, yes! Somehow my world was about my family and grad school. It all felt so normal. BUT none of it was normal. Perhaps this perception of normalcy and my personal journey throughout the year is what I needed to start a new chapter as a graduate student.
Friday, September 14, 2012
End of the Year Review...well, my contract year
I am aware that we are not at the end of the year. However, it has been a year since I uprooted my life in the States and landed in Korea. When I first came here, I had all these grand ideas of updating my blog religiously and taking pictures of everything I saw. But the reality is far from my original goal. The first three months, or as they call it the "honeymoon" phase, are filled with pictures and trips. Everything was new and exciting...as it should be. But here ends my blog entry.
As I rolled along my month 4, I was settling into my life pretty comfortably. So here is a abridge version of my life in Korea thus far.
Christmas Eve, Eve in Seoul as we ice skated near City Hall, the snow fell. Then off to Jinbu, Gangwondo: a beautiful snow covered village, about 3 hours east of Seoul. Sledding, eating, and opening Secret Santa presents filled our short stay. Those of you who know me may be asking, "Who is this girl? Ice skating, sledding?" Yup, apparently I do all those things in Korea. Who knew!
New Years in Daeju- everybody needs a drink in a bag. By bag, I mean an IV bag with a straw! "Yes, make it stronger!"
Winter vacation with Kim and Mysti:
1) Ulsan- Ilsan beach
2) Busan- fortress and accidental 3 hour hike, temple, English pub
3) Gyeongju- Astrological tower, burial mounds, and museum that was closed
4) Samcheok- Penis Park, no that's not a typo!
5) Seoul- Palaces, Seoul Tower, and shopping
End of February-the dreaded orientation and lock down. So this is what being in prison feel like. Since I missed my orientation, as I got here the day it ended, I was sent off for a 7 day training...to learn everything I knew (because I had been here for 6 months). To be fair, it had a lot of informative stuff that would have been helpful...in the beginning. And did I mention that it was a lock down?!?!? Meaning, we were not allowed to leave the facility (similar to a very small college campus) even to buy laundry detergent or toothpaste. Usually in these events, one would have some drinks to relieve the stress and boredom. But there were no alcoholic drinks to speak of. The only relief people found were cigarettes in between breaks. Too bad I don't smoke.
May to June-Terri, Kelly, and Katie's visit
1) Seoul Hanok Village, Yeuoido Park as we walked along several famous kdrama filming spots!
2) Seoul Lantern festival in honor of Buddha's birthday
3) Cheongju- an attempt to rediscover out maternal lineage
4) Yongjin Folk village where they film many historical kdramas
5) Gongju- the site of an old Baekje capital
Girls' Wicked Weekend: There is nothing better than a girls' weekend in which we get dressed up with our pretty, pretty hats and head for the races. Then we get to the race track to find out that rather than Kentucky Derby, it was more like middle-age men's convention with bare-footed men sitting on the floor with the newspapers spread out all over. After which, we headed for dinner and to watch the Australian cast of "Wicked". I will say that this was one of my favorite musical! There are not enough words to describe the emotions that poured out of me.
August-finally my vacation
1) Lasek eye surgery- I did a ton of research. Who are we kidding. This is me. I make a PROS/CONS list before embarking on any new venture. And they were going to shoot lasers into my eyes. I thought this may be one of the most important research of my life. So after carefully research and weighing the costs to the benefits, I made an appointment for the surgery. It is the best money I have ever spent and I am so happy not only with my vision, but that I had the opportunity to get such a state-of-the-art surgery for the fraction of the cost back in the States.
2) Off to Ulsan to hang with Mysti and friends: Mostly consist of eating, drinking, multi-bang, and the Love Push!
3) to Seoul to spend the last few days with my soul sister, Mysti, before she left for the States. Again, mostly eating and drinking with a little museum to throw in for some culture. Finally, 90 minutes of ass-kicking disguised as a Sports message. I'm pretty sure my back was covered in bruises. Lesson learned-NO MORE SPORTS MESSAGES!
To top it all off, I have been studying to retake my GREs and looking into graduate schools. I even bought a guitar because I apparently cannot be left alone to do nothing. During this time, I have managed to pick up enough Korean to get by on a day to day basis without embarrassing myself or getting into trouble. I still haven't learned enough Korean to converse with people beyond the very basic. But I have felt comfortable enough to want to stay another year. And I have also realized that Korea is not for me long-term. I love the people, the food, and the culture. But I do feel like an outsider, who is here temporarily. That isn't to say that I will definitely leave here next year. Although that is the plan, life has a funny way of changing any plans I make. So stay tuned to see what happens...
As I rolled along my month 4, I was settling into my life pretty comfortably. So here is a abridge version of my life in Korea thus far.
Christmas Eve, Eve in Seoul as we ice skated near City Hall, the snow fell. Then off to Jinbu, Gangwondo: a beautiful snow covered village, about 3 hours east of Seoul. Sledding, eating, and opening Secret Santa presents filled our short stay. Those of you who know me may be asking, "Who is this girl? Ice skating, sledding?" Yup, apparently I do all those things in Korea. Who knew!
New Years in Daeju- everybody needs a drink in a bag. By bag, I mean an IV bag with a straw! "Yes, make it stronger!"
Winter vacation with Kim and Mysti:
1) Ulsan- Ilsan beach
2) Busan- fortress and accidental 3 hour hike, temple, English pub
3) Gyeongju- Astrological tower, burial mounds, and museum that was closed
4) Samcheok- Penis Park, no that's not a typo!
5) Seoul- Palaces, Seoul Tower, and shopping
End of February-the dreaded orientation and lock down. So this is what being in prison feel like. Since I missed my orientation, as I got here the day it ended, I was sent off for a 7 day training...to learn everything I knew (because I had been here for 6 months). To be fair, it had a lot of informative stuff that would have been helpful...in the beginning. And did I mention that it was a lock down?!?!? Meaning, we were not allowed to leave the facility (similar to a very small college campus) even to buy laundry detergent or toothpaste. Usually in these events, one would have some drinks to relieve the stress and boredom. But there were no alcoholic drinks to speak of. The only relief people found were cigarettes in between breaks. Too bad I don't smoke.
May to June-Terri, Kelly, and Katie's visit
1) Seoul Hanok Village, Yeuoido Park as we walked along several famous kdrama filming spots!
2) Seoul Lantern festival in honor of Buddha's birthday
3) Cheongju- an attempt to rediscover out maternal lineage
4) Yongjin Folk village where they film many historical kdramas
5) Gongju- the site of an old Baekje capital
Girls' Wicked Weekend: There is nothing better than a girls' weekend in which we get dressed up with our pretty, pretty hats and head for the races. Then we get to the race track to find out that rather than Kentucky Derby, it was more like middle-age men's convention with bare-footed men sitting on the floor with the newspapers spread out all over. After which, we headed for dinner and to watch the Australian cast of "Wicked". I will say that this was one of my favorite musical! There are not enough words to describe the emotions that poured out of me.
August-finally my vacation
1) Lasek eye surgery- I did a ton of research. Who are we kidding. This is me. I make a PROS/CONS list before embarking on any new venture. And they were going to shoot lasers into my eyes. I thought this may be one of the most important research of my life. So after carefully research and weighing the costs to the benefits, I made an appointment for the surgery. It is the best money I have ever spent and I am so happy not only with my vision, but that I had the opportunity to get such a state-of-the-art surgery for the fraction of the cost back in the States.
2) Off to Ulsan to hang with Mysti and friends: Mostly consist of eating, drinking, multi-bang, and the Love Push!
3) to Seoul to spend the last few days with my soul sister, Mysti, before she left for the States. Again, mostly eating and drinking with a little museum to throw in for some culture. Finally, 90 minutes of ass-kicking disguised as a Sports message. I'm pretty sure my back was covered in bruises. Lesson learned-NO MORE SPORTS MESSAGES!
To top it all off, I have been studying to retake my GREs and looking into graduate schools. I even bought a guitar because I apparently cannot be left alone to do nothing. During this time, I have managed to pick up enough Korean to get by on a day to day basis without embarrassing myself or getting into trouble. I still haven't learned enough Korean to converse with people beyond the very basic. But I have felt comfortable enough to want to stay another year. And I have also realized that Korea is not for me long-term. I love the people, the food, and the culture. But I do feel like an outsider, who is here temporarily. That isn't to say that I will definitely leave here next year. Although that is the plan, life has a funny way of changing any plans I make. So stay tuned to see what happens...
Saturday, September 8, 2012
I Want New Eyes-Part II
Here is my one month review:
I nervously walked into the Dream Eye Center in Gangnam on a hot Saturday afternoon. After a grueling 2.5 hours of exams, I scheduled my surgery for Lasek, the previously mentioned safer but more painful procedure. The exam contained every eye test imaginable. I will not go into the details, but they checked for everything, the size and thickness of my corneas, detailed mapping, and they even stuck a giant blobby looking "contact" into my eyes (which is the most uncomfortable part of the exam. At the end of the consultation, they recommended the Lasek due to my severe nearsightedness.
I should mention here that the most painful part of the process for me was wearing my glasses for 4 weeks. I had to wear them for 2 weeks before the consultation and 2 more weeks before my surgery. As I said before, I get really bad headaches when I wear glasses.
We scheduled my surgery for late as possible in the afternoon, since my tech said that I would not be able to do much or see much. It is a good idea to bring a friend to surgery as your vision is pretty bad and getting home might be tricky. As always, my best friend was there for me! The surgery was delayed because it was an exceptionally busy Saturday, which only increased my anxiety. When the time finally came, it was over very quickly. They prep me and laid me on the table. The instructions were very clear; keep looking at the green light even if it disappears. My surgeon, who spoke excellent English, explained everything he was doing in great detail so that I would be prepared. Nothing came as a surprise and the surgery flew by. After less than 10 minutes on the table, I was out in the waiting room. The first thing I noticed was how much my sight had improved, which just goes to show you how bad my eyes really were.
As Mysti and I made our way through the busy subways of Seoul, it was a great relief that she was there to help me. After this, I had another check up the next day to take the badges off and made sure that there were no infections. Then I made my way back to Dangjin alone and hoped that the pain would not kick in until I was safely home. The next few days were very boring. I could barely keep my eyes open and tears seemed to flow nonstop. On Monday, 2 days after surgery, the pain kicked in. Although pain medicine doesn't help in this situation, I took some Tylenol ER and I slept through most of the pain. When people asked about the level of pain, I said 7 out of 10. Annoying, but definitely manageable. And trust the doctors when they tell you, it only last for a day. Day 5 post surgery, I had another check up. My left eye was already at 20/16! The right eye had some catching up. So for the next few weeks, my right eye continued to improve and now my eyes are both at 20/16 without any complications. In case you're wondering about mobility, I was fine after 5 days and I left for my vacation.
On a side note: The people at the Dream Eye Center are fabulous. They were incredible knowledgeable, helpful, and understanding. I was blown away by their customer service.
I nervously walked into the Dream Eye Center in Gangnam on a hot Saturday afternoon. After a grueling 2.5 hours of exams, I scheduled my surgery for Lasek, the previously mentioned safer but more painful procedure. The exam contained every eye test imaginable. I will not go into the details, but they checked for everything, the size and thickness of my corneas, detailed mapping, and they even stuck a giant blobby looking "contact" into my eyes (which is the most uncomfortable part of the exam. At the end of the consultation, they recommended the Lasek due to my severe nearsightedness.
I should mention here that the most painful part of the process for me was wearing my glasses for 4 weeks. I had to wear them for 2 weeks before the consultation and 2 more weeks before my surgery. As I said before, I get really bad headaches when I wear glasses.
We scheduled my surgery for late as possible in the afternoon, since my tech said that I would not be able to do much or see much. It is a good idea to bring a friend to surgery as your vision is pretty bad and getting home might be tricky. As always, my best friend was there for me! The surgery was delayed because it was an exceptionally busy Saturday, which only increased my anxiety. When the time finally came, it was over very quickly. They prep me and laid me on the table. The instructions were very clear; keep looking at the green light even if it disappears. My surgeon, who spoke excellent English, explained everything he was doing in great detail so that I would be prepared. Nothing came as a surprise and the surgery flew by. After less than 10 minutes on the table, I was out in the waiting room. The first thing I noticed was how much my sight had improved, which just goes to show you how bad my eyes really were.
As Mysti and I made our way through the busy subways of Seoul, it was a great relief that she was there to help me. After this, I had another check up the next day to take the badges off and made sure that there were no infections. Then I made my way back to Dangjin alone and hoped that the pain would not kick in until I was safely home. The next few days were very boring. I could barely keep my eyes open and tears seemed to flow nonstop. On Monday, 2 days after surgery, the pain kicked in. Although pain medicine doesn't help in this situation, I took some Tylenol ER and I slept through most of the pain. When people asked about the level of pain, I said 7 out of 10. Annoying, but definitely manageable. And trust the doctors when they tell you, it only last for a day. Day 5 post surgery, I had another check up. My left eye was already at 20/16! The right eye had some catching up. So for the next few weeks, my right eye continued to improve and now my eyes are both at 20/16 without any complications. In case you're wondering about mobility, I was fine after 5 days and I left for my vacation.
On a side note: The people at the Dream Eye Center are fabulous. They were incredible knowledgeable, helpful, and understanding. I was blown away by their customer service.
Friday, June 29, 2012
I Want New Eyes-Part I
After a long absence from the blogging world, my first entry is about laser eye surgery. Not particularly interesting, but I found other people's blog on the subject very helpful when I was looking into getting the surgery. I hope my journey can also be helpful to someone else out there.
I have worn glasses since about the 2nd grade and contact lenses since I was sixteen. Most people don't even know that I wear glasses because I never actually wear them out in public. This is because I hate wearing glasses and I often get headaches. My main concern for wearing contact lenses for a long time: possible diseases. While things may be fine right now, it doesn't mean that it will stay fine forever.
One definite advantage of living in Korea is that medical tourism is a huge business. Many foreigners come and spend their hard earned money on various procedures. Which means that the same procedure costs fraction of what it would cost back in the States.
I don't like plastic surgery unless there is a medical need for it. I think too many people risk their lives unnecessarily. So, there may be those out there pointing out my hypocrisy about getting laser eye surgery. They would have a valid argument: why would you take a risk with your eyes when there is no medical reason for it? I am altering the natural state of my body and it is completely unnecessary. So it calls to question, how different is laser eye surgery in comparison to other plastic surgeries. One argument is that the laser eye surgery can greatly improve one's quality of life. Then again, same thing may be said by others who indulge in a nose job or cheek implant. How does one measure quality of life? In order to justify the cost of the surgery and the procedure itself, I've come with my own list of reasons.
1) Health: Since I can't (or rather I find it painful to) wear glasses, wearing contact lenses for a long time is harmful to my eyes. According to the Oregon Health and Science, people who wear contact lenses for more than 15 years have a greater chance of vision lost. Yikes, I've been wearing lenses for 20 years! If you leave your contact lenses on overnight (as I have often done), your chances for infection and potential vision lost (from diseases and infections) increases dramatically.
2) Cost: Korean laser eye surgery is extremely affordable compared to the States. While people pay around $2,000 per eye in the States, it costs anywhere from 1.200.000 to 2.000.000 wons for both eyes. In the long run, the surgery is a cheaper options than wearing contact lenses long term. In fact, regular check ups, contact lenses, glasses, and contact solution can cost anywhere between $500-700 per year back in the States. The surgery cost at MOST $1,800 for both eyes with the average price at $1,300.
3) State of the Art Equipment and Experienced Surgeons: Koreans have all the top of the line equipment and experienced surgeons, who perform multiple surgeries a day. Most clinics boasts that their surgeons have performed over 10,000 surgeries each. For some reason, I feel safer getting it done here rather than going to some clinic in the States, where their surgeons have only performed 500 surgeries.
Then, there are the different types of surgeries. Here is a VERY brief summary. The popular Lasik has a short recovery time, about a day or two. This is a popular choice because the patients have immediate vision improvement and they can generally return to work after a short period. However, there are cases of post-operation complications such as long term blurry night vision and infections related to the flap, which is created during surgery. Also, the surgeons recommend against this surgery for active athletes. Yes, I know. I do not participate in sports. But the flap is also a problem for people in a car accident. Again, I don't plan on being in an accident. That's why they call it an accident. I don't like the idea that there will be a permanent flap on my cornea. Call me crazy. Whatever, these are my eyes and I worry a LOT. I know plenty of people in Korea, who had this procedure done and they have nothing but wonderful things to say. I admit that I am probably being a little too cautious.
The other procedure is Lasek. This has a slightly longer recovery, anywhere between 4-5 days. It takes longer to gain full vision, about 6 months. There is more pain after the surgery than Lasik. This is because the extremely thin epithelial layer is removed in order to laser the cornea. However, it ( the epithelial layer) regenerates after surgery, which causes discomfort. This procedure is similar to PRK, which lasers on top of the epithelial layer and it is removed during the lasering process. Lasek was created to decrease the recover time of PRK and decease the post operation complication of Lasik.
One thing I've learned during this research process is that knowing made me feel better. I've read numerous articles that detailed the procedure, which included pictures. I haven't gotten myself to watch the videos, but it may actually make me back out. Whether you get the Lasek or Lasik, there are benefits and risks. After all, it is surgery. It isn't a decision that should be made lightly or on impulse. After much consideration and research on Lasek and Lasik, I have made an appointment for a consult. I would prefer to have Lasek, but the surgeon will make the final recommendation. To be continued after the consult.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
It's been 3 1/2 months already?!
I’m a quarter of the way through my first year in Korea. It seems surreal that the first three months have gone by so fast and smoothly. During this time, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Although I have lived in Korea as a small child, it is still surprising to me that I haven’t experience any culture shock. In the past, twenty-some years, I have fully acclimated to a very western lifestyle. This isn’t to say that things are vastly different from the way things are at home (the U.S) or from what I had experienced in Korea many years ago. However no matter how western Korea tries to be, it is in the heart of heart, an Asian country. While I can’t really call it culture shock, there are things that I find puzzling.
There are some things that are so ingrained into their culture and habit, it doesn’t actually matter whether that practice seems useless. For example: Koreans always take their shoes off when entering a home. In schools, each student has a place to put their street shoes and change into their school slippers. In theory, this is a good practice. That is until you realized that those “inside” slippers spend a lot of time outside, thus negating the practical side of indoor slippers. The hallways aren’t any less dirty. Another example is about the heating situation. As we fast approach the cold winter months, it is surprising that all the windows are opened “to let in fresh air”. I agree that fresh air is important, but so is keeping the people healthy. When people get sick, the illness tends to linger much longer. No wonder, it’s probably warmer outside in the sun than inside (in the shade).
On the flip side, Korea is a very safe place to live and many Koreans still maintain their child-like innocents. In some ways, I envy the way they see the world with innocent eyes. It seems the bad things only ever happen in dramas. Middle-aged women offer to hold strangers bags on a crowded subway or bus. They never once think that we might find this strange. We tend to look at everyone with our suspicious eyes, including the sweet old ladies. Because who hasn’t seen “Dirty Dancing”...it’s always the sweet looking old people stealing other people’s wallet! Their willingness to help a stranger always melts my heart. There are the older men, who walk you to the subway station and help you buy the subway ticket even though you’re more than capable to doing it yourself. Or the old ladies, who pass out sweet potatoes on the bus because they had extras.
In the land of giving, there is always an expectation to receive. There is no shame in asking for things, especially by the children. They often forget to say “thank you”. After saying thanks to some of the people who had helped, it seems that saying “thank you” is overrated. They know that you’re grateful and they even seem surprise when you say thank you each time they do something nice. In any case, I will continue to say “thank you” for any good deeds given.
There are some things that are so ingrained into their culture and habit, it doesn’t actually matter whether that practice seems useless. For example: Koreans always take their shoes off when entering a home. In schools, each student has a place to put their street shoes and change into their school slippers. In theory, this is a good practice. That is until you realized that those “inside” slippers spend a lot of time outside, thus negating the practical side of indoor slippers. The hallways aren’t any less dirty. Another example is about the heating situation. As we fast approach the cold winter months, it is surprising that all the windows are opened “to let in fresh air”. I agree that fresh air is important, but so is keeping the people healthy. When people get sick, the illness tends to linger much longer. No wonder, it’s probably warmer outside in the sun than inside (in the shade).
On the flip side, Korea is a very safe place to live and many Koreans still maintain their child-like innocents. In some ways, I envy the way they see the world with innocent eyes. It seems the bad things only ever happen in dramas. Middle-aged women offer to hold strangers bags on a crowded subway or bus. They never once think that we might find this strange. We tend to look at everyone with our suspicious eyes, including the sweet old ladies. Because who hasn’t seen “Dirty Dancing”...it’s always the sweet looking old people stealing other people’s wallet! Their willingness to help a stranger always melts my heart. There are the older men, who walk you to the subway station and help you buy the subway ticket even though you’re more than capable to doing it yourself. Or the old ladies, who pass out sweet potatoes on the bus because they had extras.
In the land of giving, there is always an expectation to receive. There is no shame in asking for things, especially by the children. They often forget to say “thank you”. After saying thanks to some of the people who had helped, it seems that saying “thank you” is overrated. They know that you’re grateful and they even seem surprise when you say thank you each time they do something nice. In any case, I will continue to say “thank you” for any good deeds given.
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