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Distress!
03/09/07
07:57:02 pm, by admin 
, 418 words 
Categories: ...and Takes On, Korea, Tae Kwon Do, Feats and Defeats (Language)
Distress!
I had to go to the "hospital" (more like doctor's clinic) today because I'm sick and running a fever. Now, normally I would have just stayed home and slept, no big deal, right? But in Korea, if you want to stay home sick, you need to have a hospital note.
My boss, meanwhile, demanded that I come in to deal with some paperwork that she screwed up. I kept saying "I'm sick," but she wasn't listening. "You need to come here first," she said. Finally I said, "OK," and just ignored her. It's not my fault she didn't show up to our Labor meeting yesterday and doesn't pay on time and now she's panicking because she has as least three Labor Board judgments against her.
The problem with speaking any Korean is that people think you speak Korean fluently. I can say "I hurt, where do I go" and understand "Where do you hurt?" and answer in turn, but once I'm in that doctor's office... After telling him my symptoms, I called a friend who talked to the doctor. They hung up and the doctor talked to me. I understood "friend...three days...three...medicine" in his long speech.
I looked at the doctor. "Call my friend, go to pharmacy, medicine, three days?"
"Yes."
Later, in the subway station, I saw a soldier's baseball cap sitting on top of the public phone. I looked around and saw the soldier walking away, but he was pretty far away. I had to rack my brain for the word "soldier" and decided I'd say "military person" if I had to, but I finally remembered it. "Solider! I have your hat!" I called across the station.
I have no qualms about speaking what little Korean I know.
He turned around, ran back, and we bowed to each other, giving and receiving the hat with two hands. "Thank you! Thank you!" he said in English.
Although Master is unusual in the low amount of catering to young kids he does compared to other studios, he usually has a cute poster on the changing room door. This is the most recent one.
I read it and burst out laughing.
Taekwondo is a good exercise for children who are still growing as well as a good way for grownups to increase their physical endurance. Taekwondo's movements require extensive use of the joints, which increases the limberness of one's body. And because there is kicking, jabbing, and shouting involved, it's also a great way to distress.
6 comments
Hope you're feeling better and you got the medicine and everything just fine!
I was surprised by the sign because the English on it is so good. You don't usually see such perfect English here. It's too bad that the last word was wrong!
~BCP
My biggest fear about living in Korea is getting seriously ill here. Figuring out the physical therapy for my bruise was hard enough, but I would quickly get the heck out of here for anything very serious.
I mean, standard medical treatment here is an intramuscular shot (of what I don't know) combined with three days of three doses a day of five pills. What kind of pills? Who knows, but this is what they do for food poisoning, a cold, bronchitis... And then they'll tell you to eat kimchi or not shower for three days or eat warm foods to help heat up the body to get rid of fever.
This is actually the first time I've ever been asking if I was on medications and about my family's medical history. I was pretty impressed, actually. And now I have a special ID card for the hospital, in my standard "no last name" A-MAN-DA Hangul name.
Of course, I had buhang done to help get rid of "bad blood," and Master—someone I obviously respect—was the one who said to do it, so I don't have much room to criticize their health beliefs.
So true!!
Hope you are ok.
Mat
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