Dentist

I am officially done with the root canal.  Very happy about that.  It took about 10 trips to have it completed.  It was worth it though and the last three were free.  As happy as I am to have it out of the way, the dentist pointed out that I am not done.  It appears I have cavities that need fillings.  No thanks to my avoidance of dentists for the last five years or however long it has been.

Korea is an excellent place to be for medical care.  I have found that the people are extremely caring when it comes to helping another's welfare.  This is where foreigners are in a really lucky place.  We are automatically assumed to be in need of care: not getting lost, finding basics like food, being homesick, trapped in culture shock.  These are all things that Koreans worry about for us.

In a Korean's view, America is the ultimate place to be.  They was to be rich and smart with the nice lifestyles we all are sure to enjoy.  Coming from America to teach English must be such a hard thing for us because they are inferior, or so they believe.  My students are envious of American students and wish to study in the US.  I don't blame them.  For all their hard work here, the education really isn't that much better.

There is a darker side to Korean culture.  It is very competitive.  They are not always on their nicest behavior to each other in many respects.  Thankfully their society had a code of conduct that regulates strongly that competitive anger that exists below the surface.  Jealousy is common.  I work hard to infuse into my students the world view of congratulating someone for doing well even if they scored higher than you on a test.  It takes work as usually the top student is picked on instead.