Its been nearly 2 weeks since I had the drive to sit down and write, mostly because I’ve been battling an awful “manflu” (as some have dubbed it) with the changing season. Other than my cold everything here is great, I’ll be updating with the rest of my 1st Seoul Hiking Group trip asap and following up with my 2nd one to Gyeongju soon too. But I thought I’d use this one to give you some insight into the medical system here in South Korea.
The first time I was sick I brought something awful back from the Philippines. I was still living in Mokdong and went to the nearby clinic. I was surprised to get in and out in a matter of about 35 minutes and it cost the equivalent of about $6. Another $4 got me 3 days of meds and I felt better the next day!
Well a few weeks ago I came down with what I thought was just a sore throat from a LATE night in Itaewon. A week later I was feeling better and made the mistake of helping a friend celebrate their birthday which ended up in another late night. Needless to say my cold kept coming back so I eventually went to the local doctor.
In Korea they refer to any doctor as going to the “hospital,” well turns out there is an English speaking clinic right around the corner from me in Hyewha! I actually did go to the hospital this time and got a round of antibiotics and a few other pills. It well worth an extra $10 to have English speaking nurses and doctors at Seoul National University Hospital.
Feeling a little better I signed up for my latest trip with Seoul Hiking Group which began as my antibiotics ended 5 days later. The trip to Gyeongju was awesome but I had to skip the Sunday sunrise hike because my sore throat was back! An annoying thing about doctors here is they like to prescribe 3-5 days of antibiotics when I’m used to getting 7-14 days and always reminded to take the whole thing!
I had to make a second trip yesterday for a second round of antibiotics but can already tell its working like a charm. Hopefully this means I can start enjoying the awesome weather we are having again. I have so many hikes I’m looking forward to and want to get back to exploring my neighborhood rather than feeling like crap every evening!
In other news I have my first field trip with my new job on Friday and I still love my students and coworkers. We are finishing the first module this week so I’m giving a lot of tests and am happy to find a pretty good bell curve so far.
I’m going to try and get better at Skyping/being able to chat when you East Coasters are around so definitely shoot me a message. Early mornings and late evenings are the key!
Be on the look out for my Seoul Hiking Group updates with lots of pictures over the next few days.
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Sandy went to an eye clinic a 5 minute walk from the Ritz Carlton in Gangnam-gu. The German-born (of Korean parents) and educated doctor gave her a thorough eye exam and diagnosed her pink-eye. The office was immaculate and efficient. He gave her 2 Rx and we were on our way in 20 minutes. Cost $14. Two doors over was the pharmacy, and even though they spoke no english, the prescriptions were ready in 5 minutes. Total cost $12. The medicines worked quickly and thoroughly. If you ever need eye care, go to GM Guten Morgen Eye Clinic. It is included on the attached file of International clinics in Seoul.
https://www.seoulforeign.org/uploaded/SFSwide/Transitions/International_Clinics.pdf
/Users/peter/Desktop/International_Clinics.pdf