Hello all,
As promised, I've decided to give you some more updates about a few different things. First, last month I did end up going to a dentist a couple times, which was an interesting adventure. The last time I visited a dentist in the States, I had been encouraged to have my wisdom teeth removed. I never did really follow up on that until I came here and found out that one my coworkers actually had had hers extracted since being in Korea. In her case, she experience pain and probably did need them out; in my case, because I've never specifically had trouble with them, I was only going off what I had been advised to do. Thus I contacted the same dentist, who happens to have studied at none other than the University of Michigan (which I discovered when I was there and told him where I had moved from), because the operation had gone well for my coworker, and she recommended this particular dentist highly. Because he studied in America, he does speak English, which, for me, remains one of the necessary abilities of one who would work in my mouth. As you can surmise, I contacted this dentist intending to have my wisdom teeth removed, and it was only after our second meeting that things changed a bit.
Let me also give you a little taste of how my first trip there actually played out. This dentist works out of a nearby university, and because the bus ride is a little out of the way and because I was in a time crunch, I ended up taking a taxi. Most places I go in the city require a 10-15 minute taxi ride; this university was about 30 minutes away. So I arrived pretty much at the exact time that I should have been in the dentist's office because I didn't expect the commute to take quite so long, but no biggie right? Right. My coworker had given me a general idea of where I should go and what the check-in process would look like, so I was feeling pretty confident with how it would work out. I went inside to the check-in area and grabbed a number (quick aside … that could easily turn into a much longer one: I'm pretty sure that I've seen more "take a ticket" machines during my 6 months here than I've ever seen before in the rest of my life. Pretty much anytime there's a possibility of a wait, guess what, go visit the number machine. I'm still not sure if I prefer the "wait in line" or the "take a ticket" model … but I've readily noticed its prevalence since being here and figured it's worth mentioning to you as well) and took a seat. Now you'd think that since I've been here this long (granted, it was technically only about 5 months at that point … and so much has change since then … haha … maybe not … since I'm now hearty to the 6 months mark) I would have anticipated that even though I was at a university, the tellers would probably still only speak Korean, but somehow I had just hoped that it would go really smoothly. As you might guess, it wasn't as smooth as I had hoped, but somehow we muddled through all the information-gathering so that I could be a real, live registered patient.
It's in times like those that I'm continually impressed and simultaneously simply relieved how it can all just work out with such a barrier between us. Think about the times when you've gone to a dentist and doctor and had to fill out forms or give information; it's often not the most straightforward, easily accomplished process. Now think about doing that when all the forms and all questions asked are being given in another language. Whew. I can only sum it up like this: immediate perspiration and stress spikes through the roof. And somehow, as I alluded to before, each time this happens, I'm a little caught off guard once again. Somehow I feel comfortable enough with the situation (of being a foreigner in Korea) and my general daily interactions (with people only speaking Korean) that I kind of forget my immediate language barrier. This reminds me of something from the past: I really like watching movies or shows in languages other than English, thus subtitles become invaluable to the movie-watching/movie-understanding experience. There have been countless times when I've simply forgotten that I was "reading" the movie rather than just listening to it, and I've gotten up to do something, and suddenly it clicks: "What did he just say? Oh yeah, that's right. I still can't actually understand Japanese. haha." In this same way, I approached the counter without really considering how difficult it could be to process a new client when the client doesn't speak the right language. That process took a bit of time, but I soon made it into my dentist's office.
On this particular day (it was a Tuesday), I had intended to get a routine cleaning and x-rays. Both of these, the dentist had said, were necessary before something like wisdom teeth removal, and I agreed. So first he set me up to get an x-ray. This was the first time I've ever stood up for a dental x-ray, and it was pretty sweet. I stepped up to a large machine and had to bite a certain piece (to keep me stationary), and then an arm rotated the x-ray device around my head to get a complete 360 degree shot. I felt like I was engaging such high-tech equipment here … but that's probably just because I'm used to a small practice where I've always gone in my hometown of Auburn. In a city that's population doesn't exceed 15,000, I'm pretty sure that there's not such a demand for the most advanced dental equipment, so I'm not gonna chalk up this new device to Korea only … although it did make my experience here all the more exciting. As it turned out though (or didn't turn out, actually), the x-ray machine was somehow broken, so after being bombarded with x-rays first in the dentist's office, I had to go to a different place nearby to get a second set taken. It was also just before I left for that second place that I found out there weren't enough staff available, so my cleaning would have to wait until the next week.
That following week (it was a Tuesday again) I returned to the same place, and this time having a better idea of how things could go, I made sure to be super early -- I'm talking like, 15 whole minutes. Yeah, for those of you who know me well, that's super early. haha. And even though I was early, I jumped right into the chair, and things got started. As it turned out, after reviewing my x-rays, the dentist said that I really didn't need to have my wisdom teeth out after all. I was pretty glad to hear this, so I ended up only getting a cleaning that day, and we said our goodbyes for the next 6 months, until I could make my glorious return and assume the throne once again in pristine office 5b. Now all in all, this trip to the dentist was pretty different from anything I've experience before, and I can't necessarily attribute all that to being in Korea. As I already said, I had always gone to the same dentist's office, and it's the kind of place, because my immediate family goes there as well, that even as I didn't go very regularly during college years, each time I returned, the staff members often made small talk that was pretty specific to my family or life. Interacting with the Graves family leaves an impression -- mostly because after you've finished with one or two or three … there are still a ton more to come through the pipeline. haha. So lots of information is passed from Graves family member to staff member each time. In this most recent trip, though, all that familiarity was stripped away. Additionally, whereas before I would be able to see things and help the dentist from time to time (maybe with something as simple as "Hold this suction tube;" "Well, ok!"), here I played no role other than simply opening my mouth and keeping it that way. And actually, when I was tipped back, a black covering was placed over me that had only an opening for my mouth, so truly I was more cut off from everything around me than I had ever been before. It proved to be a very strange, yet exceedingly interesting experience from start to finish. Frankly, I'm really looking forward to going back in a few months and doing all the motions yet again.
So that was my trip to the dentist. I did survive, and it was great. haha. Let's see … what else for now: language update. Truly, if I studied more, I would be in a better position and know more, but regardless I have continued to study here and there and pick up things from general conversations, and I still enjoy this process a lot. I've decided that during this first year, I want to finish off my current textbook, paying most attention to vocabulary building and the understanding of grammar and mechanics that conversational ability. Before coming here, I had a romantic, naive impression of learning a second language, and some small part of me (probably more than I'm willing to admit) thought, "Oh, no big deal … attaining fluency should be no problem … yeah, just give me 6 months or so." haha. Maybe for some this wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm constantly realizing that I simply don't possess the appropriate motivation or desire or time to make fluency my own reality anywhere in the near future. And I'm ok with that. I will keep studying as I can and enjoying the process of small revelations here and there.
Ok, while considering the length of this message already, I've decided to postpone the "day in the life" part for another day, and instead I'll add one more part about my last weekend. On Saturday I got to take a trip up north with my friend Dianne. We met up with a bunch of people from a club she's a part of in a very small village called Bongha. Bongha is the hometown of the last South Korean president, President No. Going into this trip I really didn't know anything about our current president, let alone the one prior, and even now I still don't know much, but learning the little bit that I did was very, very interesting, and it made me realize that finding out more about Korea's recent (or distant) political or social or religious (et cetera) history is something I really should do … and now feel a little more compelled to do. From time to time, I've read little, general articles about Korean things, but I've not spent intense time looking at more details about how the country really has changed and developed as a whole. Turning back to my trip, learning about President No in particular was very intriguing. From what I understand, President No was one who wanted to "fight the good fight," but I think that something went awry toward the end of his presidency (and by the way, South Korean presidents serve for 5 year terms without the option for reelection). The next president to be elected has been very different, and there are some very strong opinions about the current president and his actions/policies (that I'll handily leave out of this message), which have caused some to look back upon President No with a more endearing perspective. All the while, there were still quite a few people who only loved President No throughout his term. After he finished, President No returned to his hometown, and he got back into living life. He interacted with anyone and just seemed to be a nice guy. But then he decided to end his life and jumped off a peak from the mountain that is practically in his back yard. When I learned this, I was really shocked. I encourage you to look into this for yourself if you want more real details, but it stands out to me as one of the saddest stories I've heard in a long time. And so we came to this village to pay respect to President No and learn more about him. Now, when the tour guide was pointing out things and speaking in Korean, I didn't really pick up much, but it was neat nonetheless. People who loved President No have put together money and built a memorial to him next to the city, at the base of the mountain, and while there, we walked through a small ceremony to show respect to the past President. It really was a touching experience -- mostly just being there and witnessing the responses other had to what was being said and shown. On a lighter note, we did all eat lunch together, and during lunch I made some new friends, the most notable of whom was a goofy guy with whom I drank some rice wine with our arms interlocked. haha. Oh how Koreans love to drink -- especially with foreigners.
Alright. I think that's it for now. This weekend I'll be heading away with some other teachers for the Lunar New Year, so I'm sure I'll have some more great stories for you for next time. I wish you all the best (don't worry; just in case you happened to be momentarily perplexed by the conundrum ensuing from wishing a superlative to multiple people simultaneously -- since we all know that there is, technically and actually, only one "best" -- I am actually wishing you individual, relative, personal "best"s that are not mutually exclusive), and I'll catch you again sometime later. haha.
Much love to you all.
pfn,
bg
ps- if you want to see some photos from my trip to Bongha, visit here:
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