Mon., 2.5.24

Back to the hospital today as I was just about out of my painkiller prescription. That’s always a stressful visit. And no translator this time. But the Dr. spoke better English than he gave himself credit for. I told him his English was very good and he was like 아니 아니 (ah-ni ah-ni, “no, no”) and I was like I understood you very well and he thanked me, ha ha.

ANYWHO…another round of scans…x-ray and CT…the stone has lodged itself in my ureter (which I know, from the pain) but it has been there awhile it seems and has caused the kidney to get very enlarged due to like backflow (I guess) of urine that can’t get past the stone: hydronephrosis. He didn’t seem TERRIBLY alarmed but he was like when can we get this out of you before it does real damage?? In theory, I should be eligible for the National Health Insurance on Feb 23, which is 6 months (can you believe it?) from my arrival here in Seoul.  So I have another appt on Feb 29 to go in for like pre-procedure tests and we’ll decide then what course of action to take: lithotripsy or endoscopy.

I vote for lithotripsy (shockwave therapy) cuz I’ve had a million of ’em so am familiar with the procedure. It’s also in-and-out same day. The endoscopy (from what I read online) requires anaesthesia to the spine (no thank you), then they stick a tube up you with a little basket on the end, which grabs the stone (like a claw machine game), then breaks the stone up  and pulls the broken bits out. It requires a 3-day hospital stay which is….again, no thank you, plus, much more $$$.

One thing he did say though, is that the hydrophrenosis can lead to fatigue and inability to focus. Them’s My Middle Names these days! Bettye Extreme Fatigue & Inability to Focus Rainwater. It would be wonderful if the stone removal would also end this fatigue. All I want to do, all my body wants to do, is Lay Down. Not even sleep. Just…lay. Unmoving. All the livelong day.

Does anyone use that expression anymore?? “Livelong”? All the livelong day?

I’m gonna bring it back.

So I didn’t go to class…I was so wiped out from my hospital adventure…I did my homework and vocabulary but…I just could not make that walk today. Tomorrow. I will go tomorrow.

Tue., Feb 6

Class. Home. Study. Sleep.

Wed., Feb 7

Had dinner with three women from my first class, whose time here in Korea is up next week and they’ll be heading home.

The younger students are mostly here studying Korean to pass the TOPIK test so they can enroll in a Korean university and get a job and live here after graduating. But the people who are a little older are here on borrowed time from their real lives. They’ve managed to put jobs and families on hold while they came here for 3-6 months…but at some point they’re expected back.

These were lovely ladies who were kind and thoughtful and helpful and fun. We studied and had some outings together back last fall. We ran into one another occasionally this term and caught up, but…it wasn’t the same as when we were all in the same class together.

I will miss seeing them around…oh, remember the bagel? This was the bagel girl, ha ha.

Thur., Feb 8

My friend Hyungun bartends part-time and his boss is opening a second restaurant. Before the actual opening he invited some friends and colleagues to come to the new place so he could test the menu and all the processes. Hyungun was included in the invitation, so we went to the not-yet-really-open restaurant Thursday night.

We ordered a few dishes ourselves, and they offered us some as “service,” which is the term here for “on the house,” or free. We had cow hearts, fried shrimp, cheongyeopsal (which is similar to pork belly, which I love), seaweed-covered rice balls, the dish with my favorite name but which was my least favorite to eat (sort of like mushy, very salty sashimi) “Spawn of a Pollack,” and some nice ice cream on traditional Korean honey cookies. A couple shots of a very nice grapefruit liquer (is that spelled right? it looks weird), and a bunch of somek (beer + soju). Everything was very good (except, for me, the Spawn of a Pollack, I just like saying the name), and we had a nice evening just eating, drinking, and talking.

An interesting difference in Korean restaurants (well, establishments in general) from American (at least New York), is that they don’t have to have a bathroom for their patrons. You often have to go out the back door to the alley to a bathroom, or around the corner to a public bathroom in a commercial building. It’s a little inconvenient, especially when you’re drinking a lot! I must have walked around the corner five times to use a bathroom in another building!

Fri., Feb 9

DAY OFF!!! It’s the first day of the 4-day Lunar New Year weekend. Apparently this is the last day of the lunar calendar for 2023 and tomorrow, Feb 10 will be the first day of the new year – The Year of the Dragon. I think this almost marks the first day of spring, but…it’ll be awhile til it feels like spring here.

Other than a tutoring session in the morning, I just gave myself the day really off. I never left the room. I napped and read and studied the teensiest bit (finals are next week). OH, and ORDERED FRIED CHICKEN DELIVERY!!! My Favorite Person in the Whole Wide World, my friend Hyungun, figured out the issue with getting my phone number verified for food delivery!!! Oh Happy Day. You know I got right on that!

It only took me one hour and 47 minutes to place my order (to PLACE the order, that does not include the delivery time), as even being verified it is still a very challenging process because there are So Many Words…and you’ll never guess what language they’re in. SIGH. But before long there was a knock on the door and when I opened it there stood my Knight in Motorbike Leather with my little box of fried chicken in his hand. Oh the joy.

I was grateful for every delicious bite that I did not have to go and get myself.

Sat., Feb 10

I PLANNED to go out today…I INTENDED to go out today.

But I did not go out today.

Oh well.

Sun., Feb 11

Two days seemed like enough for not leaving my room, so I went for lunch with my friend from the building. We went to a vegan place in Itaewon which was pretty cute. The food was fine, but…the TOAST. This may well have been the best toast I’ve ever had in my life. It was sort of thick and a little doughy inside, but perfectly toasted and hot on the outside. It wasn’t sweet (as so many things that shouldn’t be, are here) but it seemed like maybe it was from a brioche loaf. It was so nice. I’m a toast girl and I have really missed toast. There’s no oven or toaster or toaster oven here…the only thing I could maybe do is brown it in a frying pan but…we all know that’s not gonna be the same thing. But this toast made me Really Happy.

We went to a nearby foreign food mart that I’d hoped would have more American products, but all I got was one can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, some Fritos, real honey (I’ve only found wildflower honey so far and it’s not the same as “regular” honey) and a little package of Swedish Fish. I’d pop in again if I was in the area to see what was there, but I wouldn’t make a special trip cuz it was kinda far for just a few random things.

The weather was pretty mild, so it was nice to be out (especially after 2 days in my room). I rode back in the taxi alone as she went on to meet some other friends, and it was just nice looking at scenery in the daylight. Usually I’m in taxis at night.

The afternoon was quiet…I read a bit, watched the sudden snow flurries for a few minutes, ate my leftover vegan mac&cheese for dinner, and watched a couple episodes of my current k-drama. Overall, a nice day. And I still have one more day off tomorrow. Yay.

And in five days I’ll be FREE for 2.5 weeks for the term break, hallelujah!!! Oh boy do I need THAT!

Hope everyone’s doing well….