Pill Identification

I recently found this very helpful.  Yesterday I went to the doctor to do something about my cold.  Normally if I'm not feeling like I'm on the verge of death, I let whatever it is that I have run its course.  A big exception, however, is when I have a cold.  Being a teacher, working with a stuffy nose and phlegmy cough is not so great.  I'd rather treat my symptoms than be miserable for a few days.

In Korea, the pharmacist puts your pills in little paper packets.  Instead of having a bottle of pill A and a bottle of pill B, the pharmacist puts one of each pill in the packet.  Each packet is your dose of all your meds.  This time it's a 3 a day regiment.  My after lunch pills have a check on the packet.  Easy, right?

One thing I always forget to do is look at my prescription and see what kind of meds i'm on.  Pretty dumb.  These pill packets get put in a big envelope that doesn't have the name of the medicine or any information other than the dosage schedule.  A great resource I found was the Korean Pill Identifier.  The first two blanks are for what is stamped on one side of the pill.  The middle is for the brand stamp.  The third section is for the shape of the pill, and the last is the color.  I usually just do the first and last sections.  Imprint and color.  You'll get a list of pills with pictures and you can just find what you have.

It helps to know a little bit of hangeul in order to read the name of the pill.  If not, don't worry.  The last column of the results is the drug name in English.  From there just search what the drug is/what it's for/side effects.

Double Up

Exciting news!  Maybe not real news, but it's new to me.  I just found out that I am eligible for dual citizenship!  I can be a citizen of both the United States and Korea.  Previously (before 2010? I'm not sure exactly when this happened.  I have to research the timeline more) dual citizenship wasn't an option for anyone.  There were and are visa options for ethnic Koreans that were adopted in America, foreign spouses of Korean nationals, and children with Korean and foreign parents.  Those options still exist, but now does the option of dual citizenship.

Previously, if an ethnic Korean or foreign spouse wanted Korean citizenship, they had to renounce their original citizenship.  Not something I'd be interested in doing.  Now, as part of the process, you have to take an oath saying that while in Korea, you give up your rights as a foreigner.  Basically, if you get in trouble with the law, you can't go to your embassy for help because you are being counted as Korean while in Korea.  While outside of Korea, you can be counted as a citizen of your home country again.

Dual citizenship has some perks.  As a foreign teacher here, these are not so relevant.  As a foreign spouse who is looking to do something other than teach, they are nicer.

• Taking out loans and owning property will be easier if you were a citizen.
• 2 passports(!) and the visa privileges that go with them.  Cheaper Chinese visas for Korean citizens as opposed to more expensive ones for US citizens.
• Getting to use the short immigration line at the airport(!!!)
• Other things made easier by not having the "foreigner" label attached to you.

There are some drawbacks, too.  While gaining the perks of being a Korean, you'd also lose some perks of being a foreigner.

• Some scholarships to study in Korea are only available to foreigners.  
• If you are in trouble, you can't go to your original country's embassy for help.
• Since you are not a foreigner, any children you have in Korea won't be eligible for an international school.

Then there's the big drawback if you're planning on being an English teacher:  All of the bonuses perks that you'd get for being a foreign teacher can go away.  Housing allowance: gone.  High salary: gone.  Re-signing bonus: gone.  NOTE: I'm not 100% sure of this, but it seems very possible that it could happen.  Most of it would depend on if you are working at a public school or an academy.  You might not even be eligible for some jobs because you are technically not a foreigner anymore.  

Dual citizenship sounds like a cool thing but it is more than just having two passports.  You get the rights of citizens in either country, but also have to bear the responsibilities.  In Korea's case there is a mandatory military service requirement for all able bodied male citizens.  Dual citizenship can complicate this for many people.  For my situation being a foreign spouse, I would not need to enter military service.  For a male with dual nationality who tries to renounce Korean citizenship in order to dodge military service, the rules are stricter.  Now, a male citizen who is trying to renounce his Korean citizenship after the age of 18 cannot unless he has fulfilled his duty.   

I think maybe in the future If we decide to stay in Korea long(er) term and I work somewhere other than a school, dual citizenship might be for me.  As for now, I have the benefits of the mighty F-6 spousal visa and am content with that.  I can even use a short line at the airport, just not the citizens line.  Visas like the spousal visa, long term resident visa, and ethnic Korean adopted to another country visa give many of the conveniences but not as many of the responsibilities of being a full fledged citizen.  They are a happy medium.

Movie Monday

I haven't seen too many Korean movies but what I have seen, I've liked.  Hopefully with movies like Snowpiercer and Stoker that feature Korean directors, they will become more widely known.  This past weekend I saw 숨바꼭질 (soom ba gok jil).  Hide and Seek in English.  Sidenote: I watched it without subtitles.  I got the general gist of the movie but Victoria had to fill me in on some of the dialogue.

Image: Asianwiki

Hide and seek is one of those movies that you watch and think "holy shit, that could totally happen to me."  Have you ever felt like there was someone in your house when you know there wasn't?  Have you ever felt like you were being watched?  If so, this movie will give you chills.  

Hide and Seek follows the story of Sung-Soo, a cafe owner who investigates the disappearance of his estranged older brother.  His investigation leads him to discover a code written by the doors of the apartments in his brother's building.  Sung-Soo discovers the meaning of the code, only to find it written on his own door.  

I couldn't find out how to insert the trailer directly onto the page, and youtube doesn't have a version with
English subs.  Check here and scroll down the page and click on the English subtitled version.  

Happy watching!

More Festivals??

If there is one thing Korea doesn't lack, it's festivals.  Festivals for food, festivals for holidays, festivals for.... pretty much anything.  Most regions and cities are famous for at least one thing, usually food.  Whenever that food is in season, there is a festival.  There are other non-food festivals though, like the Mud Festival, the Reed Festival, and the Turtle Ship Festival.  This past weekend, we went to the Suncheon Light Festival.

The Light Festival is pretty small compared to festivals, but it was still a pretty cool experience.  I'm not sure if it's an annual thing or not.  This was the first year I've ever heard of it.  Basically take a small park and put ALL of the LED lights in it.  Light up the trees, light up the water, lights for daaaaays.

While there wasn't much to do outside of walking through the park, it was still a decent way to spend a fall night.  It's nice to know that if you're feeling bored, there is usually something going on that is worth taking a look at.

SHRIMPAPALOOZA

Mmmmmm shrimp.  What's better than regular shrimp?  JUMBO SHRIMP!  And what could be better than just jumbo shrimp?  A JUMBO SHRIMP FESTIVAL!  Fall is shrimp season in Korea and to celebrate, a couple of cities throw jumbo shrimp festivals (대하 축제).  Food-centric festivals in Korea are always a good time.  There are restaurants and stalls selling the spotlight food, as well as drink booths, games, and activities relating to said food.  At the jumbo shrimp festival in Hongseong, there was even a shrimp catching contest.  We got there too late for that tho.  Because of the trains and buses we had to take, our journey from Yeosu ended up taking almost six hours.  In the end it was worth it, tho.

Along the street were a ton of restaurants all selling daeha (jumbo shrimp).  Most of the menus were the same.  You order by the kilo or you order a set that came with grilled shrimp, fried shrimp, and either steamed crab or crab soup.  At our restaurant we ordered a kilo of shrimp (대하구이) and a two person serving of crab soup (꽃게탕).  The owner gave us some fried shrimp (대하튀김) for free!  Score!

Delicious gut-busting shrimp.

For two people, this was a lot of food.  It took us about two and a half hours to get through all of it.  two and a half delicious hours.  I think the festival would have been more enjoyable if we hadn't gotten there so late, but with how far Hongseong is from Yeosu, there wasn't much we could do.  Before we went back to Yeosu, we ordered a couple of kilos of daeha to be delivered to our house.  When they arrived, we had a bbq down by the waterfront with some friends.  Because really, there is no such thing as too much jumbo shrimp.  Add a little lemon butter, and oh boy.  My mouth is watering just from typing this.

Shrimp AND samgyeopsal?  Getting crazy here.

We had our bbq at Ocean Park.  The weather was perfect and the bridges were in all their light-up glory.  Even the passing boats were decked out in color changing LED because, well, Korea.

Dolsan Bridge 1, Dolsan Bridge 2, and a Turtle Ship harbor cruise

Festival Info

Hongseong Jumbo Shrimp Festival

Period: September 13th-November 26th 2013

Location: Hongseong Namdang Harbor

Travel Info: Take a train to Gwangcheon (광천) instead of Hongseong.  You'll be closer to the festival grounds.  From there, take a bus to the grounds at Namdang-ri (남당-리).  You'll know when you're there.

Website: Hongseong Jumbo Shrimp Festival

Anmyeon-do Jumbo Shrimp Festival

Period:  September 27th-October 27th 2013

Location: Anmyeon-do Baeksajang Port

Travel Info: Take a bus to Taean (태안) and then a bus to Anmyeon-do (안면도)

The Anmyeon-do festival seems to be the bigger of the two.

5 day weekend!

Last week the moon did everyone a solid and was full on Thursday the 19th.  So what?  Full moon, big deal, right?  Right.  Korean Thanksgiving, or Chuseok, follows the lunar calendar.  Last week's full moon was the harvest moon and in Korea, that is Chuseok.  The holiday, focusing heavily on seeing family and honoring ancestors, requires people to go back to their hometowns and prepare a big feast with their families.  Because of that, the holiday is actually 3 days long.  The actual full moon (August 15th on the lunar calendar) and the day before and after.  This year, Chuseok fell on a Wednesday-Friday.  Can't get much better than that.  5 day weekend!  Sometimes it falls on a Friday-Sunday and isn't so great.  

But this year was awesome.  With how busy the actual holiday was, it was nice to have the weekend to relax before school started again.  It was also nice to have time to digest.  There was so much eating involved.

My rough Chuseok outline was like this:

Wednesday: Go to the traditional market and buy all the ingredients/requirements for the Chuseok food.  I'm not clear on the rules, but I think it's something along the lines of "something from the mountains, from the ocean...etc."  The rest of the day was spent cooking and at night we took a loooooong walk through Soho-dong.  It was reminiscent of the Narragansett Sea Wall.  

Hello, Thursday morning.

Thursday:  We woke up early.  Really early.  6:30 early.  So early that the sun hadn't even cleared the mountains yet.  See picture above.  By the time we had actually gotten out of bed and put decent clothes on, Victoria's dad had already set out all the food.  We did the memorial ceremony "Jesa", ate, and took a nap.  An 8am nap.  When you eat that much food and drink makkoli that early, you DEFINITELY need your 8am nap.  Later on we visited the columbarium.  5 points if you didn't have to look that one up.  That night, the rest of Victoria's family came over and we ate and drank like it was going out of style.  

The Jesa feast

Friday: We're just going to write Friday off.  It was a recovery day.  

Luckily we had another two days to relax before the week started.  Chuseok is a great holiday to meet family, but it is pretty exhausting.  Though I do miss the times when I could go party in Seoul or take a trip somewhere during the holiday, it has become just as fun to spend some quality time with the family.  It makes me really want to go back stateside for a Christmas or Thanksgiving.  

"Fall"ing Into Place

My lame attempt at a clever title.

Summer is officially over.  The white raven has arrived (anybody? Ok. No more jokes).  School started.

I've fallen into one of my periodic bouts of stagnance again.  Probably because I don't have any real goals.  The goals that I did have were more like things that I just want to do.  Go to the gym regularly.  Blog more.  Stop parking it on the couch with a tub of ricotta cheese.  Mostly things that are achieved by simply doing or not doing them.  I need a real goal.  A goal to work towards.  A SMART goal.

I think I've found one.

This January (or if not, then April) I'm going to take the TOPIK test.  The TOPIK is for Korean what the TOEIC or TOEFL is for English.  My Korean is ok, but I would like to learn more.  I feel like it is my responsibility for being a long term resident of Korea and being married to a Korean.  Even though it is not imperative for my survival here, It's something I feel like I can do.  The TOPIK test is a way to quantify my skills.  Having an official result is more validating than someone saying "but you speak Korean well!"  This will get me on track to study more often and more seriously.  I even compiled a list of resources!  I love lists!

The test is broken up into 3 levels.  초급, 중급, and 고급.  Beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  The total TOPIK score range is 1-6.  Levels 1-2 are for 초급, 3-4 for 중급, and 5-6 for 고급.  I would start at the beginner level, 초급.  My goal is to get a 2.  Then I can prepare for the intermediate level 중급 test.

I think that I have a solid foundation and that my goal of getting a 2 is attainable if I put my mind to it.  Yesterday I downloaded a previous version of the test and was able to answer quite a few questions without getting stumped.  I can do this!  The hardest part will be forming the study habit.  I think I can, I think I can.  I know I can, I know I can.  

10 Reasons I'm Happy To Be Staying In Korea

Making the decision to come to Korea almost 4 years ago was easy.  A new life.  Adventure.  A good job.  Easy peasy.  Since then, I have decided twice to move back to America, and then twice to stay in Korea.  Here is a list of 10 reasons why I'm happy to be staying in Korea, and why.  Hopefully it can give some clarity to people who think living here is crazy, and also show that while soju is abundant, the party life is NOT one of the more compelling reasons to stay.  These are in no particular order.

1. Potential to save money.  Living in Korea as a foreign teacher can be extremely lucrative.  Between the cost of living, ticket reimbursements, free housing, pension, renewal bonuses, and severance, you can make a lot of money here.  More if you stay longer.  Also, if you find your own housing and pay for the deposit money, it's almost like a savings account that gives you a house.
   
2. An easy job at a good salary.  Only speaking for public school teachers here, we make good money.  If you want to figure in your rent free apartment, your salary goes up.  For the money we get here, we have a pretty easy job.  This year I have 20 classes per week plus two online classes that I chose to sign up for.  This leaves me ample time to plan and I am rarely stressed about my work load.
   
3. Travel opportunities.  Korea is pretty close to a lot of countries.  That paired with school vacation time and a good salary makes for great travel opportunities.  Since coming to Korea I have traveled to eight different countries.  A month from now I'll be on summer vacation in the Philippines.  Once the travel bug bites you, it's hard to stop traveling.
   
4. Korean fried chicken.  Korea has some of the best fried chicken I have ever eaten.  It's even better when it's delivered to your door.  Just trust me on this.  This is a perfectly valid reason.
   
5. Healthcare.  The healthcare system in Korea is great.  In the past two years I've spent two weeks in the hospital.  One for an appendectomy and one for pneumonia.  Both weeks were very affordable.  My surgery, morphine, week long hospital stay, and medicine, all together, were under a thousand dollars.  Before a month long trip to Southeast Asia, I decided to get some malaria medicine.  The hospital said it wasn't covered by my insurance and that it would be expensive.  A 6 week supply cost me about $25.  Good healthcare doesn't have to be expensive.
   
6. I like the feeling of being an expat.  There is just something about living in a foreign country.  It gives you a different perspective.  It teaches you to become more independent and adventurous.  It makes you able to feel that anywhere can be home.
   
7. The opportunity to learn a foreign language.  I know a lot of people who would like to learn a foreign language.  I like living in a country where I can practice what I learn.  I'm nowhere near advanced, but I'm proud of the level at which I can speak Korean.
   
8. Incheon International Airport.  Hands down the best airport I've ever been to.  It's so convenient and efficient.  At ICN you can take a shower and a soak at the (very nice) public baths, use free wifi, go ice skating, go to the movies, and even take a free bus to a casino.  On top of that, ICN is just very clean and pleasant to be in.  Of course, I associate the airport with traveling, so I'm predisposed to liking it.
   
9. Meeting people from around the world.  Through living and working in Korea, I have made friends with people from all around the world.  From traveling, I have met even more people.  It's kind of cool to know so many different kinds of people.
   
10. Korean convenience.  Korea is the most convenient place I have ever lived.  You can make internet purchases and have them billed to your cell phone.  Almost every deliver I've received has come in about 2-3 days.  If you're not home, you can have the package delivered to a convenience store and just pick it up later.  So far, I've been amazed at how convenient my life is here, and I love it.

So there they are.  10 reasons why I'm happy to be staying in Korea.  These past 4 years have been great and I'm looking forward to the adventures and experiences that await me here in the future.

Welcome back!

Ok.  Now that I've revived and dusted this blog off, let's get back to business.

First off, I'm going to try to take this blog in a slightly different direction.  My goal is to write more useful posts than I have in the past.  Kind of like when I was first coming to Korea and wrote about the visa and immigration process.  Hopefully it will be a successful combination of "this is my life" and "here is some Korea info".

EDIT I can't believe I forgot to include that I changed the name.  My blog is no longer "my expat life" and the address is no longer expat-ray.blogspot.com.  In case you missed it, I'm now living "the kimchi life".

However, I do feel like I need to recap what has happened in my life since my last real post from early 2011.

What has happened in my life:

• I started my job at Yangji Elementary School, where I have worked since February 2011.
• Visited the US twice.
• Went to Thailand again.
• Moved into a real apartment (no more one rooms!) right across the street from my school.
• Got married!
• Got a Boston Terrier named Simba.
• Honeymooned in Bali.
• Ate incredible food at the Yeosu World Expo.
• Was visited by some friends from back home!
• Got my permanent resident visa!
• Put a deposit down on an apartment so new, it's not even built yet.
• Started going to the gym regularly.  

That's pretty much the gist of my life from the past two years.  A lot has changed and I'm sure it will continue to change.  I've had some great times and not so great times.  The one thing that remains true is that I'm happy that I made a decision almost 4 years ago (almost 4 years!!!!) to up and move to the land of the morning calm.

Under construction.

Whoa it's been a long time.  Time to revamp things here.  Almost 4 years ago I started this blog to catalog my adventures moving abroad to South Korea.  Now, my life here has taken a more permanent direction.  So, I'll be resurrecting and updating this blog to reflect those changes in my life.