Pharmacies and Hangmen - Stories from the past part 9

"May 18, 2005
PHARMACIES AND HANGMEN
There is a warm wind blowing out there tonight, yet the world in its permanent slumber does not see the troubles of others.

That was yesterday. I went outside after work to get some chow for my empty stomach and faced myself almost battling with the forcefully warm wind blowing at me. I have been sick for the past couple of days. Well since the past weekend. I am not sure what to blame my current condition on, and don't really know if I am entitled to do so. Besides a sick co-worker and the crazy dancing, sweating and then going outside half naked on the weekend, I guess I have myself to blame for my lack of cautioseness. Ou well. Got to stick it out. Going to the doctors tomorrow. On the subject of doctors here, and health care in general, it is very cheap. I guess coming from Canada, having to pay for any kind of health care, other than medication that is, might still seem a bit more than one is used to, but for people coming from the U.S. a $10 visit to the doctor is a bargain. The medication here is much less expencive than in Canada, it would seem. Pills, such as Tilenol etc, are being sold for $2 a pack. The only problem is that the packs contain no more than 10 pills and most of them, the ones I have bought so far, are recomended to be taken two at a time and three times a day, so in the end a packet like that will last you for a day and a half. So yes the prices seem to be cheaper for medicine, pills, but due to their small quantity packaging, it may come out to something very similar to Canada. Someone out there do the math and correct me if I happen to be in a complete wrong.

The pharmacy around me here, there are several of them within less than one kilometer radius, are curiously equipped with Chinese medicines and remedies. Things that most likely would not pass as medicine in Canada or the US. Here they cover the majority of shelves. Perhaps due to their bulky nature. Most of them are packaged in little bottles which can be emptied by a health searching individual by inserting a tiny straw into the bottle and gobbling the whole half a sip down in one swig. If nothing else, they are well worth it for the entertainment value.

Did you know that the so very old game of Hangman can be played in reverse? The kids at my school, I am saying at my school since they do not really represent a general kids population of Korea, (or do they?), start the Hangman by drawing a stick man, and than slowly removing parts, strokes, from him as the wrong letters keep coming, until the stick man has completely dissapeared. I thought it was strange and in terms of the name of the game, does not make any sense. Here in Korea the Hangman managed somehow to escape punishment. Instead of dangling at the end of a line, he somehow manages to disapear into thin air."

"May 19, 2005
THERE AND BACK AGAIN
This one by Jacek Glowacki. Yeah I know its the Two tower rip off, and I guess if someone decides to sue me over it, they can go right ahead and line up behind all the other people wating for their money.

Beautiful day here in Ulsan today. Sunny days just put a whole new spin on lives events. They make me feel like living it out again. I was anxiously awaiting the release of the third Star Wars episode here in Ulsan. Couple of weeks ago, while patiently awaiting the feature of Kingdom of Heaven in a Pusan cinema, which by the way with the exception of some of the hoky and corny sceenes, was pretty good, Jo and I got a whif of the preview. The movie was supposed to start on the 20th, meaning tomorrow. Jo and I were planning on stepping out for the viewing early in the morning prior to beginning our work, but apparently the movie is not being shown on the 20th. I am not really sure what happened. Perhaps it was the wrong month. Perhaps it was the wrong city. Perhaps it was the wrong country. I would not let anything by here. Things are certainly done differently in Korea. That's really what makes the stay interesting, althogh it can be dissapointing sometimes.

I am having a house warming party tomorrow. Well whatever the hell you want to call it in the end its just another excuse to get together with some people, socialise, talk and drink. So far it seems that besides my co-workers and myself, the company may be rather slim. I guess I failed to attend the last popularity contest, or I did attend it and failed miserably.

No real exciting news on Korea. There is a local market though, that opens up every five days, apparently regardless of the day. You can buy anything you like, with the exception of furniture, computer equipment, clothing designed for men of my size, video or other entertainment equipment, camera equipment and weapons of mass destruction. Although the last one could be put under questioning.

One thing I found out about pigs heads. While visiting Seoul with Isabel last year, we stumbled upon a market with a whole whack of pigs heads hacked off right at the nape. To us it seemed wierd, seeing happy smily pig heads lined up on a random shelf of the market. Our assumption was that they were being used for cooking, and perhaps in some cases they are, in other cases, as I was informed by my supervisor a very reliable source of Korean traditions, they are used as good luck charms. Some people put them at the door of a new house to ward of any bad spirits.

Sometimes the heads are carried away into the woods, for the same purpose, to guard oneself from bad spirits. Some Koreans still hold a believe in animalism. The existance of good and bad spirits, which sounds reminiscent to the believes of the Native Americans, with the bad spirits having the power to harm a person or make a home unhappy, and the good spirits can be pissed off as well. So you need the pigs heads to keep them invisible ones happy."