Korean Job Discussion Forums

[curtiscurtis]

Hello!!! I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired!!! When I first got here I got soooo bloody sick that I didn't eat for 11 days... I was in the hospital for 5 days with a nice juicy 800,000 Won hospital bill because it was still too early for my medical to kick in!

I had 1 or 2 respiratory infections, what with the coughing and the congestion maybe due to the crap air quality.

Now I've been waiting for Lunar break and the very first day I get a WICKED fever and I've been shivering my ass off and hallucinating and bed ridden for 3 days. I'll be perfectly honest... I'm sick of this SH*T!!! I just want to say F it and pack my bags and get out of here...

Why is Korea so bloody unsanitary?? They are a 3rd world country. Do they enjoy being sick all the time? Bloody hell! I am never sick back in Canada!!!

If I go home I will regret it. I need someone to give me a morale boost!!! Either that or just bitch with me here!

[little mixed girl]

it's not that unusual for people to catch a lot of colds when they arrive in a new country.
the first time i went to korea i got a cold, and it was july.

if you're worried about the air, and it is pretty polluted, try wearing a mask out.
other than that, get rest and take your meds.

when i first got to japan i was continuously sick from october - march because i was around kids a lot.

[bejarano-korea]

[Luna]

[ChopChaeJoe]

Actually, it's going to get worse before it gets better. chinese dust is coming. Get ready to live inside a sooty chiminey.

[nomad-ish]

what i do is whenever i have a break in between classes, i use some of that hand disinfectant (u can buy it from red door in itaewon). it does a number on your hands (buy a good hand cream for the end of the day), but it keeps my hands clean in case i eat something or touch my face, mouth.

also don't get too chummy with the kids (ex. shake their hands, high five, etc.), and maybe start bringing your own lunch instead eating cafe food (u don't know how sanitary the conditions there are).

good luck with whatever u decide to do, it does take a few months to build up some kind of resistance to the stuff over here, almost everyone i know over here has been really sick at one point or another

[spliff]

If it's Korea's fault than why do I never get sick? I think perhaps your body is weak.

[WoBW]

^

Yeah, I second that. I ALWAYS wash my hands after I finish teaching kids. They are walking germ factories.

[bejarano-korea]

To be fair I don't get ill but I don't drink alcohol. I was tired at first but thats down to 'culture shock' I'm feeling pretty chipper as of late in fact!

[little mixed girl]

[Corky]

You got some mould going in your apartment?

[bassexpander]

Man, if I had a period for 3 months, I'd be pretty miserable, too!

[IncognitoHFX]

Been here eight months. Nothing more than a headache and runny nose.

I guess some people really get affected differently. Oh, and Korea's not a third world country. What gave you that idea?

[ChopChaeJoe]

I got sick every month or so when i arrived, then every six weeks or so, then every two months, I'm up to about the nine week point now. It's more often than back home, but it gets better.

I don't worry much about germs though, except than whenever I am lucky enough to find a bar of soap in a bathroom, it's always bone dry. Am I the only person who uses soap after going to the bathroom? I try not to think about it.

[mistermasan]

someday i'll tell you about geting caught up in SARS ground zero Taiwan...the public schols closed but the academies stayed open. being required to wear surgical masks and rubber gloves to teach.