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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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 Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 4:24 am Post subject: Life post-Korea.... |
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Well it's almost 3 months since I left the Big K, here's what I've missed:
Masses of people. When I first arrived back in Auckland, I was astounded by the lack of people everywhere. Some may say it's quiet and peaceful, I think it's boring and dull.
Being normal. Yeah we say we hate hearing 'waygook saram-ida!' being screamed at us but in a way I kinda got used to be different and special. Here I'm just another boring face in the crowd.
Cheap, efficient health care. I came back to New Zealand because I need to get surgery to correct respiratory problems that a Korean surgeon (who was on his way to Columbia so knows what he's talking about) was stunned hadn't been corrected. NZ doctors are prescribing expensive drugs instead of removing a series of bones that are pressing down on my ribcage and displacing my heart. Thus far my medical bills are over $750 and my name still isn't on the public surgery waiting list. If I finally get on it, I've got another 6-18 month wait as I'm classified as 'non-urgent' surgery.
Chicken Hoff - Nothing like enjoying great Korea-style fried chicken on a hot summer's day.
Ease in gaining employment. At the moment I have to write long essays, take psychometric tests and have length spiels prepared to HR questions. Then I have to wait weeks to find out if I have got an interview and a few more weeks to see if I've got the job. Grrr.
Cheap food delivery. My parents ordered Chinese food the other night. It was $50 with a delivery surcharge and they didn't come to get the dishes.
My students - they drove me crazy but they did it with a smile on their face.
Freedom from societal expectations - I come back to find most of my friends are walking down the matching/hatching/buying a house aisle. I'm not so sure I want that, but there's this huge pressure that I should. Living in Korea you're kind of free of that.
Low taxes - The lowest tax bracket in NZ is 15%. I'll likely be paying 33% when I find employment.
Excellent public transport - I wanted to catch a train a few kilometers from just on the edge of the central city to the central city. I went to the train station to find the next train would be along in 45 minutes. This was at 2pm in the afternoon. No cabs to hail and no buses in sight, I walked.
Things I don't miss:
Bad hairdressers - my hairdresser was shocked at how yellow my hair had become but had a great time getting back to a more natural colour. I relaxed in the knowledge that my hair wasn't going to turn orange.
No oven - I've been baking up a storm since I got home.
Smog - I like breathing.
Public spitting - Ick.
Lack of decent clothes - It's great to be able to walk into a clothes or shoes shop and find quality decent stuff for my size 10 figure.
Crazy traffic - I suppose lack of people mean a lack of cars. |
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xtchr
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 4:44 am Post subject: |
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Hehe, I guess it's all relative. Ask all other NZers (i.e non-Jafas) and they'll tell you that Auckland is crazy busy with far too many people and the traffic is mental.
Just as well you didn't go back to Gore or somewhere  |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 4:52 am Post subject: |
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| xtchr wrote: |
Hehe, I guess it's all relative. Ask all other NZers (i.e non-Jafas) and they'll tell you that Auckland is crazy busy with far too many people and the traffic is mental.
Just as well you didn't go back to Gore or somewhere |
Gore? Oh dear god no! I ventured out of the confines of the central city (I live on Upper Queen) and thought Henderson seemed throughly provincial! Any talk of leaving the metropolitan areas of either Auckland or Wellington is not something I wish to entertain. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 4:53 am Post subject: Re: Life post-Korea.... |
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| crazylemongirl wrote: |
| what I've missed... Masses of people. When I first arrived back in Auckland, I was astounded by the lack of people everywhere. Some may say it's quiet and peaceful, I think it's boring and dull. |
You miss Seoul then, not the small, pleasantly relaxed Korean town I live in.... (I loved my month in Auckland btw, could live there long term no prob.)
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| Excellent public transport - I wanted to catch a train a few kilometers from just on the edge of the central city to the central city. I went to the train station to find the next train would be along in 45 minutes. This was at 2pm in the afternoon. No cabs to hail and no buses in sight, I walked. |
Another sign of your uber-urban lifestyle. Enjoy the weather, reflect, bring a book, phone a friend.
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| Being normal. Yeah we say we hate hearing 'waygook saram-ida!' being screamed at us but in a way I kinda got used to be different and special. Here I'm just another boring face in the crowd. |
Who woulda thought crazylemongirl had princess disease?  ... just joking, this aspect I can understand fully
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| Cheap, efficient health care. I came back to New Zealand because I need to get surgery to correct respiratory problems that a Korean surgeon (who was on his way to Columbia so knows what he's talking about) was stunned hadn't been corrected. NZ doctors are prescribing expensive drugs instead of removing a series of bones that are pressing down on my ribcage and displacing my heart. Thus far my medical bills are over $750 and my name still isn't on the public surgery waiting list. If I finally get on it, I've got another 6-18 month wait as I'm classified as 'non-urgent' surgery. |
The only thing doctors these days are quicker to recommend than the knife is a drug. Wish you the best with kiwi specialists. Hopefullly as a citizen there you have medical coverage. Take care. Wishing you the best.
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| Chicken Hoff - Nothing like enjoying great Korea-style fried chicken on a hot summer's day. |
I haven't done that in nearly two years, am way into those rotisserie chickens these days. Mmmmmm.
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| Ease in gaining employment. At the moment I have to write long essays, take psychometric tests and have length spiels prepared to HR questions. Then I have to wait weeks to find out if I have got an interview and a few more weeks to see if I've got the job. Grrr. |
Underappreciated, as if there's someone else equally qualified applying. As if. They should be tripping over themselves to hire you.
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| Cheap food delivery. My parents ordered Chinese food the other night. It was $50 with a delivery surcharge and they didn't come to get the dishes. |
Three of us gorged ourselves on Chinese for half that price last week. I'd almost forgotten how expensive it can be getting non-buffet Chinese food back home.
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| My students - they drove me crazy but they did it with a smile on their face. |
Are you a teacher back home? If so I wonder how different the attitude, respect and energy level will be in the classroom. Chaos can be better than apathy.
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| Freedom from societal expectations - I come back to find most of my friends are walking down the matching/hatching/buying a house aisle. I'm not so sure I want that, but there's this huge pressure that I should. Living in Korea you're kind of free of that. |
Except two of my three Korean friends, and the directors of both hagwons I've worked at, have matched and/or hatched/bought homes in the time I have known them, making me wonder, as a fellow thirtysomething to all of them, if the social pressure they face may be doing them a favor, of ensuring they don't miss the boat. I wonder...
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| Low taxes - The lowest tax bracket in NZ is 15%. I'll likely be paying 33% when I find employment. |
I tell my friends back home I pay 5% and that some here quibble that it's too much. Who cares when it's such a small amount?
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Things I don't miss... Smog - I like breathing. |
You ex-Seoulite you!
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| No oven - I've been baking up a storm since I got home. |
Lucky you! I now regret not buying myself an oven my first year here. If I'd only known I'd be entering my fifth year here... |
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SuperFly
Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Location: In the doghouse
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 5:40 am Post subject: |
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Lemongirl,
The ladies lunches have simply not been the same without you!
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 7:52 am Post subject: |
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Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!' |
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Vancouver
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 9:04 am Post subject: Re: Life post-Korea.... |
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| crazylemongirl wrote: |
No oven - I've been baking up a storm since I got home. |
i know what you mean. I can't make pizza for my relatives cause they don't have ovens |
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