Infected!

Blargh! I'm a zombie!

Well, no. But if a zombie pandemic broke out, I know I would have a few months before I get infected, I suppose.

I was infected with H1N1, aka The Swine Flu or 신종 플루, and I think I've recovered, on the most part.

After receiving a lot of questions about Swine Flu and whether it was actually worse than the regular flu, I decided I'll write a bit about it. For your reading pleasure, here is my needlessly detailed account of my experience:

Last Sunday, I woke up at a church retreat feeling very tired, dehydrated, and light headed. This when I had a hunch something was amiss. Of course, this doesn't mean I was infected at the church retreat. According to various sources, I could have been infected multiple days or just 12 hours prior to the manifestation of my symptoms. So, I could have been infected by my 5th grade students, who I had to teach four out of five days last week, sans co-teacher. Or I could have been infected by someone on public transportation. Or I could have been infected at my church retreat. Or... well... you get the drift.

Anyway, my condition was getting pretty bad, but me being me kept on smiling all the while. I was feeling really badly by the time we were back at church and the morning service had ended. I kept going back and forth on whether I should go to my favorite brunch place (with one of my favorite waiters) as usual on Sunday or if I should just head home. When we realized that there was a very long waiting period at Butterfinger Pancakes, I decided to opt out of going to Burger King and just head home.

First and foremost, I was parched. I wanted water or anything to drink. To my dismay, my stomach felt slightly queasy, dissipating my appetite. I felt a bit light headed and was getting the chills, while I was sweating in my coat. That was when I decided I probably had a pretty bad fever. In addition, my body was aching, down to the bones. I started getting a bit worried when I realized I was struggling just to stand up for more than a couple minutes and when my eyes started watering because of my condition.

I got home and tried to call my 3rd grade co-teacher and my head co-teacher, who is also my 5th grade co-teacher, but to no avail. I took some Tylenol (or acetaminophen) and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the bed. I woke up later in the evening, soaked in sweat, just in time for my next dose of medicine. I felt a little better because the acetaminophen had subdued my fever a little. I tried to call them again, but there was no answer. (Now I'm wondering why I re-signed for another year with these two lovely ladies who won't answer their phones.)

I don't remember much else because I think I ate some oatmeal and went to sleep.

Monday, I woke up early and tried to call my head co-teacher again, but she didn't pick up. So, I took a short nap and called again. No answer. I texted all three of my co-teachers and went back to sleep. I woke up around 8:20 and having received no reply, I called my 6th grade co-teacher, who picked up and was on his way to work. He let me know he got the text and asked if I had contacted my 3rd grade co-teacher, who I was supposed to work with. I explained that I had tried, but couldn't get in contact with her. He told me that he'll let her know when he gets to work.

With that, I was out like a light again. I also knew that I should probably get to the hospital. You see, most of the time, I'm pretty reluctant to go to the hospital; I know that I'll get better and what have you. But this thing was hitting me hard and I wasn't sure if my Tylenol was cutting it. I finally managed to take a shower and get dressed and get out of the door before 2:00pm.

Taking the bus and the subway was pretty harsh, but I tried my best not to cough on people on the way. My voice also sounded very pitiful at this point. I sounded like I was whimpering or wheezing whenever I was talking and when I was alone at home, I was making a lot of little noises because I was hurting so much. So many noises, in fact, that at some points I started laughing at how hilariously pitiful I sounded.

Anyway, I had a temperature of over 39 degrees Celsius which is somewhere between 102 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The doctor prescribed a bunch of medicine, as is Korean style, including a cough syrup, acetaminophen, and Tamiflu. I also got tested for a possible H1N1 infection by getting a couple long cotton swabs rubbed on the back of my throat.

Funny thing about the office where I was tested - it was located in a room that had no access from inside the hospital. We had to walk outside to get to this door in the side of one of the buildings which led to a small room with two nurses inside.

On the way home, I was in a bad state, physically and emotionally. I had texted my head co-teacher to let her know that I might be infected with Swine flu and she called me to see what was going on. She had talked with the vice principal about me taking sick leave, but when she heard that it would take until Thursday to get back the results, she started sounding very nervous and asked me if I had spoken to the vice principal. I told her that I haven't and that I don't even have her number and she began to read the number off for me.

Now, I really like Yumi. She's very nice and easy to work with on the most part, but I think she doesn't realize that as the head co-teacher, she's responsible to being the bridge between the Native English Speaking Teacher (moi) and the school (including the administration). She's a new teacher, new to teaching and new to the school, so I understand her reluctance, but she's getting paid extra to do this job. I generally don't ask her for a lot of things and I get along fine with everyone, so that gives her very little work to do on my behalf. This being said, it really irritated me that she is so unwilling to do her own job. As far as she knows, I don't know Korean and the vice principal barely understands any English; what was she thinking? Can she not just extend a hand and let the vice principal know that I'm very very very sick?

I didn't say anything out of anger or irritation to her though, but my irritability showed when I accidentally hit the leg of a gentleman on the subway and he glared at me, rubbing his leg. I didn't realize that I had hit his leg at first and glared right back at him. He backed down. I felt a little bad about the way I responded afterwards.

When I got home, I took my medicine and went right to sleep. When I woke up later, I had received text messages from some after school teachers telling me that they hoped I was OK and whatnot. In some way, I was really touched that they cared. In another way, I was saddened that the after school teachers, not the actual teachers I work with, were the ones to check on me.

Tuesday, I felt a little better, but still very crappy. Tamiflu messes with your stomach and I was having a hard time finding motivation to eat. Since Sunday, I had been sustaining myself with mostly oatmeal, but on Tuesday I ventured into the world of breakfast cereal. I think that's when I called a friend to ask for a favor, "Could you bring me some food?" After realizing that I may have Swine Flu, she decided against coming to see me, but suggested that I order in.

My address is a bit weird and hard to find, so I actually haven't ordered in at all since I've lived here. I also only have 4,000 won on me (which is less than $4). So I called my land ladies, who eventually brought me some Juk (or 죽), which is a rice porridge, often given to people who are sick. I was very grateful. However, due to my waning appetite, I had a few spoonfuls before I was finished with my meal. I saved the rest, of course... and I still have a bunch sitting in my fridge. Mmmmm.

Wednesday, my co-teacher wanted me to bring in my re-signing forms and proof that I actually went to the hospital. After my family friend came by with some soups (my 4th type of food for this week), I dropped off my forms and went back to the hospital to get a form stating my results from Monday. I was still not feeling that well, but I was much much better. I didn't have the overwhelming chills any more, for one thing. And I wasn't feeling as dehydrated and the aching was gone.

Actually, when my family friend came by, she commented on how hot it was in my apartment. I had realized that morning that it was a bit warm, but it seems I was so cold earlier that week that I really cranked up the heat. I hope my bills aren't through the roof because of that.

When I got home, I was feeling fine, but exhausted. I fell asleep again until about 8pm. When I woke up, I was feeling very energetic. I made myself some fried chicken, started some laundry, and made a list of chores I would do once I woke up.

Thursday, I woke up feeling very groggy and tired and just went back to sleep. I didn't wake up until around 3pm. I called the hospital and got the news that I was indeed infected with Swine flu. When I called my co-teacher, she was shocked and asked me (as she did on Monday and Wednesday) if I went to the hospital and if I got medicine and if I got Tamiflu and what the doctor said. I tried my best not to sound irritated as I told her, "I told you already." Oh goodness. Patience, Gloria, patience.

Then I ended up staying awake for quite a while. I played Halo 3 and went on Facebook.

One thing I do remember about sleeping late was that I had some very strange dreams. There was one dream in particular that had the title of "Happy Joshua." I have no idea what that means, nor do I have any friends named Joshua. Who is this mysterious Joshua character? Why is he happy? Perhaps the world will never know.

Friday, I slept late again, but other than the tiredness and still not feeling that hungry, I felt fine. Actually, I was very very bored.

And that brings us to today, Saturday. I went shopping for a couple winter things and watched 2012, which was entertaining, but a very mindless movie with lots of explosions, natural disasters, and people dying. I didn't stay out longer because I was spent. I just wanted to go home and rest.

And that's what I did, writing this blog entry in the mean time.

Hope that helped.

So, to answer the question, Swine flu is very very similar to a regular flu, only a little nastier and lasting a few days longer.

Now that I've been infected though, I don't have to worry about catching it ... at least this season. ;)

Breaking in Korea: Part 1

OK. This is a post I meant to make a while ago, but I hadn't finished all the videos yet, so... It's going to be a bit late.

Something I've been interested for a long while is bboying/bgirling, a.k.a. "breakdancing." There's something about it that I find exciting, exhilarating even. I had growing interest in it for a while, which is why I decided to go see Planet B-boy, when it opened in the Ritz Theaters in Philadelphia.

Here's a movie promotion clip that I absolutely adore:


After I saw the film, I was sort of hooked. Sort of, meaning, I had no connections or means to really go see a show or join a class. I really wanted to, but my job was my life and I had no extra energy to spend on anything other than working or recuperating from work. I asked around, but my only b-boy friend had long since retired from practicing and I only saw him every so often for his church-related things.

Being in Seoul, South Korea, is a blessing for me in so many ways. One is that I finally have the opportunity to go see these performances and competitions live. And it's so much better live, let me tell you.

Even during orientation, we had a b-boy session after a long day of training. A few of the guys I befriended were practicing for that night, anticipating and hoping for a chance to battle.

Well... they got it.

My first video for you is from that night. Enjoy! (Please ignore my absolutely crazy giggling. Haha. I was sleep deprived and it was seriously the first time I saw this kind of thing in person. But hey... I was totally enjoying myself, right? Hope you do, too.)



If you can't watch that video (or even if you can), check out the same video on my Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1247144451998 OR http://www.facebook.com/v/1247144451998 )

And don't worry; I have a few other videos for you that I'll post up later. (and they're better than this one. ;x)