So since we’ve been in South Korea, it has been a hellish week of the most intense teacher training I have ever heard of a group of foriegn students having. I won’t go into it now but if {our school} is really hell bent on pushing their curriculum, they need to have a longer training where there is more time to study (and in this case, not get the entire group of teachers really sick from exhaustion.) They have a lesson plan and curriculum they’ve developed that the teachers are required to teach down to the minute. We have a lesson plan that literaly is divided into mintue by minute instructions and if we miss any or deviate, we can be penalized in pay or hours. It’s pretty ridiculous, never mind that their mission is to “encourage creative thinking in the students”, and they really are effectivley doing the opposite.
So we had to get medical exams when we came to the country before we can get Alien Registration Cards. Jim’s chest x-ray showed some spots (light not dark) on his lungs, and they are holding him for testing over the weekend before he can teach to rule out pnemonia, TB, cancer….. Who jumps from pnemonia to cancer? So that was a huge amount of added stress.
Now it’s 4am and they went around to all our doors and woke us up. Apparenlty someone from the training session may have tested positive for H1N1. Now we all have to get up and be tested and fill out a bunch of paperwork. I’m sick. Half the session got sick, and although someone may have brought in a virus, I really don’t think any of us would have gotten nearly as sick as we have if [our hagwan] hadn’t pushed us through jet lag, new air quality, with a crazy training schedule that exhausted and depleted all of us.
So two people were diagnosed with walking pnemonia, two people had to go back for catscans and chest exrays because of spots, and now we all of the swine flu. I’m starting to think this country is a bunch of overreacting, paranoid, hypochondriacs.
But, if they swine flu does show up in South Korea, you’ll know where it came from.
6am Update: Some government officials just came to the hotel and put us all under quarantine. We’re now not allowed to leave the hotel, and have to all stay in seperate rooms to keep from spreading stuff to each other. So that’s that. I’m going back to bed.
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Ruby Ramblings 
Oh Shanna that’s so stressful! I can only imagine how must you feel locked there.
However H1N1 is no joke. It wold be exactly the same if it happened here. We are on highest alarm because in a month and half Belgrade will host 25th Universiade with thousands of sportsmen from all around the world and H1N1 is a big issue. Everyone is talking about it and how to prevent its “import”. So testing and then quarantine is something that’s regular procedure. But indeed it must be shitty.
Oh and I hope J. will be fine with his extra analysis. I think having such examinations is actually a good thing. At least from where I’m standing I don’t know when I would do some detail examination if I don’t have obvious need *knocking on the wood* and that’s crazy! Remember my tinnitus, well thanks to that I have done MRA of my head. It has been offered because of tinnitus so I didn’t have to pay but it wasn’t mandatory (it was up to me) and of course I said yes (honestly only to check if everything is fine inside my head, to eliminate any tumor or such shit). Otherwise I would never do something similar (and pay!).
I can only imagine how disappointed you must be with your teacher training. Of course whole world is familiar with Far-Eastern in-the-second-exactness but this minute by minute instructions sound insane! Hold one there! (and keep updating us with what’s going on there)
Hugs,
Comment by Milan May 22, 2009 @ 11:51 pmm.
I think you should ditch this experience and find something better.
Comment by Jenny Yasi May 23, 2009 @ 12:23 amOh n o, I just read the end! Oh My God. What a pain in the butt! Sorry your sick, although the flu sucks, better to get it now while it isn’t that virulent, and then as it mutates you’ll be more immune to it. My vote is that you just nicely say you quite, and you pay for your hotel and call another organization or NGO. Just bag it. There will be a better one.
Comment by Jenny Yasi May 23, 2009 @ 12:27 amGarlic and ginger soup? It is awful to be sick in a foreign place like that.
Comment by Jenny Yasi May 23, 2009 @ 12:29 amSwine flu has been here for a while. There have been 4 confirmed cases in Korea. I am surprised there isn’t more.
Comment by Talya May 23, 2009 @ 1:13 amI feel bad that Korea isn’t all you expected it to be. Usually the first 3 months are the honeymoon stage, and I feel bad that you didn’t get to experience that. Your hogwan sounds horrible and I hope you guys are all okay. If you do end up sick with whatever, I am glad you will be treated by Koreans, their medical care is great.
tell Jim to hang in there it’s probably nothing but he needs to be careful. You take care Shanna & keep us updated. Grandma & Grandpa
Comment by JEAN LANDENBURG May 23, 2009 @ 2:08 amOMG…unbelievable…
Comment by bybee May 23, 2009 @ 7:19 amHoney I am so sorry – I hope things will be better in the upcoming week. Lots of love to both of you.
Comment by Christy May 23, 2009 @ 6:17 pmOh No! I actually grasp the reason behind their paranoia (in some aspects) but to have to go through that experience is awful. I wonder if they’ve tracked down everyone on that person’s plane and quarantined them yet. I’m going to email something to you that should give you some amusement regarding these type of reactions.
Comment by Kiri May 27, 2009 @ 4:41 pm