In Which We Go to the Doctor

So, the title is a little misleading, but I do have some interesting observations on the Korean medical system in this post. However, its primary purpose is to post some cherry blossom pictures. Cherry blossoms are a pretty big deal here in Korea, and I had never realized how many of these trees there were in the city until they all started blooming. They're pretty unremarkable at all the other times of the year. However, for about two weeks in the spring they bloom in pink and white, and it's really beautiful. Yesterday it was raining, so we didn't do the walk we had originally planned on through the Halla Arboretum, but I plan on going up there in the next couple days to get some pictures, because it's pretty awesome. We did go on a trail nearby, though, and got some okay pictures. Here they are:

Pink!

Here we had Nancy stand in just the right place so you couldn't see the people walking up the path.

Close-up. Some of them take a little longer to bloom than others.

Other flowers are also beautiful. I think this is a rose, but I'm not sure.

There are actually quite a few streets around here with the trees planted on both sides like this. It's like going through a tunnel of cherry blossoms.

To get a better picture of the tunnel effect, we went out in the middle of the street, which was more difficult than you would expect, because this street was altogether too busy. 

I really like how there's so much color every time we go outside. Unfortunately, from what I understand, it's a pretty short-lived time. The blossoms only stay pink for a few days, and don't stay on the trees for much more than two weeks. So, we knew we had to get out and take pictures before we missed it entirely, even if it wasn't the best of weather.

After that we headed down to a clinic to get some shots. Here in Korea there's a mosquito-borne disease called Japanese Encephalitis, and while I'm not entirely sure what it is, Nancy says that it like eats your brain or something, and it's not a super common disease, but a couple foreigners on the island have gotten it, and we're rather attached to our brains, so we decided to go and get vaccinated before the summer comes and we're covered with mosquitoes again. Anyway, this was our first real brush with the Korean medical system, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed. Korea runs on a form of socialized medicine, where everyone pays taxes and then it's super cheap to go to the doctor. Plus, they make going to the doctor really convenient. There are clinics and pharmacies (especially pharmacies) everywhere and you can just walk in. In the clinic we went to there were quite a few people in there, but we just went up to the desk, they put the information on our foreigner registration cards into the computer and then told us to wait. We only had to wait like fifteen minutes before we were seen by a doctor who basically sat us down and asked, "What's wrong with you?" We told him what we wanted and he put it into a computer and then told us to wait again. Then we waited like two minutes and got the shot. The whole shabang cost only 20 dollars each, for a shot that you have to drop like 500 dollars on back in the United States.

As I said before, I was impressed with how it all worked out. It was super efficient, and very affordable. I can't help but wonder if something like this might work back in the United States. I know people get all up in arms over socialized medicine, and I've been among them in the past. However, you can't deny that there are major problems with the American medical system, (which it could be argued that Obamacare has made worse, but that's a whole other can of worms that I won't get into) and this is so effective. Yes, they do pay higher taxes for it, here, but the taxes really don't seem extravagant. In fact, taxes, pension and health insurance only amounts to about ten percent of our paycheck. Granted, there are a lot of differences between South Korea and the United States, not the least of which being a much larger population, but it's something to think about. It's something I think they've got pretty well figured out here. I NEVER go to the doctor back home, unless I'm almost certain that it's something that's going to be permanently damaging. If it was this easy and cheap to go to the doctor back home, maybe I wouldn't have a permanently bent finger. Anyway, that's enough of my thoughts on health care.

After our shots we went to one of our favorite restaurants, (but not my favorite, because that is, of course, Self Bar) Raj Mahal, an awesome Indian restaurant. They make the most fantastic curry I've ever had. Here's a picture of Nancy with our food:

The naan is also crazy good. 

So, that's the story for yesterday. It was pretty nice. Just another example of how this is a nice place to live. We've actually considered having a baby here, because it would be so cheap, but decided we'd manage alright back home, when it comes to that. Also, I'd like to point out that we only have three months left here! The time has seriously flown and we've been having a lot of fun. It's almost time for me to break out the list of things that I will and won't miss about Korea that I've been mentally compiling over the past nine months! At any rate, I'll leave you with this picture we took as we walked back to the bus stop from church today and make an end to this post.

I have to say, the suit is always a good look for me.

This is Captain Danger out.

UPDATE: Upon further research, it turns out that taxes are pretty comparable here to what they are in the US. That is likely due to the smaller infrastructure.