... and no, I am not talking about Japan. Of course, I have been a bit worried about the overall situation and the possible consequences a major radiation fallout could have for neighboring Korea (Seoul, although on Western Korea, is less than 1,200 km away from Fukushima). However, no major meltdown has yet occured in the troubled power plant and, still, Japan's East coast winds almost always blow east or southeast, so we seem to be safe (more info on the relative safety for Korea, even if a major fallout occurs, see this article at the Chosun Ilbo).
So, and not implying I am not deeply worried about what could happen in Japan, mostly for their citizens and how it could affect their future, my latest worries were more personal. Indeed, they were physical... yes, I feared I had a broken bone in my left foot. Again, a stress fracture, like the one I had in my right foot 3 years ago. The symptoms were awfully similar: persistent pain when walking, now lasting more than a week with no improvement, a slight callus below the painful area, a clear change in the way of walking...
In fact, if it weren't because I had already dismissed similar symptoms 3 years ago, thinking -- thanks, too, to the opinion of a physician who did not even want to take some x-rays of my aching foot -- it was just severe tendinitis, I wouldn't have been too scared. But I was, so I decided to visit a Korean doctor.
Good for me, my flatmate's brother and mother were available to help. They brought me to a nearby small clinic: I have an insurance, but it will just refund me the money when I send them the original invoice, so I had to be ready to pay. No, there's no free for all, public healthcare system in South Kore: however, it is highly subsidized by the government, both if you have your insurance and also if you don't... as I came to testify today.
Check that: I entered the clinic at 2PM. Gave some basic personal information, sat down, ready to wait... 2 minutes later, my name was called. I enter the doctor's room, a traumatologist who spoke perfect English. Of course, he is more than willing to take some x-rays of me. We go there, 2 shots... and, just one minute later, I am called again to the doctor's office. Fortunately for me, no fracture whatsoever was visible. Yes, that middle finger is my "main weakness" and there should be a nice tendon inflamation around the area, but nothing was broken... at least for now.
Anyway, he prescribed me an injection and some painkillers. Did I say an injection? Yeah, I don't really like them, but I had to take it. One minute later, I am there, with my pants down, ready for the painful needle. Thirty seconds later, I still have to feel the pinch, but the nurse tells me she's done! How? What? In fact, the only thing I noticed is that she patted (I would not use the term "slapped" here) my ass... and it looks like she did that while administering the injection! Spanish nurses, please take note: it's not just about plunging the needle in there, patting and relaxing the muscles while deviating the nervous' system attention makes the pain disappear!
In any case, the treatment was over. I had been there for 20 minutes. And I had to pay... 30,000 won, which is roughly €20! I can just try to imagine how much I would have payed for a similar treatment in a private clinic in Spain with no insurance... yes, sometimes you have to love South Korea!
So, now that I know I am healthy, a busy weekend awaits me. I want to do some relaxing tourism while advancing my university tasks. Therefore, I plan to go to a park and read, while also walking a bit through several streets I really want to see. And yes, I still have a pending post from last week, the big party... I won't forget!
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