keeping busy in korea

Okpo is a small town and sometimes it is difficult finding something to do. Of course, I have the usual coffees, painting class, playing mahjong, etc. But alot of the errands, duties and stresses of life I had in Texas are just not here. Admittedly, there are different ones, but they all just don't seem as urgent. Maybe it is being in Okpo or just the time of my life, but things are more simple now. I take time to read more books, cook meals, and paint. With that being said, some days can be downright boring. You walk the streets alone or with friends, share a cup of coffee and analyze everything on every shelf at the little discount shops. I never thought I would be so enthralled by children's erasers or hair bows, kitchen utensils or key chains.

Yesterday was not one of those days.

I went to mahjong at the foreigner's club. I don't know if I have talked about it before, but a group of us from painting class decided to start playing on Tuesday mornings. Only one of us knew how to play, but she has taught the rest of us. It is quite addicting and once or twice we have played all day. There are 4-6 of us that play fairly regularly. Sometimes we have more, sometimes less. Alot of times, we stay for lunch and play after lunch. Yesterday was once such day and I played until 2:30 or so.

When I went home the cleaning lady was still there and 5 men putting ceiling fans up in the living room and bedroom. A few weeks ago, Ken was asked if there was anything that needed repairing and such. He made a list of things for us and for the other 2 families that live here that work for his company. On a whim, he wrote down ceiling fans. These buildings are at least 30 years old and I understand some of them are in quite disrepair. I think that the management company has had difficulty renting and retaining renters, so they are trying to work with us. In fact, one of the other ladies is getting a door like mine. At the same time, there were people in the little backyard weeding. There was a flurry of activity for some time.

After everyone had left, it was around 5:30 and I started to cook some meat for tacos. I walked into the living room to turn on the TV. The remote control was on top of the TV and I accidentally knocked it off behind the TV. The TV stand is very heavy, so I had to stretch to reach it. I couldn't get to it, so I stood up to go to the kitchen to get something to grab it with. Somehow, as I stood up and started walking, I stubbed my toe. Of course it hurt. I just had on socks and when I looked down, I realized something was not right in my left sock. It took me a minute to do it, but I finally took my sock off and saw that my little toe was definitely not where it was supposed to be. It wasn't hurting too bad, so I decided it was dislocated. I hobbled down three doors to Nicole's house. I asked her very nicely if she could put my toe back into place. Looking back, that wasn't the best of ideas but it didn't really hurt. She wasn't too keen on the idea. Then, Jackie walked up from several other doors and refused also. Looking at a toe that was at a 45 degree angle from the other toes had just horrified them. By now, my toe was becoming alot redder than the others and starting to hurt. So I went home and called Ken.

We went down the street to a clinic called Fatima (I don't know why) but it also says Foreigner's Clinic on the outside. It was recommended by several other people - the physician speaks English. Being a nurse, it was quite the experience for me. I also want to interject that it isn't unusual to see people walking down the street with hospital pajamas on. I guess they are allowed out sometimes. When we checked in, all they needed was my Foreigner's Resident Card. No questions about drug allergies, past illnesses, and no vital signs. I guess they save that for people that really need that. Then I sat down to wait. It wasn't long before I went into the Dr.'s office and told him what was wrong. I was then sent across the hall to X-ray. No lead apron - I guess they decided I was too old to have children. Then the Dr. came back in to tell me it was broken and he was going to reduce the fracture. Essentially that means to put the toe back where it was by manipulating it. With 2 people holding onto my leg and the Dr. pulling, he finally did it after 2 excruciating tries. I think that in the U.S. you might get a local anesthetic or something for pain. They rex-rayed it and pronounced it in place. I was then taken across the hall to a room that contained around 6 cots. No sheets or paper on them, just the vinyl. They put me on one cot, then decided to switch me to another one that a man was lying on with an IV. They got him up and told me to lie down. No cleaning in between us. I hope he wasn't contagious. All of the beds were full with a variety of things - people with IV's, sutures, cast removal, wound care, etc. I was thankful I didn't need any of that because it wasn't the cleanest place in the world. And despite the Foreigner's Clinic sign on the front, Ken and I were the only foreigners I could see. My X-rays were on a view box for everyone to see - it was quite obvious it was broken at the joint where the toe meets the foot. After taping my toes, wrapping my foot in ace bandages and applying a splint and boot to walk in, I was ready to go. All that for only approximately $130.00. Pretty good deal for an emergency room/clinic visit. And for an exciting day in Okpo.