This is a regular meme I participate in. As nothing new has really happened today, people are laying low, hanging out in their rooms, this post is more for that community then to add anything new to the discussion.
1. I am currently undergoing quarantine in South Korea for possible exposure to the swine flu. The saga begins here. It’s probably easiest if you click on “May” under archives and browse the month if you are interested in all the posts.
2. My belief is that S.K. was not prepared (or was in denial) that a quarantine would ever be necessary. Although everyone has treated us great and as been really nice, the circus of the first few days proved that this was not expected/prepared for.
3. The upside of that is that this is all taken care of by the Korean government. If this were the US we’d probably be handed a bill with our food and medication expenses at the end of the quarantine.
4. I’ve never been in a quarantine before, the positive aspect is that it has been really nice to decompress and have time to think after our whirlwind training.
5. We’ve got a great view of some mountains.
6. Although the jokes have been going around about the belief that kimchi cures everything, Korean food is much healthier than the western counterparts here. kimbap as opposed to pizza, McDonalds, or bacon-alfredo-spaghetti. I’ve lost 2 kg since we’ve been here.
7. So far all I’ve seen of Korea has been inside things. The inside of my hotel, the inside of the training facility, the inside of the subway, and now the inside of the quarantine. There will be an overeager American gawking at all things interesting soon.
8. Got to meet Supertalya from afar, and hope to meet Bybee soon. Book clubs await.
9. Would like to go to a teahouse.
10. Books I’ve read/am reading since I’ve been in quarantine: The Magician’s Assistant
11. The last I heard there were 27 confirmed cases in South Korea. It seems even Australia is getting hit with 16 cases so far.
12. Symptoms and sickness are a little out of order with what needs to be done. It seems that several people in our group weren’t taken to the hospital until after they had gotten sick, and already gotten better. People would come down with syptoms, be given Tamiflu and a swab to test them for the virus, and then two or three days later after they weren’t sick anymore, they get a positive test result back and get sent to the hospital, held for a couple of days, and then released. Those of us who don’t get sick, actually spend the most amount of time in quarantine.
13. I think we’ll all be seeing a lot of this photo. So how did you get the swine flu?
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14 Comments so far
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Ruby Ramblings 
Glad that you have the time to decompress and enjoy some real reading. I’ve never been in a quarantine. I personally don’t like kimchi. But I love Korean Ginseng Chicken.
Comment by Yvonne Y May 28, 2009 @ 5:29 amHave a great Thursday!
Gotta say, I find your positive attitude to be something capable of grooving on. It’s something the expat community can use more of.
Glad you are able to blog – frankly when I heard about these sites, I was pretty sure y’all would get your laptops confiscated or the wi disconnected (in the interests of national security, you know). Too late for that. You’re all celebrities now, so I think you should get ready for parties in your honor when you get out.
Hang in there, and keep the good vibes flowin’ around ya …
Comment by thebobster May 28, 2009 @ 5:51 amThanks Bob, maybe it just means I haven’t been here long enough. 🙂
Comment by therubycanary May 28, 2009 @ 5:54 amGosh, I thought the hoopla was over with the swine flu but I guess not in certain parts of the world. You have a great attitude about it all. Enjoyed your Thursday 13.
Comment by mitchypoo May 28, 2009 @ 7:17 amNice list. I’ll look closer into the kimchi bit. Happy TT.
Comment by Hazel May 28, 2009 @ 7:22 amWow! You’re handling this much better than I would. Glad you’re able to decompress and hope you’re out soon.
Comment by Journeywoman May 28, 2009 @ 12:43 pmJust when you think the swine flu has flown, you read a post like this! Hope you get to see something of the outside soon!
Comment by auntiequary May 28, 2009 @ 2:37 pmI’m pretty sure if it was the US our government or FEMA would be taking care of all the expenses. After Katrina people got to go on cruises and got free food vouchers. USA isn’t all that bad.
Comment by Amy May 28, 2009 @ 3:12 pmoh my gosh! What a strange thing to have happened, I’m glad you’re being treated well. Love Korean food 🙂 I hope you’ll be ok!
Comment by Janet May 28, 2009 @ 3:59 pmOh wow. Freaky. …But that last pic is way cute. I hope that everything works out okay.
Comment by celticlibrarian May 28, 2009 @ 9:23 pmWell! Glad that your quarantine isn’t all bad. Here’s to wishing you good health! Thank you for the compliment on my butterflies; I loved doing them. I didn’t get my first major ink until I was 42! (I had one tiny design when I was 18)
Comment by Thorne May 29, 2009 @ 6:52 amI’ve never been in quarantine, so I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like. But it doesn’t sound too bad in your case. Hope everything goes well for you. Rikki
Comment by rikkiscraps May 29, 2009 @ 2:03 pmFor quarantine, it sounds like you have a great attitude. I hope it is over soon.
Comment by Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy May 29, 2009 @ 2:17 pmAppreeciate this blog post
Comment by Blake November 12, 2022 @ 6:45 pm