Rambling Thoughts on Being in Different Cultures...and Insurance in the Tough Times

So, we are NOT in Mongolia.  We landed in Mongolia one year ago, March 1. 

Today, we are in Seoul, Korea, fighting an infection in my husband's arm.  We are at Severance Hospital, with him hooked up to iv antibiotics for a strange, unknown infection which has settled in his arm.  No reason we can figure out why it's his arm.  It could just as easily been his heart or brain...so, I'm thankful for the arm!

Cultures are so different as we go from culture to culture.  In February, we were in Mongolia, Thailand, the Chinese airport (boy, did we experience culture there), and Korea.  There truly are differences in each culture.  It's still most comfortable in my own culture, but I'm reading a book called, "Figuring out Foreigners".  It's for all foreigners...which we ALL are.  It's just that different cultures are foreign to each of us. 

So, I must tell you about a language problem I had last night:

I got in the taxi at the hospital. I showed the taxi driver the card to take me to the hotel. Unfortunately there are two Hiltons in town and he took me to the WRONG one. I thought it didn't feel right, but wasn't sure...after all I'd only been in Korea less than 24 hours. I got out and thought, "Wow, I wonder if there's two Hiltons because this doesn't look the way I remember!" Also, it cost a couple bucks more to get to this one than the other one. I should've questioned him and made him wait, but how do I do that when I know not a stitch of the language? So, I got out, went to the information desk which looked totally different, and the man apologized (as if it were his fault) and drew a map and wrote in Korean where I needed to be taken, so I could show it to the next taxi driver.
I got in another taxi and he took me to the right place. By this time, I've spent $12 more than I should've. Oh, well. Live and learn.

Then, tonight, when I got into the taxi at the hospital, I showed him this wonderful little card which I'll guard with my life.  I got to the RIGHT hotel, this time!  Now I'm sitting with delicious appetizers at the computer at my hotel.  The evacuation insurance we have puts people up at this very nice hotel.  Many foreigners have this insurance for the express reason of getting out of second and third world cultures in medical emergencies.  It has been a blessing to us to have this elevated medical care.  They had antibiotics here in Korea that weren't available in Mongolia.  We were thankful for the care we had in Mongolia...the best there was there!