Money money money!

I go to Seoyeon, again returning to the dreaded hospital, with no expectations as I once again request medical reimbursement for my week's stay hospital bill. None of the nurses or assistants speak English well enough to figure out what I want, so they give me the invaluable time of one of their doctors. He looks young; early 30s, I would guess. “I am very busy right now, but if you buy me some bread, I will help you,” he says.

Oh Korea.

“Absolutely,” I say without hesitation. He leads me downstairs to the hospital coffee shop and picks up a chocolate muffin. I almost laugh. “That’s all you want?” I ask. “yes,” he says, and leads me into an office where I stand awkwardly in the doorway, unsure whether or not I should enter the room. He leads me out and tells me something about a hundred-something dollars. I feel tricked. If they are going to bother giving me a discount at all, they can at least make it worthwhile, or they may as well not honor the 50% medical insurance coverage plan at all. He flirts with me and tells me that he will give me not just fifty but eighty percent back. Did I hear him right?! How can he change the plan? My contract says fifty, and it's been an uphill battle for the last month just trying to convince my school I got here in time for the coverage to be in effect. The most I got out of them was "try going to the hospital to see if they will give you any money back."

He reaches into a drawer and pulls out several thousand dollars in cash and hands it to me. And not even so much as a receipt….?!? Needless to say, I take the money and run, never to return again.