February 1, 2011: Going to the Dentist

February 1, 2011: Plans for my return trip to the US are coming along nicely. As I mentioned previously, I've heard from friends in Malaysia and China who are pleased to hear I'll be visiting them on the way home. As for Korea, I had lost contact with my friends and former students, but one of my students who lives in California now served as an outstanding detective. I supplied him with some names and where I recalled these friends last worked when I was last in contact with them in the 1980's. He actually traced them down for me and they still work in the companies I had told him about! One is now the head officer (CEO?) of Hyundai in Hong Kong so it's not likely I'll be seeing him unless he returns to Korea by July. But at least I know how to get in touch with him now. The other is the Deputy Manager of the Deputy Manager of the reporting department at MBC, one of the primary Korean television stations. He still lives in Korea and so I've sent him an e-mail to see if he knows where any of the others are. Depending on what I learn, I may be going to Korea as well! This is quite exciting news since it's been almost 30 years since I've met any of these friends. I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about if/when I see them again.

A couple of weeks ago, part of my tooth fell out. Fortunately the tooth is not visible to anyone talking with me and it didn't cause me any pain. I informed the dentist that Ruth went to that I thought that one of my old fillings expanded and eventually cracked my tooth off. I met with him today and he confirmed my suspicions and replaced the filling. I was REALLY impressed with his facilities. He took many images of all my teeth and flashed them on a monitor in his office for me to see. Since I had to wait over an hour for my appointment, he threw in removal of plaque that had built up on my front teeth for free. He showed me a picture of these teeth before and after he removed the plaque. Amazing! The picture of the filling he replaced made it look like I now have a tooth rather than a tooth with a filling in it. I was also very impressed with his "bedside" manner -- he told me everything he was doing before he did it so as not to worry me (I wasn't worried anyway but it was nice to hear what he was doing). There was classical music playing in the background while he worked. And the price was comparable to what I co-pay in the US with dental insurance and this was without insurance! I've heard that many Westerners come to Hungary for dental work since the quality is good and it is cheaper than elsewhere. I can now testify to that, so if anyone has significant dental work (cosmetic or otherwise including bridges, pins, etc.) that they want to do in Hungary, let me know.