I wonder...

I wonder, now that I have a credit/debit card I can use online, on public transport, & generally like a normal person, if I can switch a couple of my ongoing bills to my Korean account so I won’t have to keep on transferring money between accounts. I guess I will for most/all still, but it won’t hurt to look into it.

In case you didn’t know, my rosacea went berserk this past month. Besides what looks like pimples on my chin, I got the telltale redness on either side of my nose, & then just to really tip the scales, pink bumps under and on the side of my eyes (those last 2 are new). So of course the dermatologist said I have the classic symptoms. & while most people anywhere wonder about it, rosacea almost exclusively affects people of Northern European heritage with pale skin. Only a tiny number of people from other backgrounds get it. Hence, as rare as it is anyway, it’s VERY rare here, and my co-teachers here have been pretty mystified by it. I explained on Monday about my new diet restrictions & how I’m hoping it’ll help my skin, as well as an intro on the concept, & one teacher, Jessic,a said she’d been wondering who’d been hitting me, & was getting concerned!

Skin is doing better: I’m on day 6 of my days of deprivation diet: no coffee, no alcohol, peanut butter (oddly), nor spicy foods for my rosacea, & for the thyroid, no wheat & no dairy. Honestly, it’s the coffee that’s the hardest, especially with all the coffee places in Korea. & I’d love to have a baked treat—now that I’m back to doing Paleo, I crave sweets once/day. & because I’m not in the US, there are few gluten-free & dairy free options, except up in Seoul.

What really sucks is I can’t eat a damned thing that Sue makes anymore because wheat is hiding in practically everything: if it isn’t there in the from of gochujang (red chili paste), it’s used to thicken the curry, or it’s in the noodles or dumplings, & of course in soy sauce (I’m going to see if I can find Tamari on iherb, the alternative food shopping site here), so I brought my own stir free to eat while I look longingly at the deep-fried pork chops (considered a traditional Korean food staple) &, of all things, cream of broccoli soup the other day (COME ON!). I’m glad to say that the Gluten Free in Korea facebook group located a GF gochujang, which is great news b/c I love that salty, somewhat spicy paste! I just have to find the store closest to me that carries it.

I started the rosacea diet on Friday after seeing the dermatologist. I already knew about those dietary restrictions; it just hadn’t been so bad up to now. So I finally decided I’d better give it a try. Like I said, it’s improving, the little pink bumps around my eyes are almost gone, and the pimple-like eruptions on my chin are smoothing out, but I’m not sure if it’s primarily the antibiotic, the new skin care regimen, the diet, or a combo. A site recommended giving up the first items I’m giving up because they tend to be triggers for 10 days. I’m going to see how my skin handles coffee on day 11, alcohol a day or two after that, and see what exactly it is that pisses off my skin, or which combination.

I’m planning on remaining off gluten and dairy for… I’m thinking it’s going to have to finally be permanently, and just having it as a treat here and there. Honestly, I’m still not sure that the rosacea isn’t connected to wheat too… my autoimmune issue these days is laid at the feet of leaky gut, & not-surprisingly, an article I read just connected rosacea to it too. Go fooking figure.

Oh, I think I mentioned the new teacher, Dylan, started last week. Seems like a nice really guy. We were talking last week, & I was apologizing for not knowing what restaurants around us were good since eating out alone in Korea is pretty damned hard to accomplish, and he said, “Let’s be friends and go do that.” It was so straightforward & even a little ingenuous & sweet that I thought, that’s awesome, let’s, while the other half of me thought, maybe he’s a stalker? Lol. So far that isn’t the case. He’s the one who tipped me off about the English-speaking security guard, after all.

I still have Taiwan to post about; it’ll be short, except I’m probably wrong & will manage a novella. Until then kids.