Tuberculosis and Korea

OK, so 2 kids have now popped positive for TB exposure. I'm the one coughing 3 weeks straight with bronchitis, but Spencer got exposed about 4 years ago or so, and now little Violet (the recessive one) is showing up as exposed to it. Thanks Korea! But it's not like it's not all over the world- there's someone from Church that got exposed in Hawaii. She's not the type to hang out in houses of ill repute, but Violet I'm not so sure about. She gets really moody and grumpy, and I think it's the crazy lifestyle talking- like she's the 2 year old version of Courtney Love or something.
In any case, TB kills a lot of people worldwide, but in the US, it's like 5% of the population have to worry about it. Time to beat the odds. Spencer has been on his double antibiotic regimen for about 5 months and has 3 or 4 more to go. You're not supposed to miss one dose, ever. I get nervous about missing a dose with him- and what the heck will we do if he's still on meds when we go to the USA? How do I time that??? We had to take him to Samsung Hospital a few times, because they thought they had spots on his lungs- just what we need. I thought Samsung made stereos. I was worried they'd prescribe an MP3 player or a picture tube changeout. Turns out he's OK, and they're just giving him the meds to keep the bacterium latent and hopefully kill it all. I think he'll always pop positive for it.
Violet is a different story. They give her a syrup and she manages to get most of it down and the rest on everything around her. I guess for the peace of mind, it's good we're doing this, but it's sure a pain in the keister. I want medical care to be a walk-through portal that just scans your body and then a nice mist you just breathe in with all your meds- everything needs to be completely non-invasive, unlike today's medical care. It's cheap over here, but if we went to the hospital on the Korean economy, they'd probably just give us a mask and tell him not to cough on people.
You see a LOT of people here wearing masks, so either they all have TB or they're trying to keep the cruddy air out of their lungs. My Korean counterpart was wearing his mask for allergies and I went up to him and said "We're ready to operate doctor" and he laughed. He understands Americans since he went to college in the US. Lucky guy- he flies the F-4 (I didn't think anyone flew those old dogs any more!) and I need to get a ride on one. He is really cool and we've already taught him some good slang- but for the record, I use the term "slacker" not "douche-bag" like the other guy taught him!
So there's the lightening in the cloud with the silver lining. You come over here and get fevers and TB. No wonder the people that go to the US never want to come back! But it's also the US attitude they pick up. We're a lot more independent in the US, and we don't accept our fate as easily when we don't like it. There's a lot of people driving cabs that could probably have gone to medical school- but for whatever reason (had a bad day on "TEST DAY", learned something too late in life...) are now driving a cab and they're probably OK with it. You don't accept your fate that easily in the US if you want something bad enough. And we have Korean soldiers that come back to Korea to fulfill their military obligation (EVERY male has to be in the military for 2 years) and they work for people that treat them poorly, don't have a clue about life outside Korea and don't speak very good English. One of our guys can't wait to get back to NYC and finish his degree- he speaks perfect English and Korean and is Corporal in the ROK Marines. He'll meet his full potential when he gets OUT of Korea..... so this place oppresses a few people, too.
I'm amazed that they're doing as well as they are. It's an "Asian Miracle" that this place as backwards as it was after being occupied and divided by war is as prosperous as it is. They had a lot of riots and problems, but they've really come a long way in a short time. Hardworking people that just take life as it comes. They don't hold doors for people or things like that, so they look so brutish but they only like to do and have things that are useful.
I'll have to post the whole story, but I'm reading "Korea's Place in the Sun" and it's really a good book.