Yeson voice feminization surgery

[anjaq]

Good to hear they could reschedule your examination and surgery date. Probably someone elwe was available to fill the gap. I planned to arrive 2 days in advance when I went there, just in case of such hickups and also to get rid of some of the jetlag. And it was not a bad idea. one flight was delayed and we almost missed the connecting flight and in Bejing , the Chinese security people took over 2 hours to check us out, which almost led to problems as well.

kaybeccab - thanks for the explanation by a studies speech pathologist. It totally makes sense and is a good description of what we were already guessing - that the surgery more enables one to do something and that the brain does have to relearn a lot. Actually Dr Kim says that - the brain has to adjust to the new vocal chord configuration, hence the exercises are so important. I definitely can still use my old pitch and sometimes fall into it, but it is at the lowest of my vocal range and sounds all broken and hurts my throat. So Dr Kim actually told me to consciously use a higher speaking pitch. I hope my brain will get used to it soon, so I can just forget about this - This also explains why it is harder to get a good pitch increase if you are older. Your brain has had longer time to develop habits that have to be unlearned now.

[ReDucks]

Speech therapy has turned out to be super important for me after my surgery.  It pushes me to explore resonance and feminine pitch levels that are comfortable to me.  For example, it was very tempting to want my voice to be 220hz since that is 'female', but my therapist has me staying closer to 175, so I have the 'head room' to raise my pitch when I ask a question.  Sure, some girls talk like mickey mouse and are fine, my sister has that type of high voice, but it doesn't always work for everyone, and can come off as sounding false.  Now that I'm getting used to 175, and using the melodic prosody speech patterns, it sounds WAY better than it used to.  BTW, as my voice heals and pitch starts to raise, my therapist has me staying in pace with those changes - I practice now closer to 184-185 most of the time, though there are still days when 175 is where it's at.

Another issue I faced is that I'm older so my pitch is ingrained in my mind as 'sounding like me'.  It's really hard to get out of that rut, but with my therapist helping me, it is getting easier to speak comfortably in the pitch the surgery gave me to use.  Even then, I still seem to feel like my pitch is the same even though it isn't at all, but I have stumbled on a trick that seems to be really working.  I do my vocal exercises in my bathroom where resonance is really obvious, and ... here's the tricky part ... I do them looking in the mirror with lipstick on - I see this feminine pitch coming out of my feminine lips and see me smile and interact with the mirror like it was someone I was talking to, and my brain starts to GET IT, that this pitch, this way of speaking is really mine.  It may be the most effective thing I have ever done for my voice... it's all part of changing that habitual pitch and manner of speaking that Anja was speaking about.  Give it a try if you don't believe me... I think you all will benefit from a little time in front of the mirror   Hope this helps

[barbie]

Plus I get to ride KE's A380. 8-)

Yes. A380 is a big air plane, and you may feel a little bit more roomy and comfortable even in economic seats.

barbie~~

[iKate]

Yes. A380 is a big air plane, and you may feel a little bit more roomy and comfortable even in economic seats.

barbie~~

I wish I could go F or even prestige for this one. But I'll have to do with coach.

Either way I'm excited. I've never been to Asia and my mom is traveling with me so I have company.

[barbie]

Finally made it to the hotel. And got my consult rescheduled for tomorrow.

Under influence of typhoon Noul, it is gusty in Seoul (also in my hometown). It will be calm after the afternoon of Wednesday. Noul is technically a super-typhoon, and it is very unusual to see typhoons so early here in May.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/05/12/typhoon-noul-approaches-mainland-japan/

And another typhoon is developing and approaching Japan.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/05/11/stunning-imagery-of-typhoon-noul-and-a-preview-of-the-next-pacific-powerhouse-dolphin/

barbie~~

[kwala]

Speech therapy has turned out to be super important for me after my surgery.  It pushes me to explore resonance and feminine pitch levels that are comfortable to me.  For example, it was very tempting to want my voice to be 220hz since that is 'female', but my therapist has me staying closer to 175, so I have the 'head room' to raise my pitch when I ask a question.  Sure, some girls talk like mickey mouse and are fine, my sister has that type of high voice, but it doesn't always work for everyone, and can come off as sounding false.  Now that I'm getting used to 175, and using the melodic prosody speech patterns, it sounds WAY better than it used to.  BTW, as my voice heals and pitch starts to raise, my therapist has me staying in pace with those changes - I practice now closer to 184-185 most of the time, though there are still days when 175 is where it's at.

Another issue I faced is that I'm older so my pitch is ingrained in my mind as 'sounding like me'.  It's really hard to get out of that rut, but with my therapist helping me, it is getting easier to speak comfortably in the pitch the surgery gave me to use.  Even then, I still seem to feel like my pitch is the same even though it isn't at all, but I have stumbled on a trick that seems to be really working.  I do my vocal exercises in my bathroom where resonance is really obvious, and ... here's the tricky part ... I do them looking in the mirror with lipstick on - I see this feminine pitch coming out of my feminine lips and see me smile and interact with the mirror like it was someone I was talking to, and my brain starts to GET IT, that this pitch, this way of speaking is really mine.  It may be the most effective thing I have ever done for my voice... it's all part of changing that habitual pitch and manner of speaking that Anja was speaking about.  Give it a try if you don't believe me... I think you all will benefit from a little time in front of the mirror   Hope this helps

Very interesting stuff.  It must indeed be very jarring for your brain to hear a voice that sounds unlike the one it has been hearing for your entire life.  I think you have a great speech therapist, your training methods are very creative and I think they will continue to bear great results.

[Sunhawk]

So far so good. My consult is almost done. Very nice office space. And Jessie is super nice and friendly. 

[Sunhawk]

Got done with Dr. Kim. Interesting to see the video of Jenny not on YouTube. 

[Teslagirl]

Finally made it to the hotel. And got my consult rescheduled for tomorrow.

Can I ask you which hotel you chose? I'm trying to decide!

Sarah.

[Sunhawk]

Originally I was going to use the Princess Hotel as is is only about a 10 min walk form the clinic, but they are remodeling right now so I couldn't. I've ended up staying at Phil House. It's not too bad. Not as expensive as I thought it would be. Fairly nice and spacious, close to a street that it is easy to get a taxi on. A convenience store near the front. And a general merchandise store just down the street and across a larger street. Just remember to bring a towel if you are used to large fluffy ones. Always know where your towel is.

[Teslagirl]

Originally I was going to use the Princess Hotel as is is only about a 10 min walk form the clinic, but they are remodeling right now so I couldn't. I've ended up staying at Phil House. It's not too bad. Not as expensive as I thought it would be. Fairly nice and spacious, close to a street that it is easy to get a taxi on. A convenience store near the front. And a general merchandise store just down the street and across a larger street. Just remember to bring a towel if you are used to large fluffy ones. Always know where your towel is.

Do I need to take 42 towels?

I wonder if you know when the Princess will be open for business again? It sounds ideal for me though I couldn't find a web site for them.

[Sunhawk]

I don't think they have an on-line presence. My original reservation there was made by Jessie from the clinic. I did find them (I think) on Trip Adviser though.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294197-d1175419-Reviews-Hotel_Princess-Seoul.html

[Teslagirl]

I don't think they have an on-line presence. My original reservation there was made by Jessie from the clinic. I did find them (I think) on Trip Adviser though.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294197-d1175419-Reviews-Hotel_Princess-Seoul.html

Thanks. I've emailed the Philhouse to see what their current rates are. My only concern there is the amount of travelling I'll have to do to get to the clinic.

Sarah

[Zoe Snow]

Yeson is about a 10 minute walk from the Apgujeoung subway station.  As long as where you're staying is close to a subway station, its extremely easy to get around.  I don't think I've used a taxi once since I've gotten here.  The subway here has to be one of the best in the world, its pretty amazing.

[Teslagirl]

Yeson is about a 10 minute walk from the Apgujeoung subway station.  As long as where you're staying is close to a subway station, its extremely easy to get around.  I don't think I've used a taxi once since I've gotten here.  The subway here has to be one of the best in the world, its pretty amazing.

Thanks Zoe, that's reassuring. Are destinations in dual Korean/English on the signage and trains?

Sarah

[iKate]

Thanks Zoe, that's reassuring. Are destinations in dual Korean/English on the signage and trains?

Sarah

Subway is in English and Korean.

[iKate]

So I'm wondering how hard it is to get to Costco there. I'm thinking I might just buy some groceries and cook instead of blowing money on fast food.

[Zoe Snow]

You'll find English on a lot of the street signs here, and its on just about everything in the Subway.  That said, do yourself a favor and try learning some 한굴 (Hangul).  Its their alphabet, and its all phonetical.  I picked it up pretty easily myself.  If you have a week or two, you should be able to get familiar with most of it, just spending a little bit of time each day.  While you can get around alright without it, its made my experience here more enjoyable.  It feels slightly less foreign here now and its fun being able to sound out what is written everywhere.  There are also a lot of English loan words used, so its extra fun when you read a sign and figure out its actually mostly English, just written in Hangul.  Knowing Hangul also saved me some time in one of the subway stations, I was trying to figure out which direction I needed to go, and the huge map on the wall where I was at only had things in Hangul.  I could have found another map with English on it if I had to, but it was really nice to figure out where I needed to go using the map that was only in Korean.

[barbie]

You'll find English on a lot of the street signs here, and its on just about everything in the Subway.  That said, do yourself a favor and try learning some 한굴 (Hangul).  Its their alphabet, and its all phonetical.  I picked it up pretty easily myself.  If you have a week or two, you should be able to get familiar with most of it, just spending a little bit of time each day.  While you can get around alright without it, its made my experience here more enjoyable.  It feels slightly less foreign here now and its fun being able to sound out what is written everywhere.  There are also a lot of English loan words used, so its extra fun when you read a sign and figure out its actually mostly English, just written in Hangul.  Knowing Hangul also saved me some time in one of the subway stations, I was trying to figure out which direction I needed to go, and the huge map on the wall where I was at only had things in Hangul.  I could have found another map with English on it if I had to, but it was really nice to figure out where I needed to go using the map that was only in Korean.

Yes. It is not difficult to read Hangul. You may print or save the following image in your smartphone.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul

barbie~~

[barbie]

Subway is in English and Korean.

Also in Japanese and Chinese, too.

barbie~~