Yeson voice feminization surgery

[Teslagirl]

I thought I might be able to buy rice, some sauces and chicken or prawns and make my own simple meals in my room (i believe there are cooking facilities?) Do you think that would be possible? Is there a general store near to Phil House where I might get these things?

[iKate]

I thought I might be able to buy rice, some sauces and chicken or prawns and make my own simple meals in my room (i believe there are cooking facilities?) Do you think that would be possible? Is there a general store near to Phil House where I might get these things?

We bought some of that stuff in the small corner grocery stores across the street. It's different from western food but we approximated it so it's not that different.

There are lots of shops in that general area if you walk around. They take cash and credit cards.

And yes there is a 2 burner small gas cook top. You need your own pots, pans and utensils though.

[anjaq]

You can get the pots and pans at the kitchen of the phil house but have to return them clean after cooking. The groceries can be bought across the street with the subway station, there are some small shops and also booths on the street that sell veggies mostly. There is also a butcher nearby, but meat is rather expensive.

[Teslagirl]

Thanks Kate and Anja, that's very useful. I'll probably cook all my own food.

I think I'll mostly be staying in my room (I'll take lots of work to do). I'm not looking at this as a holiday and the foreign-ness of Korea has me quite worried. I was fine visiting the US, but this is entirely different.

Sarah.

[barbie]

I thought I might be able to buy rice, some sauces and chicken or prawns and make my own simple meals in my room (i believe there are cooking facilities?) Do you think that would be possible? Is there a general store near to Phil House where I might get these things?

Regarding hotels, have you looked over hotels.com? I think you can find better hotels at lower costs. For example:   Hotel Artnouveau.

BTW, the rate of Phil House from hotels.com is about KRW 11,570 (US$ 12), which is absurdly cheap.

In my case, I usually stay at Ramada Seoul Dongdaemun, which is very clean and quiet, located in the downtown. The official one-night rate is about US$ 240, and the special discount rate for members is US$ 120, but the rate from hotels.com is about US$ 70 including tax (the prices in hotels.com do not include tax).

barbie~~

[barbie]

Do you hear much about the MERS virus Kate? And is everyone wearing a facemask even though it's the monsoon season? (How wet is it there?)

Because of MERS, it becomes easier to find hotels at lower rates. And, the airport is less crowded. The chance of getting MERS is lower than winning a million-dollar lottery. I never wear mask when visiting Seoul. Masks can not protect you from the virus, but can prevent spreading of virus from the patient when coughing.

barbie~~

[iKate]

I never wear mask when visiting Seoul. Masks can not protect you from the virus, but can prevent spreading of virus from the patient when coughing.

barbie~~

Agreed, but my main reason is to A. keep my mouth shut, B. prevent dust from getting in which encourages me to cough... if I did not go to Yeson it is unlikely that I would wear a mask.

[iKate]

Thanks Kate and Anja, that's very useful. I'll probably cook all my own food.

I think I'll mostly be staying in my room (I'll take lots of work to do). I'm not looking at this as a holiday and the foreign-ness of Korea has me quite worried. I was fine visiting the US, but this is entirely different.

Sarah.

Well to each her own, I guess, but I am always up for an adventure. I really do enjoy experiencing different cultures. There are some differences but I have also found a lot of similarities between here and New York, so it's not too much trouble for me at all. I am actually enjoying myself.

[anjaq]

Careful! Those super cheap rates for Phil House are dormitory rooms. You don't want to share a room with backpackers after a surgery ;-)

[anjaq]

Yeson recommends face masks, Jessie can buy good ones with you at the pharmacy across the street from the clinic

[iKate]

So I guess no news is good news? I've been keeping my mouth shut and only managed one small open mouth cough with no sound. No pain at all but I can still feel a slight sensation in my throat that I'm getting used to. I hope this means everything is healing up good. The only time I have to worry is a lot of pain and blood, right?

[iKate]

Ah ok - well maybe he was asking this because you were still having a wrong name in the passport... I think he skipped those questions with me after I told him that I had all of thos things 15 years behind me.

I don't know. I had explained to Jessie why my passport is the way it is, that I did not want to interfere with travel plans. I guess dr Kim wants you to be sure.

In other places it seemed to be more of an issue. Some places asked me if this is really me and I said yes I'm transgender and showed them my driving license. Then they get it like a lightbulb going off.

[anjaq]

Haha , yeah I remember those from 17 years ago - police stops and then having a driver license with name and picture that did not match me, really. Or shopping and using the debit card. But usually it all works out with a bit explaining and it was for me just a year or so.

[Teslagirl]

I've reconsidered, and because I don't want to travel too far on public transport, I'm going for either the Princess Hotel (ten minutes away) at 61 USD (39UKP) per night or the Ramada (a mile away) at 91USD (58UKP) per night. These rates seem quite cheap and the Princess is only a bit more than the Phil House.

Does anyone have experience of either of these hotels?

Sarah.

[iKate]

From what I remember walking down there, the Ramada wasn't too bad of a walk, like maybe 5-10 minutes.

[iKate]

So I'm back from my final appointment with Dr Kim. I got the botox. Botox wasn't so bad. Just a tiny pin prick. It was kind of cool, he had an instrument he used with a microphone while he was injecting it. Jessie did say that I should be careful drinking water for the first 7 days, use a straw or bend slightly over.

My mom saw the Clonazepam and she was like, "oh wow they give you valium." Well it's not exactly Valium... I have to see after 4 months how I do. They said send them a voice file.

The voice training was kinda cool. One of the nurses (I think she's a nurse) gave me a demo and lots of pointers. However I have a speech language pathologist lined up after the 2 month rest period.

Jessie and I even had some girl talk, LOL. On a more serious note, I think that there had been complaints in the past about misgendering. That was nonexistent this time, for me anyway. I know Dr Kim has been talking with WPATH and others so maybe they gave him a few pointers. They got everything right and treated me with respect. They even used my new name and correct gender in paperwork except in the official (I guess Gov't mandated) medical records. They used the correct pronouns though.

They did comprehensive test on everything blood wise, including HgbA1C (diabetes) which is a concern for me. Thankfully my A1C is not in the diabetic range anymore.

My relaxed voice was 156.4Hz with a mean Fo of 151.02Hz and the "trained" was 196.04Hz with a mean Fo of 190.70. Add 74Hz to that and I'll end up easily around 230Hz which is fine.

[ReDucks]

Heal up fast iKate!

[kittenpower]

Thanks for the update; I'm glad everything is going well for you

[barbie]

So I'm back from my final appointment with Dr Kim. I got the botox. Botox wasn't so bad. Just a tiny pin prick. It was kind of cool, he had an instrument he used with a microphone while he was injecting it. Jessie did say that I should be careful drinking water for the first 7 days, use a straw or bend slightly over.

iKate,

You surgery seems to be OK so far.

I stay here in Jeju island, my hometown, as I have to have dinner with my friends every night. Unfortunately I have no chance to meet you in Seoul.

You are leaving tomorrow, as I know. Enjoy the last day in Seoul.

barbie~~

[iKate]

iKate,

You surgery seems to be OK so far.

I stay here in Jeju island, my hometown, as I have to have dinner with my friends every night. Unfortunately I have no chance to meet you in Seoul.

You are leaving tomorrow, as I know. Enjoy the last day in Seoul.

barbie~~

Ah no worries maybe another time. I was happy to enjoy Seoul anyway