Traveling to Korea

February 24, 2014

Hello from South Korea!  Yes, I made it here safely and surprisingly had a really good flying experience.  Philly to Chicago was not a problem, though security in Chicago took FOREVER!  Made it to my gate and walked onto the Asiana aircraft and was in awe.  It was a very large plane. Three rows with 3 seats in each.  There were about 40 of these 9 seat rows through the whole plane.  I was in seat 31A, which means a window.  Not cool for a 14 hour trip to be squished with 2 people next to me. However, the plane was not filled, so the couple who were supposed to sit next to me moved elsewhere and I got the entire row to myself!  I was very happy about that. 

The service on the plane was great.  The flight attendants were polite and you were offered a drink pretty much every hour.  The food was good too. My first meal was Kimbimbab, a Korean dish with veggies and rice.  There was also a side cup containing some little dried up sea creatures. I opened it, got a whiff, saw the eyes, and promptly closed it. That was not for me.  After receiving small snacks packs throughout, the final meal was rice.  I got a dish containing one half rice and one half Kimchi, a spicy cabbage.  I started eating and then realized that under some Kimchi there were a few tentacles.  Yes, tentacles. If you know me at all, you know that tentacles on a living breathing octopus freak me out, let alone chopped up into bits in my food.  So needless to say, I pushed those aside and ate the rice.

Above is the first meal, Kimbimbab.  It came with a tube of Korean spicy pepper paste.  I didn’t use it though, the spicy Kimchi was enough for me!

Below is the second meal.  Yup, there’s tentacles in that bowl there on the left.  The rice was good though!

Incheon Airport is a really nice airport.  I managed to find everything very easily and it was very clean.  I went through the usual, immigration, baggage claim, and customs without any problems.  They did lose the tag on my blue suitcase unfortunately and they ripped the front, but I am just glad it arrived along with me.  I exchanged some money at the currency exchange booth and then headed out to the mass of people waiting for the loved ones.  I had to wait about 20 minutes for Kim, the man who words at EduCon, to pick me up.  Apparently there was no parking and the airport was abnormally busy.    Anyway, he drove the hour and a half to the apartment building and I met three other teachers there.  They are having me stay in this one apartment until the one teacher moves out, and then I move to the building next door into her apartment. 

The apartment is not bad.  There a working bathroom and the bed is long, which is nice.  I was afraid I would be too tall for a normal bed here.  The one Korean teacher set me up with a package of teeth cleaning products (toothbrush, paste, and a tongue cleaner) along with shampoo, conditioner, a tiny towel, a bottle of water, a fork and spoon pack, and some bread and juice in the fridge.  I didn’t realize until later that there was no toilet paper. I am just glad I brought my little travel Charmin toilet paper pack.

Utensils and Tooth Kit

 mmm, breakfast and lunch!

 

 

So today I need to head out and explore, if anything just to try and buy some food.  I learned the trick to converting the money.  One Dollar equals about 1000 Won.  So if an apple is 4000 Won, then it is $4.  That makes life a bit easier.  The language and writing system is something that will take a lot of practice and getting used to.  I think it will get better with practice and using it, along with hearing it spoken.     

Oh, so the neighborhood my apartment is in is labeled as a “suburb”, but it is not like an American suburb.  I was in awe last night walking through the “town” with the other teachers because it is most definitely a city.  There are tall buildings everywhere and bright lights on every building.  There are lots of cars, people, trash, and noise, and that was just from seeing it on a Sunday night!  I cannot imagine what it must be like out there now on a Monday morning. I will find out soon as I head out though!

 

안녕!