The Move to Korea (8/24-8/25/2011)

        Trip Highlights:

9:00 a.m. - My wallet converts from dollars to won!

11:45 – I board my flight and am seated next to my(one-year-from-now)self …Seung Yeon, a girl who went to a foreign country she’d never been to before to complete a one-year commitment and is on her way home. (My first new friend here!! And we’re going to hang out soon! Yay!)

3:30 p.m. – My first experience with Korean food…

3:45 – Seung Yeon laughs at me because I ate it incorrectly. Oops.

9:15 – We hit turbulence just as I am sitting down to pee…interesting experience.

Midnight – Seung Yeon teaches me how to write my address and gives me my first taste of Korean music.

2:34 a.m. – Land in Korea!! * BUT it’s actually 3:34 p.m. the next day!

4:40ish p.m. –Jooyeon & my taxi driver are waiting for me outside the gate.

5:00 – Taxi engine overheats and we spend half an hour at the mechanic’s.

5:20 – Jooyeon teaches me to say “I don’t speak Korean.”

5:45 – We get to my school…I meet my boss, take a quick tour, get my house keys and go home to my new apartment!

Well it’s definitely been an interesting day. The plane ride was great because I had so much fun talking to Seung Yeon. Landing was awesome too…seeing everything for the first time was really exciting. Then I got to see my friend, Jooyeon, at the gate (which was awesome) and she’s totally saving my ass here. I don’t know what I’d do if she weren’t here because there’s no way I’d be able to navigate this city alone.

Eventually, as the night went on, overwhelming feelings kept taking over me. My mind would switch from an anxious “I really hope I like it here” to a nervous “omg I can’t leave for a whole year, whether I want to or not” to an amazed “this is so cool!” Side note: being exhausted really isn’t helpful when you’re trying to control your feelings.

Within 20 minutes of getting to my apartment, Jooyeon and I left to go to dinner with her friends. They were nice but I spent the majority of the night listening to them speak Korean and having absolutely no idea what was going on. I think my decision to come without knowing any of the language was kind of dumb now…but Jooyeon’s friends taught me a little and told me I’m learning fast so hopefully they aren’t lying and I can learn quickly.

After dinner, we walked down to a beautiful river and where we hung out and watched a concert. The view of the water, the bridges and the city is amazing and it really calmed me down. Actually, it eventually it calmed me to the point where I was starting to pass out so I knew it was time to go home (Jooyeon helped me get there, of course. Without her help, I’d still be at the river).

Everyone I’ve met has been super nice so far and my apartment is really cute. It doesn’t feel like home yet but that’s probably because I can’t shower yet (I’m towel-less), I don’t have bed sheets and all my stuff is packed in my suitcases. I think as soon as I unpack and put up my pictures, things will be different. I think I know how to get to the metro stop by my house now, which is good, but I seriously have a lot to learn. Thank God for Jooyeon and Megan and everyone else who will be helping me out this year. Apparently I’m going into work tomorrow and, since I haven’t had more than two consecutive hours of sleep during the last three days and have a lot to do tomorrow, I’m going to bed right NOW (11:15 p.m. in Korea but 10:15 a.m. in my head). Goodnight from South Korea!!