The flight and arrival

THE AIRPORT:
My sisters Jocelyn and Ollie and my nephew, Jaxon dropped me off at the LAX international Airport on January 26th at 8:00 am.  I was extremely saddened to say goodbye but at the same time, excited to begin my future in a foreign country.  I had 3 pieces of luggage, each extremely heavy.  Upon approaching the line for Asiana Airlines to check my bags, I was greeted by the staff which was very cool.  They welcomed me in a chorus-like fashion and I felt happy immediately.  One of my bags was too large and I had to take out 15 lbs worth of items and place them into another bag.  People were probably laughing at me as sat on top of the smaller piece of luggage in an effort to shmoosh the contents from the overly packed bag in.  I ended up having to pay $160 for the additional bag but, thankfully they didn't turn me away. 

As I ventured to the terminal I noticed there was a money exchange station so I decided to convert my funds.  The women working the booth said that it was wise for me to do it at that time because there was a flat rate.  If I had decided to convert upon my arrival I would be charged a percentage.  Needless to say, after receiving the won, I felt ever-ready for the journey to South Korea. 

As I sat waiting for my flight to depart I received numerous phone calls from my eight brothers and sisters as well as my parents; let's just say my phone was "BLOWIN UP!"  I sat and people watched in between phone calls, my favorite people were the little babies...so cute!  As for grownups there were two Americans one of them an African American girl, I couldn't help but feel comforted the moment I noticed her.  To think, there are others just like me venturing out to a foreign place not knowing the road that lies ahead.  I didn't speak with the two Americans but ear-hustled a lil' bit. Apparently the Caucasian guy was studying abroad (university) and the girl was visiting her friends in Asia.  On a normal day I would've joined in on the conversation but today I was far too emotional; I just observed.  While in the middle of a thought process I heard the flight director call for the business class to enter the plane I immediately felt butterflies in my stomach.  After the Business class passengers were done boarding, the economy class (my class) was asked to enter.

I chose to wait at the end of the line.  I wasn't sure if it was a cultural thing but people had no boundaries. Many people were bumping into each other as they attempted to board...all I could think was, "Not Cool".   My neck and shoulder were extremely stiff from the car accident I got in just a week prior and I wasn't in the mood to get in a human accident or cause the condition to worsen.  I waited for what felt like ages but as I boarded I was glad to see that I was close to the front exit of the plane. I chose a window seat so that I could use the window as a prop when I wanted to sleep. This plane was HUGE...There were stairs for the second deck and many pretty Asian flight attendants, mostly women. 

The attendants were extremely nice and tall.  Two of them, noticing I was short, helped me place my carry-on and blanket in the cabinet above my seat. As all passengers began settling down, the attendants passed out warm hand towels; my guess was that they wanted us to get all the "American" filth off our faces and hands before entering Asia....j/k.  Whatever the reason was, it was warm, thoughtful and inviting. 
Immediately following our "wash-p" we were handed menus that showed our options.  I vaguely remember reading it because I dosed off.  Dramamine was extremely effective!



THE FOOD:
About an hour into the flight I woke up to the attendant asking me what I would like to eat.  I had a choice of steak and green beans with cheesecake for dessert or Bibambap with kimchi, fruit and some kind of walnut salad.  I chose the bibambap, I wanted to try something new.  When the food arrived the attendant gave me this card that directed my on how to eat the bibambap.  Needless to say, I was highly disappointed.  I thought, “this is what people rave about on all the blogs I see about Korea".  I don't want to go too deeply into my thought process because it might make me look picky so I'll show you a picture.  I was so disgusted that I hardly ate the remaining of the flight.  They gave me this really good warm sandwich as a snack halfway through the flight. Oh, I also had a glass of wine to calm my nerves.

THE FOOD:
About an hour into the flight I woke up to the attendant asking me what I would like to eat.  I had a choice of steak and green beans with cheesecake for dessert or Bibambap with kimchi, fruit and some kind of walnut salad.  I chose the bibambap; I wanted to try something new.  When the food arrived the attendant gave me this card that directed my on how to eat the bibambap.  Needless to say, I was highly disappointed.  I thought, “this is what people rave about on all the blogs I see about Korea".  I don't want to go too deeply into my thought process because it might make me look picky so I'll show you a picture.  I was so disgusted that I hardly ate the remaining of the flight.  They gave me this really good warm sandwich as a snack halfway through the flight. Oh, I also had a glass of wine to calm my nerves.

THE FLIGHT:
After my first nap it seemed that my injured neck worsened.  I couldn't sleep anymore so I chose to watch gazillion movies.  I watched 2 Christmas Classics, a few Newbie’s, 1 short film and lastly 1 Suspense which was interrupted by the pilot at the end of the flight.  If you're thinking, "How’d she manage to watch so many movies?" well, the flight was 12 looooong hours.   I felt like I would never make it.  The sun would not go down so I eventually put down the window shades. Every once in a while I peeped to see if the sun had left me alone, I eventually gave up because I started to get annoyed. I kept it down until the pilot said we were close.  As we approached, my t.v. monitor showed the temperature outside, let's just say I felt like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz...I was definitely not in California anymore.

MY ARRIVAL:
So, I arrived on an extremely cold day in South Korea on December 28, 2011. My neck was stiffer now than it was when I left. I was tired due to lack of sleep AND my hunger pangs had subsided because I was anxious about seeing my new apartment.  As I received my bags from baggage claim I realized that I had to wait in an additional line to go through customs.  Security took a picture of me and I was finally on my way. I searched for the sign with my name on it held by my escort. As I exited the airport in Icheon, Korea I noticed the snow had fallen as there were icy streets.  I entered the van and immediately fell asleep.  The drive to Seoul felt like an additional flight, well maybe worse.  The driver was horrible; thankfully I was too tired to get annoyed.  I stayed sprawled out on the back seat as there were no seatbelts to be worn.  Thankfully he had the heater on full blast to combat the dreadful weather outside.
As we drove up to my lovely apartment I was greeted by Agnes, the principles daughter.  She was so sweet and her English was perfect.  The escort took my bags out of the car and when he realized that I lived on the 4th floor I heard him sigh.  I sighed too because my pain had worsened and I knew I didn't have the strength to carry my HUGE bags up 4 flights of stairs.  As I thought, "How will I do this?" a man out of nowhere showed up and asked if he could help, God knew we needed him. 

Agnes showed me my place, it was perfect.  I had plenty of closet space to fit my clothing and the floor heating was something I had never experienced.  Words can't describe how thankful I am for this experience.  

Until Next time
Love and Peace from Seoul

p.s. I have pictures of everything I spoke about but and will post them soon.  Trying to get some technical help from a fellow native on how to post them.

Countdown to 2012 in Seoul

Hi Friends & Family,

Just wanted to inform you of my depart day to South Korea for my 1 year adventure teaching English.  I am so excited and so thankful to have such amazing people in my life.  Each one of you mean very much to me and I want to let you know that I will continue to keep in contact via this blog and email.  I am scheduled to depart Monday, December 26, 2011 at noon.  Words cannot describe how I feel;  there are many mixed emotions but all the encouraging words and great connections I have made with you all during my preparation are making the transition stress-free.  I have just 4 days until I leave and have many things to do before leaving so I can't write for much longer.  Upon arriving I will write to update you as I embark on a new journey for 2012.

...Until then,

..LOVE and PEACE from SEOUL :-)