Korea, the first days

This is where I live... on the left


So, Korea has been a wild ride so far..... here's how it went down.


After I arrived at the airport I went easily through immigration, gathering luggage and loading it on to a cart, and exchanging my US dollars for Korean won. When I excited the terminal much to my surprise was Yun, from my school, with a giant sign saying "Welcome to Korea MELISSA!!!!" It was sooo nice, i was really worried about navigating the bus situation on my own with so many bags. So he took all my luggage loaded it up into the super nice car, and off we went towards Seoul. I must say Korean navigation systems are WAY more fun than American ones. They sing to you, and have little kid voices telling you when to slow down or turn. I was pleased! After we arrived in Gwangjin-Gu we stopped by the school for me to meet everyone after we dropped off my luggage at the apartment. I wasn't really happy about this, as I had been awake for over 24 hours and just wanted to sleep. It was quick and painless though. Alicia took me to buy water and some snacks, and took me to an internet cafe to check my email, because my internet at the apartment wasn't turned on yet. We chatted and hung out for a bit, then I really needed some sleep! When I got back to the apartment I did have a mini meltdown about the bed (it's a twin size and HARD as a rock). But I eventually calmed down and crashed out.

Thursday morning I woke up SUPER early, 5am. That gave me plenty of time to unpack and get things around the house cleaned and organized. It was a quiet morning, much to my liking. Thursday was my first day at work, and instead of any training they just kind of told me my schedule and to have fun. ACK. I spent most of the day tired and in a daze. It was fun with the kids, they were very helpful and adorable. They loved all the pictures of Arizona and my life, and to my surprised asked questions about the desert and my family. During our "dinner" break (15 mins in the evening) went to the grocery store across the street from the school so I could get a few things. I was happy to buy some fruit, fruit loops, peanut butter and jelly, and some noodles. I came home after work and went to bed at a reasonable hour, because I had a feeling I'd be up early, haha.

Not to my surprise, I woke up around 6am on Friday. Jet lag is a bitch! Emily and I had made plans to go to Star City, one of the big malls near the house. We hopped on a bus and arrived at the mall 4 short stops later. I was really happy to see Starbucks, Baskin Robins, burger King, and Cold Stone in the mall. You never know when you need a comfort from home. When I was living in Europe they had NO comforts from home and sometimes I got really homesick for something as small as food I recognized. We went into Emart, which is like the target/wal mart of Korean. They have EVERYTHING under one roof. I got to pet hedgehogs, shop for groceries, try on hats, ooh and ahh over the beautiful electronics and rugs, and everything in between! It will be my favorite place I think!

After our Star City adventure we had time to run home to put away our finds and get to work. Work was much more stressful the second day. I came in during their testing period, so apparently I have to write and administer oral and written exams for 80 students that I have never met. Gah. The day went pretty quickly though, and then it was time to go out with all my coworkers and boss for a night out! We went to the Korean BBQ place near work. They cook all the meat on grills in the middle of the table, and we had lots of sides to go with it. I loved the salad, it looked like a mix between grass and green onions. I'll have to find out what it was. We drank LOTS of soju and beer. I was surprised how much Koreans drink! Everyone in the restaurant was putting away shot after shot of soju! Woo woo! I thought my Boss, Brian, was kidding when he said "What next?!" but he wasnt! We all went to the Karaoke bar across the street. They have tambourines, flashing disco lights, more alcohol, and snacks! We all sang some classic American songs, and they sang a lot of Korean op songs as well! It was a fun night, they seem like a great bunch of people to work with... so far! I went to bed later than I had been, hoping to sleep in a little!

Much to my surprise, I actually did sleep in today! Until 8am! yay!! Today was the day to explore Seoul a little further away. Emily, Alicia and myself decided to go to the Art Fair over by the art school. It was about a 45 min subway ride away. I was totally grabbed and smacked on the legs by this old Korean guy who kept telling us he had visited Kentucky. The subways are VERYYYY crowded, so you cant really escape being felt up. Something to adjust to! I was happy when we finally got off the subway, and I saw white people! Woo woo!

We spent the next hours exploring the area, getting Smoothie King (YAYYYY!) and buying cute jewelry, art, and odds and ends. The stores were all cool, and the streets were just lined with vendors, food, clothes, people, music.... it was unreal! I was impressed, for sure. We left the street vendor area and went into the art fair area. I saw TONS of stuff I would love to buy, but some was expensive! I ended up buying a clock thats also a painting. It's dark background with a red outline of a tree. I really like it and cant wait to hang it up. We then walked around a little more and decided to head back to our part of town to go to the mall and get food.

After another 45 mins subway ride we made it back to our neighborhood. We crossed over to the mall, and looked for food! We decided on this really cool looking place that had lots of types of food. I got some fried rice (which isnt normal Korean fare) and I was pretty happy with it. Once our tummy's were full and happy we headed over to Emart to do some shopping for our houses! I found a lot of stuff I needed, and made a wishlist! It was a successful trip, so once we had our fill of shopping we hopped a bus back to the apartment. It's actually close enough to walk (we walked over this morning) but since our hands were full we crammed onto a full bus anyway.

Now I'm home debating about what furniture I should buy, considering we will only be here a year most likely. I'll think about it and decide another day!

Sooo thats been the highlights of Korea so far. I've left out a lot.... but I only have so much time to type! I'm exhausted!