First Time Abroad

I know it’s been a week since my last post; I apologize for the delay as I have been quite busy with some pre-departure details. Only 22 days until I set off for Costa Rica. It’s difficult to believe it’s been almost three years since I was last abroad.

Anyways, today I figure I would share the first post I ever made. When I graduated from college I had every intention of traveling for ten years straight and started a blog called Ten Year Travels. As it turned out I was nowhere near prepared to be an avid blogger or leave my friends and family in the US for ten years, so the blog eventually died, so to speak.

19 August 2012

Alright so I guess this is my first blog entry out of my ten year traveling expedition. I am currently in hour two of eleven on my way to South Korea.

Today felt like a dream; I wasn’t nervous or even excited really. Even though I’ve never been out of the country before, I’m so used to flying that it just felt like any other run-of-the-mill flight. I nearly fell asleep as we waited in the long line of departing flights, jolting awake every time I felt the plane move to take a peek at our progress. When we finally left the ground, I gazed out the window and said a quiet farewell to the country I was born and raised in. A few minutes later I passed out.

I only slept for an hour before they started bringing our lunches. This was my first experience with kimchi, spicy pickled cabbage, which everyone said I had to try. Now I don’t know whether or not it is always served cold, but I was expecting it to be hot and I think the flavor might be better hot. Then again what do I really know about how Korean food is supposed to taste. I think I’ll get used to it…eventually. (I pretty much hated kimchi for my first couple months but by the time I left it was one of my favorite side dishes.)

 

21 August 2012

I have now been in Korea for over 12 hours, woo! Unfortunately, my laptop died after about 20 minutes on the flight, giving me a mini-heart attack. What if something was wrong with the battery and that I couldn’t get a replacement? It looks fine now. The rest of the flight I spent reading about Korea, watching movies, and practicing the Korean alphabet.

We landed just before sunset. It was mostly cloudy with patches of sunlight sparkling on the water. I have never seen the ocean so smooth before. It reminded me of old fashion glass windows with their swirls of imperfection. Small islands were scattered across the surface, all of them bursting with green and lacking sandy beaches.

The hotel I’m staying in until my apartment is ready is pretty classy. There are two doors to the room, upon passing the first you remove your shoes before continuing on. The bathroom door is made of glass, so there is no privacy whatsoever…not that I need it; it’s not like I’m sharing the room. Best of all there is wifi, which is awesome because I can text and go online. Since I’m the first new teacher to arrive I feel obligated to learn as much as I can to help the others.

 

These were my first impressions of Korea:

Very few people speak English, which I knew before coming but now it’s an actuality rather than a consideration. The landscape reminds me of Kentucky—wet, green, and humid, but not to the extent of being tropical. The skylines are completely different from what you would see in New York, LA, or any other major US city. All of the skyscrapers look the same. They remind me of track homes lined up in tidy little rows. Most of the signs are written in hangul, Korean script, and English which is a gift and a curse—it’s great because I can figure out what they say, but I know it will definitely take me longer to learn Korean. (I never did learn)

My first day here was extremely busy, along with figuring out how to set up a blog and watching some Korean soap operas I was taken to the hospital to have a medical exam. I took an eye exam, a teeth exam, a hearing exam, had my blood pressure taken, peed in a cup, got an x-ray, had electrodes attached to my chest, had blood drawn, and was tested for color blindness, all in a little over twenty minutes. The nurses didn’t walk, they trotted. Also hospitals here have a lot less privacy than what I’m accustomed to and everything is in close proximity.

After the exam I was taken to tour the school I will be working at, which is a 15 minute walk from my apartment. It’s an 8 story building and the rooms are named after animals. I will be working in Bear room (ironic since I’m from Big Bear). Everyone seemed really friendly and helpful, so overall I’m getting pretty excited!