In Korea at Last!

I am finally safely here in Gyeongju. This comes as quite a nice surprise to me, as the trip over here was crammed with bad luck.

When I checked in at O'Hare, I was informed that my first flight had been cancelled. So, I was switched from American Airlines to United. I was so worried and stressed that I wound up crying all the way through security. Security brought more trouble, by the way. I was selected for a random search (of course!) during which the woman managed to break the buckle off my shoe, thus wrecking my favorite pair of shoes. I only had about five minutes to get breakfast before my flight started boarding, so I grabbed a chocolate muffin, a mocha, and a bottle of water from a little stand. The coffee promptly spilled on my nice new yellow sweater as I dashed to my gate.

The first flight was uneventful. The service was surprisingly good and there were two in-flight movies, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Dan in Real Life. Then they played one episode from The Office, and we arrived in San Francisco.

In San Francisco, I had to check in with Korean Air, which took forever. My bags had already been routed to Seoul, although I was skeptical over whether or not they would actually make it. I had not had a chance to flat iron my hair that morning, so it was looking pretty bad. I managed to find an electrical outlet to the side of one of the payphones (the bathroom had none), so I did my hair there. When I got ready to board the plane, I was informed that security had neglected to mark my ticket, so I had to wait at the gate and then be thoroughly re-searched by security. What fun!

Korean Air turned out to be the best airline I have ever flown on. Every seat had a personal LCD monitor, on which we could play games, watch as many movies as we wanted (there were 57 to choose from, mostly new releases), and even track our plane on an interactive map, which also told the remaining time and distance to Seoul/Incheon airport. The service was excellent. They brought us drinks and roasted peanuts early on, then brought juice and water at least once an hour. We were given huge towelettes to wash our hands with early on as well. Later in the flight, they brought out hot washcloths to "refresh ourselves" with.

There were two in-flight meals, both of which were good. This was my first exposure to Korean food. My lunch consisted of bibimbap, which is rice, cooked vegetables, and meat with a very spicy red pepper sauce. There were also some odd chunks of something brown and squishy, which I assume was some sort of sea creature. I ate that too, and was relieved that it was not totally disgusting, just really weird. There were fresh melon and pickles with the meal, which were also good. I was unable to eat more than three bites of the seaweed soup, though. It was too fishy tasting. Dinner was a pasta and shrimp dish with vinegary vegetables and some odd pink dessert that tasted yummy.

The only downfall on that flight was that I got sick. I got the worst vertigo of my life, my face broke out in a sweat, my ears rang loudly, and my vision got so clouded that I couldn't see anything. It got so bad that I actually thought I was dying. Three flight attendants came and assisted me. They gave me cold water to drink and moved me back to their seats for a while, where there was more room and more air. Later, back in my seat, it started again, so I put my head down on my tray table and kept it there for over an hour. By the end of the flight, I felt better.

Seoul/Incheon airport was huge! Ginormous! Bigger than O'Hare, I'm certain. It took forever to find my way around after I got through with immigration and customs. My Busan flight was crammed with American military, all of whom were very friendly and talkative. In Busan, I was delighted to learn that my luggage, oddly enough, was also in Busan. Unfortunatly, one of my suitcases had been murdered by the airlines. The top of it is ripped beyond repair.

Cate (my director) and her husband met me at the airport. They are super nice. Cate offered to either put me up in a hotel for my first week here or have me stay with her. I chose the latter, so I am currently at Cate's apartment. She informed me, much to my relief, that I do not have to teach today. I got to sleep in, and I will be going over to the school at noon to meet the other teachers and some of the students.

So far, I think Korea is gorgeous. The weather is warmer than at home, about 35-40 degrees, there is no snow, and it is very sunny right now. Most of the Koreans I have met so far have been very friendly. I am pretty certain I'm going to like it here. I really miss my parents and dogs, but I think I'll be okay. No matter where I go, I'm always missing somebody. That's the downside and the upside of moving around so much.