Landing In Korea

Landing in Korea was very cool. As we were coming down it was just getting dark and as the plane was banking I could see lights as far as the eye could see. It was Seoul, and it was HUGE.

As I got of the plane myself and a few other Americans just followed the flow of traffic. One person said we were all lemmings, but I prefer to think we were gazelles running from a lion.

Thankfully the airport had enough English signs that I could get where I need to be. Which was down the esclator, on the tram, along the people mover, to Immigration. I got up to the immigration desk and the man wanted to know wny my address was "not known." I said it was because I didn't know where I was going to live. He gave me a stern look, and asked again. We did this about 3 or 4 times, and finally with a defeated look he stamped my passport and let me go.

It was some what amazing that my bags were coming through right as I came to the baggage claim area. Even more impressive was the bags didn't look like they'd been in a war zone, as some other peoples bags did.

I went through customs quickly, as I had nothing to declare, and I found the currency exchange. I got 1380 won per dollar, which was better than the 1200 they were offering in San Fransisco. It seems crazy but I have over 100,000 of this currency. That seems like a bunch of money, but it's about 70 bucks.

I was met at the airport by a man from the recruiting agency. He had a big sign with my name on it, typed very large. He was really easy to spot. He took my bags for me, which I thought was great, and we scooted off to his car. A Kia if you can believe it!

It was about an hour drive to get to the apartment.

The area that I'm living in is very exciting. There are night clubs in my building, a bar called "Miller Time" which has MGD branded into everything. Oh, and a place that claims to have hamburgers and tacos. I'm excited to see how good that is.

A manager from my school and another person (I'm not sure on titles as I haven't been to school yet) met me at the lobby. They showed me how to work the security system, and how to work the heat and all that.

Shortly after they left I crashed. We planned to meet at 1 the next afternoon, but I was awake at 8. So I showered, got dressed and did some exploring! Turns out the malls that I've been reading about are just around the block from here. I took about a half mile walk and found a movie theater, with an IMAX!

At 1 a person from school met me and took me out to eat traditional Korean food. Ramen with cheese (very good, and spicy), kimbap (a kind of Korean sushi, rice rolled in seaweed with veggies and one with tuna), and the most famous Korean food, kimchi. I did not care for the kimchi, and I'll leave it at that.

After we were done eating I went for a walk to look for my school. Since I don't have a map, and don't speak Korean this was an interesting ordeal. I had a general idea of where it was, but it took me 2 hours of walking around to find it. The good news is that I've found it, the bad news is that it's about 2 miles from the apartment.

Also while I was out and about I had my first meal in korea, before I went with the guy from school. What did I have? KFC. I could have had Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, or Starbucks. Very exotic!

In Korea they use 220 power, not 110 like we do in the US. So I went out and found a converter at this little hardware store. It was cool to get it becuase I didn't speak Korean and the old man didn't speak English. But I still managed to find what I needed even with the language barrier.

There is a little corner store in my building. I walked into it yesterday to buy a coke, and they guys were listening to Eminem.