(Written Saturday, September 11)
Guess who’s back in business? I landed in Seoul at 4am local time, and now it’s 4:30am and I’m at the airport, waiting for my 7am pick-up. Talk about smoooooooooth sailing. Dad drove me to the airport Thursday evening; we left at 9:30pm, and I was checked in and through security by 10:45pm. (Get this: my checked bags could weigh no more than 23kg each: my bigger one was 23.3kg; my large carry-on could be no more than 10kg…it was 9.8kg. Man, I’m good!) By 11pm, I had already done all the shop browsing I was up for. My flight was leaving until 1:30am, so I wrote, and listened to some Vinyl Café. On the 13-hour non-stop flight I managed to get about seven hours of sleep – though not consecutive. It was broken up by meal breaks and movies. Can anyone ever resist the personal TVs? I needed light subject matter, so I gave in to some chick flick choices: The Back-up Plan, Wild Target (this was more action/comedy), and Letters to Juliet. The latter film was a good choice, after having spent a month in Italy. I recognized a lot of places from the scenes. And Korean Air is a NICE airline. The TVs are not only touch-screen technology; you also have a personal remote. The seats are spacious. There was only one other woman in our ABC row, so we alternated stretching out to the middle seat to lie down. She may have been the only other white woman on the flight.
At the airport in Toronto, arriving at my gate, I had a slight panic moment. I was one of the only white people around. I know I went to Poland on my own, but at least going there, I blended in somewhat. Not only that, their alphabet has letters that I recognize. South Korea is another story – I stand out like a sore thumb and their alphabet is going to take some getting used to! Oh ya, something else I did waiting for my flight was write down some key words/symbols that may be useful to me immediately, and listen to my repeat-after-me learn Korean recordings. I digress…what’s keeping me sane is the fact that I’m arriving to some familiar faces. It’s making a significant difference, I think. And I have a couple weeks here to orient myself before I start work, so perhaps I can learn a few things here and there, and get into my groove.
Back to the smooth sailing: even after waiting to be the last one off the plane, even after taking my sweet time in the bathroom, even after going through customs and collecting my luggage (which was already on the conveyer belt), I made it through in half an hour.
I can’t believe how quickly my time at home went. I must say I feel as though I spent it well. It was lovely to see those of you that I could. And now it’s time for my next adventure…! Love to all, and keep in touch. Xo
Part 2
I was met at the airport by a man who had my name on a sign! I’ve always wanted a sign! We were to meet at 7am, but he arrived at 6:30am and found me. He called my recruiter and employer, so I had the chance to speak to both of them on the phone. Then he sent me off on the shuttle bus, to my Seoul destination. There was a very steady rain this morning. I was to call Hunter, the friend I was meeting, a few minutes before I arrived. I didn’t get the chance/was on a bus without a phone, so I was dropped at my stop, left in the rain. I spotted some taxis and loaded my stuff into one. The driver and I sat in the front, as he tried to figure out the address I had written down. (I figured I would just cab and show up.) After a few minutes, he indicated he couldn’t take me, so I unloaded my stuff and asked the next taxi. The second time I didn’t load up the car before asking. I’m a quick learner. He didn’t know either. I asked some passersby where I could find a phone and they guided me. I didn’t follow their route, as it was too far with all my stuff. Instead, I left my bags under cover and went into a bakery. The girls working didn’t really speak English (in fact I haven’t heard much so far) but one of them let me use her cell. Awesome! As it turns out, Hunter was nearby waiting. Good thing I didn’t take a cab! So here I am now, showered, dry, and fed, and a little dopey from a three-hour nap.
Guess who’s back in business? I landed in Seoul at 4am local time, and now it’s 4:30am and I’m at the airport, waiting for my 7am pick-up. Talk about smoooooooooth sailing. Dad drove me to the airport Thursday evening; we left at 9:30pm, and I was checked in and through security by 10:45pm. (Get this: my checked bags could weigh no more than 23kg each: my bigger one was 23.3kg; my large carry-on could be no more than 10kg…it was 9.8kg. Man, I’m good!) By 11pm, I had already done all the shop browsing I was up for. My flight was leaving until 1:30am, so I wrote, and listened to some Vinyl Café. On the 13-hour non-stop flight I managed to get about seven hours of sleep – though not consecutive. It was broken up by meal breaks and movies. Can anyone ever resist the personal TVs? I needed light subject matter, so I gave in to some chick flick choices: The Back-up Plan, Wild Target (this was more action/comedy), and Letters to Juliet. The latter film was a good choice, after having spent a month in Italy. I recognized a lot of places from the scenes. And Korean Air is a NICE airline. The TVs are not only touch-screen technology; you also have a personal remote. The seats are spacious. There was only one other woman in our ABC row, so we alternated stretching out to the middle seat to lie down. She may have been the only other white woman on the flight.
At the airport in Toronto, arriving at my gate, I had a slight panic moment. I was one of the only white people around. I know I went to Poland on my own, but at least going there, I blended in somewhat. Not only that, their alphabet has letters that I recognize. South Korea is another story – I stand out like a sore thumb and their alphabet is going to take some getting used to! Oh ya, something else I did waiting for my flight was write down some key words/symbols that may be useful to me immediately, and listen to my repeat-after-me learn Korean recordings. I digress…what’s keeping me sane is the fact that I’m arriving to some familiar faces. It’s making a significant difference, I think. And I have a couple weeks here to orient myself before I start work, so perhaps I can learn a few things here and there, and get into my groove.
Back to the smooth sailing: even after waiting to be the last one off the plane, even after taking my sweet time in the bathroom, even after going through customs and collecting my luggage (which was already on the conveyer belt), I made it through in half an hour.
I can’t believe how quickly my time at home went. I must say I feel as though I spent it well. It was lovely to see those of you that I could. And now it’s time for my next adventure…! Love to all, and keep in touch. Xo
Part 2
I was met at the airport by a man who had my name on a sign! I’ve always wanted a sign! We were to meet at 7am, but he arrived at 6:30am and found me. He called my recruiter and employer, so I had the chance to speak to both of them on the phone. Then he sent me off on the shuttle bus, to my Seoul destination. There was a very steady rain this morning. I was to call Hunter, the friend I was meeting, a few minutes before I arrived. I didn’t get the chance/was on a bus without a phone, so I was dropped at my stop, left in the rain. I spotted some taxis and loaded my stuff into one. The driver and I sat in the front, as he tried to figure out the address I had written down. (I figured I would just cab and show up.) After a few minutes, he indicated he couldn’t take me, so I unloaded my stuff and asked the next taxi. The second time I didn’t load up the car before asking. I’m a quick learner. He didn’t know either. I asked some passersby where I could find a phone and they guided me. I didn’t follow their route, as it was too far with all my stuff. Instead, I left my bags under cover and went into a bakery. The girls working didn’t really speak English (in fact I haven’t heard much so far) but one of them let me use her cell. Awesome! As it turns out, Hunter was nearby waiting. Good thing I didn’t take a cab! So here I am now, showered, dry, and fed, and a little dopey from a three-hour nap.
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