Seoul Searching

After more than 13 hours on the time-warping Boeing 747, also known as a sky yacht, I had consumed three cups of apple juice, two ovo-lacto vegetarian meals, seven episodes of Jaime Oliver's Escapes, one full-length feature film, and about seven chapters in my last minute but surprisingly good Half-Price Books purchase, a novel by Tom Wolfe. My mind, body, and spirit each agreed that it was time to plant my feet on some foreign soil. Unfortunately it was drizzling when I exited the Incheon Airport, tired and sweaty after hauling close to 100 lbs. of luggage on my person (and anyone who truly knows me knows that I have no upper body strength), but some extremely friendly and eager Koreans were willing to assist me in loading my luggage on a charter bus to take me into the Seoul city center. Ohhh, happy days it was to arrive at my hotel and find my kind roommate for the week, Ellyn, there to greet me. We unnecessarily set our alarms for 9am and laughed when we awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed no later than 5:00 the next morning. Erghh, jet lag.


Sunday was a day devoted to getting lost, and that we did. Ellyn and I began to get a flavor for this booming metropolis and it's likes and dislikes.

Farewell, Midwest! Annyeonghaseyo, Korea!

Likes:

• Coffee, and plenty of it. South Korea does coffee shops like the midwest does churches. There is literally a coffee shop on every block, and in many cases there are two or three...or five. I'm serious! Coffee is a huge thing here and it's delicious (and expensive, but worth it.) 
• High heels, and plenty of 'em. Let me paint you a picture to illustrate this phenomenon. You're hauling ass up the steps of a metro exit only to find a near-delapidated sidewalk crowded with people. Now, you get to the top, proud to have made it, when a tiny little asian women dressed 10 times as nice walks by you 10 times as fast in HIGH HEELS 10 times as tall! I have no words. Only a jaw on the floor. That will never be me, and I've already come to terms with it.
• Babies. Babies, babies, everywhere. There is no such thing as an ugly asian baby! I want them all! It's only been two days and I've already overdosed on Korean babies. If it weren't for the fear of customs, I'd plan to steal a few before I return to the states. 

Dislikes:

• Eating utensils. Duh. Not a surprise to anyone that the Korean use chopsticks, but I had no idea the wide variety of chopsticks. So far I have only encountered metal chopsticks in the restaurants, but they are a bit more tricky to handle than the wooden sticks I'd grown accustomed to when sushi-nommin' at Ami in B-town. I'll get the hang of it, though.
• Large people. Not really a dislike, but one is definitely at a disadvantage in this country if they are horizontally or vertically large. Even a little heavy, it is difficult to find hip clothing. Big feet, big anything, Korea is a country built for the teeny-tiny. The next time you're in an American clothing store, pick up a size medium and assume that's a size large here. Korean diet, here I come!

Monday began my intense week of training. Assuming all goes well and I pass all of the exams I should be on my way to Ulsan in just a few days! As I've said before, I cannot truly relax until I see Tim, my good friend, and unpack these godawful suitcases. Traveling is by far the worst part of traveling. I'm excited to settle into my new home.