Ok, so I know this is looong overdue, but I have been super
busy since I landed about five days ago (wow, five days, seems like a shorter
time…) and have not really had any time to sit down and write down what all I
have been up to. I also have been suffering from slight jet lag, so I start
fading around 10 or 11, so do not have time or the patience to write an entry.
But here we go:
Last we
left off I was stranded in Chicago in a hotel room because I had missed my
flight. Well the next morning, I set off to the airport around 7:30 so that I
would be first in line at eh Asiana desk to get my ticket. I also met up with
another girl from the same program, K, and who had the same ticket mishap with
her, but she had tries to board the United flight to Seoul. We went to the
terminal together and then met up with our third lost sheep, C, who had missed
his connecting flight from New Hampshire so was flying in that day. Since we
all had gotten there so early we just hung out in the gate waiting area for
about 3 hours, we talked about classes and majors and Korean Language. Both C
and K have taken Korean before (C: 2 yeara, and K:1 year) so they were going to
be our main speakers when we landed in Incheon.
There were also some English teachers who were heading over. One was
going back home to Deagu and the other was just out of college and heading over
to Japan to work at a children’s emersion school for Japanese children. It was really fun talking to them and hearing
all that they were doing.
Truthfully
the flight was not all that exciting; I mostly slept and did Sudoku puzzles the
whole time. I was actually sitting next to the Daegu teacher, but her was a
little odd and slept for most of the plane ride. Because he was sitting next to
me, I took notes for my journal and for this blog in French so he would not
understand what I was saying about him and the other people on the plane.
Mostly I was writing about the group of school boys and the fact that all they
did was sleep. They were passed out on the benches at the ticket counter and
also in the waiting area at the gate. The only time that I saw them move was to
get on the plane and when we landed. But what was really unfair, was that they
looked as fresh as daisies when we landed, while the rest of us looked like finals
exams survival victims with a new found caffeine addiction. The plane food was good to,, in terms of
“plane food”. For our first meal, we were offered a choice of Bibimbap, or
Korean mixed rice with vegetables and gochujang sauce (sooo good), or steak.
The next meal was chicken or octopus, I got the chicken. We also got party mix
and a ham and cheese sandwich.
When we
got to Incheon, there was no body there! Like I think we were the only plane to
have some in by then, because we were able to go through customs and get our
baggage in less than 45 minutes, which is usually unheard of in most major
international airports. When we got out into the main waiting area of the
airport, we were debating on if we should take the high speed train or if we should
take a taxi. Because we had so much luggage, about three bags per person, we
had no idea which would be the easiest to do. While we were talking, a taxi
driver came up and offered us a ride in his taxi, we were hesitant, but after
about 20 minutes of C and him talking, we eventually got in to his cab and were
on our way to the dormitories.
Now the thing about Korea is that
there are different types of cabs. The one we got was a black “luxury” taxi,
pretty much means that it is the size of a minivan, with three seats and the
rest of it is trunk space, the walls and ceiling are padded and that the a/c
was really cold. Sine we had talked to the man about getting a flat rate trip,
he did not start the meter and just took us to the dorms for the flat rate of 80,000
Won, or about $78 US. Now I have ridden in a few cabs in my life time and by
far the cab rides in Beijing were the most terrifying, well this man was a very
close second. He was on his phone for most of the ride and would randomly slow
down to point out places to us. At one point, he brought us to a different
location because he typed the address in wrong and started backing up into
oncoming traffic. C and I were in the back, so we just held on to each other
and prayed that we would not be hit, which thankfully we weren’t.
The
first set of dorms was on a side of a mountain. They are the dorms for the
regular Korean students, so there were a few rooms that the residents were
already moved into. The interesting thing was that the girls kept their shoes out
in the hall because like in most Asian counties, you are not support to wear
shoes in the house. So the halls were littered with shoes and umbrellas.
Another interesting thing that I found out in the dorms is that they are very
strict about separating the genders. At Sewanee, I could visit a guy’s room and
study for an upcoming test or do homework together, but here and even in the SK
Global dorms, you can get kicked out of the dorms if you are in the room of the
opposite gender, or even on the same floor without signing in at the front
desk. Anyway, I digress….
So we
made it to the dorms in one piece and paid the taxi driver his money and put
our bags in our assigned rooms, just letting you know, carrying three bags up
four flights of stairs is not that fun.
Since we had arrived late, we really had no idea where the rest of the
program members were, so since K and I could not visit C, we decided to go the
toe CIEE office on the other side of campus to see if they were there. No one
was there, but after an hour and a half of walking up and down the back roads
on campus, we were so hot and tired that we just wanted to go back to the dorms
and sleep.
About fifteen minutes after we
arrived, the rest of the participants arrived. Apparently they had gone to the
Seoul National Museum and got to dress in traditional Hanbok and were just making
it back to the campus after having gotten an early breakfast. Really wished
that I could have dresses up, but there is always the cultural reimbursement
program and if not, in February when the new semester students come over!
Some pictures of the dorm and views around campus:
That
next day, we had the CIEE scavenger hunt around Seoul. In the activity, we were
to go to all the touristy places and the places that were important to know for
a person living in Seoul.
After lunch, we went to Daehangno, or the theater district to finish up the hunt and to meet up with the other groups.
On the
19th, we moved into our real dorms, the SK Global house. I really
love the dorms here, they are small compared to dorm rooms back in the States,
but I like it and as long as we keep clean, my roommate and I hardly notice the
space. My favorite thing so far is the shoe closet that is by the door so we
can store our shoes and keep the step up onto our floor clean from all the dirt
and grime that we get from walking around the city all day. My room also has a
great view that overlooks part of a mountain and a few high rises form the
Sincheon neighborhood that is across the way.
While
we are on the subject of dorm rooms, let’s talk about beds. The Koreans don’t use
sheets on their beds; they have a bottom fitted sheet over a very firm mattress
and just use a comforter as a cover. Surprisingly this is very comfortable. The
beds remind me of a softer hard-sleeper for those of you who have ever been to
China and know what I am talking about.
On the
19th, we really only moved into our dorms, so after we unpacked, my
usual group of K, C, and our friends H, and M all went out for cold noodles or
Mul Naengmyeon for dinner. So good, so
far I have not had a Korean dish that I have not liked. After that we walked
around Sincheon and window shopped. We eventually stopped in a Tomtom Coffee chain,
were I got my newest obsession, a green tea frap. Starbucks really needs to
start selling this back in the States, because then they would make a killing
on my drinks by themselves!
Yesterday,
we went to the US Embassy Service Center to hear a talk form two Foreign
Service officers, one from the political sector and one from the Public
Relation sector. Their presentation was
mostly what the State Dept could do for you wile in Korea and some helpful tips
on how live and stay safe in Korea. Most of it was pretty standard fair for
living in a large city. They did briefly mention the North Korean situation,
but said that there was no real reason to worry and that they would let us know
if we needed to leave the country if anything did happen. After the presentation, I went up and talked
to the gentleman who was from the political sector and asked him about the
application process and to see if he had any tips. The process was more drown
out than I had realized, but I also learned that because of my language skills
and my travel experience, that I could possibly have a higher chance of getting
accepted!
After
the presentation, we had some free time and a few of us went to the free Korean
War Museum and Memorial. The place was not that crowded, but it was so
interesting and awe-inspiring. The
actual memorial was beautiful and simplistic; a single infinity fountain in the
middle of a stone room with a single shaft of light coming in from the domed ceiling.
All around the memorial, there were exhibits of war throughout the ages and an extending
look into the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history. At one point, as I was
going through the modern military practices of the Korean military, I was
joined by a group of Young Korean soldiers who were there to look up on the history
as well. It was a little awkward because I was explaining about booby traps and
all of my knowledge of wartime tactics to D, who was with me, while we were surrounded
by actual soldiers.
Later
that afternoon, we had a guest lecture about North Korea by Andrei Lankov, a
Korean specialist and expert on all things North Korean. Since he was Russian
and had a very strong accent, it was a little hard to hear his at the beginning
of the lecture, so I really only got about 85% of his sentences. But I really
loved his ideas about unification and why there has not been such a great push
for war/ unification by either side. If you want to hear more about it, let me
know via fb and I will tell you about it there, because I don’t want to bore
anyone with the long details on this already long post.
After
the lecture, my group of girls all went to Hongdae for some shopping and
dinner. Even though Hongdae is known for its clubs and street performers, we
just wanted to look around. It was cool seeing all of the lights and hearing
all of the music playing form the street performers and pulsing form the clubs,
but it was a little too crowded for me. Most of the shops were for clothes and shoes,
none of which really fit me, so I just looked around. I only picked up some oil
controlling pressed powder from Etude House. For dinner we stopped at a pretty well-known
restaurant for grilled meat and vegetables. We got two servings to split
between the four of us and that was enough. But oh man was it good! The meat
was pretty good quality beef and the vegetables were cooked in a broth with
japchae noodles. We had to cook everything, and even slightly burned the
noodles, but the flavor was amazing! All of us were stuffed and the best part
was that the whole meal cost us about 20 dollars, so about 5 each!
I’ll tell you more later. Off to bed for me,( jet lag and everything).
Until next time!
