Thursday, December 1, 2011

I was RIGHT!
Friday, December 2, 2011
I was Right!!!!
Just in case you were having doubts about me after my misjudgment of Queenstown, I thought I'd point out to you that…I WAS RIGHT! I DO love Korea! Read on and you'll see why, but before that, I have to say something…
December??? Really??? Where the heck did this year go?! It's hard to believe that just a few months ago, I was in the States, living the day to day, two days ago I was in NZ, and now I'm in Daegu, South Korea—what an amazing year it has been!
I arrived in Korea two nights ago and made my way to a couchsurfer's house in Seoul, fellow American, Alex. He was a fabulous host for a night. Served me a belated Thanksgiving dinner, complete with apple pie and brownies, and I enjoyed the evening sharing travel stories and photos and playing Pac man! His apartment was SO nice! Had my own room, own bathroom with rain showerhead, and free American food—just what I needed! Alex was eager to show me Seoul but I had to head out early the next day to make it to Daegu so we've made plans to meet again when I return to Seoul. Thanks, and see you soon, Alex!

Ok, back to loving Korea--My arrival to his house could not have been more uneventful, just the way I like it. I landed (and by I, I mean the plane with me on it) in Seoul around 7 pm and by the time I went to the bathroom and made my way down to baggage, my backpack was waiting for me! Grabbed the bag and put it on a free luggage cart and made my way out customs. I was an idiot and filled the customs card out wrong…3 times! But, the guy was nice and politely bowed and pointed for me to step aside and correct it each time. I suck. Got it straightened out and made it through customs with no problems (score one for me for sneaking in oatmeal and honey..,such a rebel!) Walked to the information desk, borrowed the phone to call Alex, got out some Korean Won and made my way to the bus stop.
The bus I took to get to Alex was the nicest bus I've ever been on! Leather seats, recliners, footstools, tv, nice way to end a long journey (over 24 hours at this point). Once at AK plaza, I made it inside but there was no sign of Alex. No problem, just borrowed a phone from someone and called him. Well, there was a slight problem since he didn't answer but he arrived a few seconds later so no harm was done. I've had to repeat this process of borrowing phones from people several times already and every person that I talked to, regardless of their English ability, has been SO helpful! I'm quite impressed! It's amazing what pointing to a piece of paper with a phone number on it or gesturing a phone with your hand can communicate!
The next day, I set out on the bus to Seoul Station and was greeted with the Korean helpfulness again. My Korean is a bit rusty but I've still somehow managed. Got onto a full bus so I stood the doorframe, backpack twice my size on. A nice girl took pity upon me and took it upon herself to ask the driver if I could put my pack on the dashboard. Much better. The driver was patient and kind as I narrowly missed decapitating a few passengers with my gigantic pack and figured out how to place my money in the slots. This bus was comfortable too, once I got a seat. Amongst the city sites I saw on the way to the station was some sort of celebration where they were releasing hundreds of red balloons into the sky. Kinda neat to see.
At Seoul station, the ticket lady was patient with me and helped with my ticket to Daegu on the KTX train. I had an hour or so to kill and while seated, spotted an American guy. Turned out to be James, an army soldier. There's LOTS of military around, both US and Korean. I like how being in a foreign place automatically bonds you with other Americans. We went for coffee/tea together in a really traditional Korean places called Dunkin Doughnuts and he was kind to lend me his phone to alert the Hatches of my arrival time. Nice way to pass the time.
The train was really comfy too. People helped me put my bag up and the little old man next to me was a cute as could be with his limited English and giant smile. The two hour ride to Daegu was pleasant and I was entertained with the free wifi and adorable chubby baby near me.
Arrived to Daegu, actually DongDaegu--I was in the right place! : ) and planned to meet the Hatches…we were both there but somehow missed each other. After borrowing several people's phones to try calling them, only to discover Jared's cell was turned off, and trying to have them paged, I gave up on the waiting. With my dead ipod and their phones at home, we did not plan this very well : ) Luckily, we are all seasoned travelers so I wasn't concerned. Made my own way to their place in a comical cab ride where the guy spewed out every English word he could think of, in no particular order or meaning, and played the oddest country-style Christmas music I had ever heard. Entertaining to say the least! I had asked the information center how much a cab might be and they wrote down in Korean for me, the address, and how to ask, "How much is it?" Told me where to go and what direction the cab should go in and how long it should take. Again, with the helpfulness.
It's really clean and safe here. I like it. Arrived at the Hatches building at the exact same time Jared was returning from his second round at trying to find me so we entered and surprised Emily and Carolyn who were online trying to find me that way! Emily and Jared are my dear friends from home who are about to have a baby….literally any second now. They are at the hospital while I type this and Carolyn, Jared's mom, and I are holding down the fort at their house and plan to meet them soon. They are teaching here and love it.
Their apartment is BEYOND nice and way better than anything a teaching salary could get you in the states! I have my own room again (sheets were fabulous by the way, Emily!), bathTUB, and heated toilet seat! It also has buttons for spraying, drying, etc. Koreans love their gadgets and being green. Kitchen sinks turn on and off with your foot so you don't waste water fidgeting with full hands, escalators are sensored to only run when someone steps on them, and fridges have secret mini doors so you don't have to open the entire door each time. Oh, the apartments also have screens to call the elevator before you exit, doors have codes instead of keys, and the screen also tells you the weather, has a video of who is at your door, etc. Fun toys.
Spent the evening catching up with the Hatches. They were so sweet to be concerned for me when they had much bigger things to worry about! Emily walked me through the subway and showed me how to put money on the pass, showed me around town, gave me a rundown of all in the apartment, lent me warm clothes…she's gonna be a good mama!
Carolyn cooked a FABULOUS pasta and shrimp dinner for Emily's last supper and then we sent them off to the hospital to be induced. Carolyn and I will head there is a few hours. It's night time but I'm awake. It's so nice to be with friends, in a house, UNPACKED, and just be able to JUST BE! Looking forward to exploring Korea with Carolyn, working out at the gym on base, and meeting baby Lucy Revolution very soon!