So, my first couple of days were mad crazy n hectic. Thank God my flight was rather enjoyable! I flew from San Francisco to Seoul in 10 hours. I flew on Singapore Airlines, which to date is the most comfortable international flight that I have experienced! The seats were comfy, food was good, area was roomy, had a private tv in the headrest in front of me laced w/ all up to date music n movies. This was such an awesome flight, I literally did not want to get off it!
But...all things must come to an end. Once I deplaned and got through customs I went to baggage claims only to realize that all of my luggage hadn't arrived! I of course was mildly devastaed, but couldn't be too upset as I did miss my flight the day before due to foolishness! Anywho...after an hour or so of dealing w/ that nonesene, I get outside the airport my next step is my 3 hour bus ride to get me to my final destination--Daejeon. Daejeon is the 5th largest city in Korea. My uni. had sent me instructions via email about how to get to Daejeon. I had some already converted money thanks to d-wil, so I easily bought a bus ticket. I then had to borrow someones phone to ring the assistant that was expected to meet me, which I did w/ little difficult.y 3 hours later, I was there!
My first impression was..."ok, this looks like a city---there r bright ass lights everywhere!" I later found out that those bright ass lights are literally...everywhere...small towns, large cities, countrysides n everything in btwn. That's just the unanimous decor of Korea. Anyways, the assistant, a young Korean man took me to may apartment, which was in a womans dorm. I didn't have all of my luggage so I immediately had to buy some toiletries n etc... from this bootleg looking n smelling store. After doing so, I used the nice man's cell to call my mom--had her call my friends to let them know that I made it safely.
At this point I'm feeling all kinds of things....slight intimidation, excitement n what I later realized was a jet-lagged shock--hahaha! So, I was informed that I would attend my first class which was at 8 a.m. w/ another professor who would assist as I got settled n such. The professor met me at the dorm n we walked up this ridiculously steep mountain to get to class! And!! once we reached the top we had to climb about literally 75 steps!!! AND!!!did I mention that it's winter time---so its fn cold?!!
Anywho...got through the class w/ good energy--finished and was taken to the market to get food, bottled water n etc...by that same prof. The market was soooooooooo foreign (obviously)! Everything was in Korean and there weren't a lot of foods that I recognized or ate. At this point I had decided to have a vegetarian diet and prior to this I didnt eat pork or beef anyhow...so my options were quite limited. Additionally, I wasn't eatn any kind of chicken from the continent where bird flu originated! lol! but for reals!!
So, anyways....did some shopping, went to 1 or 2 other classses and by that nite, I CRASHED!! I mean my body wouldn't even let me run if my building was on fire! That jet-lag kicked in! I ended my first week w/ finally getting my luggage, being able to call home, eating pasta every day and settling in! Hello, Korea!
But...all things must come to an end. Once I deplaned and got through customs I went to baggage claims only to realize that all of my luggage hadn't arrived! I of course was mildly devastaed, but couldn't be too upset as I did miss my flight the day before due to foolishness! Anywho...after an hour or so of dealing w/ that nonesene, I get outside the airport my next step is my 3 hour bus ride to get me to my final destination--Daejeon. Daejeon is the 5th largest city in Korea. My uni. had sent me instructions via email about how to get to Daejeon. I had some already converted money thanks to d-wil, so I easily bought a bus ticket. I then had to borrow someones phone to ring the assistant that was expected to meet me, which I did w/ little difficult.y 3 hours later, I was there!
My first impression was..."ok, this looks like a city---there r bright ass lights everywhere!" I later found out that those bright ass lights are literally...everywhere...small towns, large cities, countrysides n everything in btwn. That's just the unanimous decor of Korea. Anyways, the assistant, a young Korean man took me to may apartment, which was in a womans dorm. I didn't have all of my luggage so I immediately had to buy some toiletries n etc... from this bootleg looking n smelling store. After doing so, I used the nice man's cell to call my mom--had her call my friends to let them know that I made it safely.
At this point I'm feeling all kinds of things....slight intimidation, excitement n what I later realized was a jet-lagged shock--hahaha! So, I was informed that I would attend my first class which was at 8 a.m. w/ another professor who would assist as I got settled n such. The professor met me at the dorm n we walked up this ridiculously steep mountain to get to class! And!! once we reached the top we had to climb about literally 75 steps!!! AND!!!did I mention that it's winter time---so its fn cold?!!
Anywho...got through the class w/ good energy--finished and was taken to the market to get food, bottled water n etc...by that same prof. The market was soooooooooo foreign (obviously)! Everything was in Korean and there weren't a lot of foods that I recognized or ate. At this point I had decided to have a vegetarian diet and prior to this I didnt eat pork or beef anyhow...so my options were quite limited. Additionally, I wasn't eatn any kind of chicken from the continent where bird flu originated! lol! but for reals!!
So, anyways....did some shopping, went to 1 or 2 other classses and by that nite, I CRASHED!! I mean my body wouldn't even let me run if my building was on fire! That jet-lag kicked in! I ended my first week w/ finally getting my luggage, being able to call home, eating pasta every day and settling in! Hello, Korea!
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