I'm here!

I arrived in Seoul after a long (21 hours to be precise) trip from Michigan. The plane rides were not actually that bad, even the 13 hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo. I spent a lot of the plane ride reading (my amazing best friend made a care package of letters from my other amazing friends...spent much of this time crying), doing some Sudoku puzzles, sleeping, watching movies ("Made of Honor"...for the third time), etc.

I was waiting at my gate in Tokyo for about 15 minutes before this Korean guy, Seihyon, started talking to me. That was pretty cool-- making a Korean friend right after getting off the plane in Asia!

I arrived at Incheon airport and made my way through customs fairly easily, and when I came out there was this big sign with my name on it, and I found out that I wasn't the only teacher arriving that day. Another girl, Alison, had flown in from Boston about an hour earlier and she was at my same branch so we rode to Suwon together. We've been hanging out constantly ever since!

My apartment is a lot nicer and bigger than I expected. Once I get internet access in my apartment I'll post photos of it. The staff from the school have been very kind, driving us around, helping us out, etc. They left some food/drinks in my apartment as a welcoming gift. I had some adventures the first night...trying to find my apartment after going to the phone down the street...blowing up my alarm clock because I forgot that I needed a converter in addition to the adapter for the outlet...haha.

I had orientation all day yesterday, which was pretty cool because I got to meet all the new teachers at the other branches. We practiced teaching and that got me really excited about getting started here. I got my class list today and I have about three or four textbooks per class...kind of overwhelmed, we did some lesson planning today and I think I spent a good 10 minutes just staring at the books. I get my very own class room (room # 8) and a desk and a white board and everything. It was pretty exciting.

My two biggest adventures took place today. This morning Alison and I had to walk to the school to meet Lynn, our supervisor, so she could take us to the hospital to get our physicals. I was not excited about this, since I was informed that it involved getting my blood drawn. As many as you know, I have a death-fear of needles. Last time I got a shot, I nearly fainted. Anyway, we got to the hospital and proceeded to get an X-Ray, which went fine. Then we had to have a urine test, which proved to be extremely difficult for me since they didn't have TOILETS in the rest room, they had a hole in the ground in the stall. Then came the infamous blood test...............I didn't pass out, it went well, I have a very small bruise on my arm now but that it is the most damage I had.

The second adventure...after work, Alison and I decided to go to the Lotte store to get groceries. This was pretty fun, we didn't know what half of the items in the store were but I managed to buy some Diet Coke (yay!), rice, shrimp, noodles, milk, and dish soap. We successfully purchased our groceries even though the cashier didn't speak any English. THEN we had to carry our groceries home, which happens to be about a 20 minute walk. It was a nice walk today when we didn't have heavy bags, but tonight, in the dark, it was a bit harder.

I have to wait about a week to get my health test results back, and then I can apply for my Alien Registration Card. When I get my ARC, I can get a bank account, internet, and a cell phone. Until then...........I have to carry cash, walk down the street to this place called PC World (actually pretty cheap for internet use), and rely on the school's phone to call home.

I'm still adjusting and I miss everyone a ton, but so far I'm very glad I took this adventure. :) This weekend Alison and I are planning on visiting the Suwon Fortress and maybe going into Seoul.

More stories to come!