War Memorial

I can't believe it's already my third day of vacation! It feels like it just started. I guess because Christmas was a holiday, it didn't feel like that should actually count against my "vacation" (ha!) and also because I was quite busy! Yesterday, I laid in bed all day and, while that was relaxing, it certainly wasn't a good use of my time!

Preparing for a Visit from Mom

Well, in 24 hours my mom will be in Seoul!!!!!! I didn't realize I would be so desperate for a touch of home only 3 months into my year, but her visit couldn't have come at a better time. It is beginning to be holiday season and seeing my favorite mom is just what I need!

Emmigrating Part II

Thursday, August 23 - 10:45PM in Seoul (brain too tired to calculate any other timezone...)

Well, I arrived!! My flight landed at approx. 5:20pm, which was 3:20am in Houston. The flight was long, but also kind of short. I only watched the one movie, and attempted to nap (only succeeded once or twice, very short amounts of time). I ate next to nothing; I don’t trust airplane food, and this was particularly questionable. I drank 2 cokes which ended up being a problem... later they handed out sandwiches which I believe were Ham&Cheese, but smelled like they had mayo, so I didn’t eat that either. The last meal (they fed us alot, huh?) was “lunch” and I had chicken with rice. The chicken was less than appetizing, but I ate the whole portion of rice... with another Coke. 

By that time we were like 2.5 hours from Seoul, and the lights in the cabin were back up. I gave up on sleeping. We passed over Japan, and I think I saw Mt Fuji! I could be wrong, but it was by far the biggest in the vicinity that the map said we were near to the volcano. Anyway, you can see some photos I excitedly snapped. 

First sight of Japan

I think this was Mt. Fuji

When we got over Korea, we were so high and the clouds so thick I couldn’t see anything. Finally we lowered enough so I could see. I saw the bay area that is to the west of Seoul & Incheon. 

As you can see, Korea is not as pretty as the Japanese waters!

When we exited the plane, I headed straight for the bathroom (there was ALWAYS a line on the plane!) After that was Immigration, which had zero line for us foreign passport holders! They were so nice and gave me a stamp, even though I already had a visa (or maybe that’s protocol, I have no idea). 

Then to baggage claim! As soon as I got to the carousel, I saw my bag that I gate checked, so ran that down. I got a cart and then almost immediately saw my small suitcase (the original carry-on). Then I waited for my big suitcase, the REALLY bright floral hardshell that no one in their right minds could mistake for their own. And I waited... some more, and finally the carousel stopped going around. 

I asked a guy that I was pulling off unclaimed luggage, and he pointed me in the direction of “Lost/Found” - I filled out a report, giving my Director’s name and phone number. I think it’s pretty funny that this happened since while sitting in SFO waiting on the flight, I read all these great things about Incheon Airport - one of them being their excellent baggage handling stats. It claimed that the likelihood of getting your luggage lost in Incheon was 0.0001%, and you had a greater chance of getting struck by lightening. And yet... no bag. I was surprisingly not mad or frustrated or distraut. 

I headed to customs, claimed nothing, and got some money changed. I headed out of the doors, and immediately saw my name on a sign. The guy looked right at me and nodded his head like “yes, I can totally tell this is you, American girl!” Then he explained to me, in Korean, that there is another girl we were waiting on, and to follow him (No, I did not understand a word he said, but managed somehow to figure it out). We walked down the terminal a few gates, then he taped her sign on the pole, and told me to wait, that he would be back in 1 hr. This “conversation” took a lot longer than I am describing because as I said, it was conducted exclusively in Korean (and some Sign Language). 

I waited for 45 minutes, until approx. 7pm. The girl, Jamie, finally came out the gate and saw her name. I explained to her that the guy would be back very soon, and mentioned my lost bag. I said it was funny because the bag is so OBVIOUS; she asked what it looked like and I explained to her. Her eyes lit up and she says “I’m pretty sure I just saw that bag on my baggage carousel!” Ahhhh! Her flight was also from San Francisco, only on Singapore Airlines. 

I trekked down to Asiana Customer Service, but they only understood “lost bag” and wanted my ticket stubs, which I had already given when filing my report. She didn’t understand that I wanted her to call back to the baggage claim guys and just have them check the other carousel. Oh well, they assured me they would call tomorrow, so I’ll just have to wait until then. 

Jamie and I found our cab driver, who took our bags out to his van. We had a long ride into Seoul; probably an hour and fifteen. Tons of traffic - by the time we got into Seoul it was around 8pm, and it looked like rush hour! When we finally got to our destination, he carried our bags in and we got our motel rooms. Sean, the other new hire, was also there. He took us to go meet Kellie, the girl who is leaving in a week and training us / helping us transition. She took us to dinner around the corner from the motel at a traditional Korean  BBQ place. 

At this point, I had a “moment”. And by that I mean, Jamie and Kellie are talking about work and food and where’s the closest this-and-that and I’m sitting there wanting to throw up at the thought of spending a whole year here. It didn’t hit me on the plane, or saying goodbye to mom, but sitting in that restaurant I wanted to cry. Kellie just thought I looked tired (I”m sure I did!) but it took everything in me not to cry. Somehow I managed. I was starving but I could only manage to eat 1 slice of BBQ - it had SO MUCH fat on it! The kimchi for the table was RIGHT in front of me, and while I didn’t mind the smell so much, the look and thought of eating it made the feeling of “what did I get myself into” even worse. 

About 10 minutes later, 3 other teachers walked in to join us. This did nothing to appease my fears. They were all chatty BFF-ish and I felt more alone and overwhelmed than ever. Kellie mentioned that Jamie would be taking over her classroom of Kindergartners in the morning, but Sean and I would be working with the slightly older kids, anywhere from 7-13, in the afternoon. When she told me that it was Sean, me, and another guy and girl that were not at the table, I felt better. I’m not sure why... everyone was so nice. But sitting there made me feel out of place, and knowing that there were only 4 of us to work afternoons together made it better. 

After that I tried something on the table to eat, a rice paper wonton wrapper thing, and while it was certainly not a meal, it was something and I was trying. I do have work tomorrow, but I won’t have to go in until 1pm, which is my usual start time. So, while I had my first moment of regret and fear, I overcame it, talked myself down, and did not have a mental breakdown in the middle of a family restaurant in Seoul. 

After dinner, Kellie showed us the local 7-Eleven only 2 minutes from our motel and our future apartments (which are next door to each other). We came back to our rooms, and I got a shower. I think that shower has been my favorite part of the day. Haha! Now I have gotten my iPad charging, my sound machine working with the converter, and have determined that I am a genius for bringing my airport express, since Kellie mentioned that you must hardwire ethernet into your computer in the apartments (no wifi available) - so, I’ll just create my own! I love being an Apple nerd ;) 

My alarm is set for 8am, so I have time to get a shower and look decent, find food, and maybe get some wifi to post this :)

Emmigrating Part I

Wednesday, August 22 - 6:25pm Houston, 7:25pm Miami, 4:25pm California, 8:25am Seoul

Part one of my trip is complete - I made it to San Francisco, and am now on my next flight to Seoul. So far, fairly uneventful. I woke up at 4:20am and did my hair, but skipped the makeup since I figured it might be coming off later at the airport. My parents drove me to the airport, and I ended up checking both my large suitcase and my small suitcase, and moving the essentials to a handheld duffle. $70 extra but my parents were kind enough to pay the fee. (thank you dad!) 

Saying goodbye to my parents was a little easier than I was expecting. Everyone was determined not to cry, and although I can’t say there were no tears, it was reasonable. Only when I hugged my mom right before security did I start to tear up. As soon as I turned away from them, some more tears came, but I dried up for TSA since they might get all weird on me if I was bawling in the metal detectors. My silly parents waited on the  other side of the glass while I got through security, and I had one last glimse of my mom before I left. That also brought tears to my eyes. 

Mommy and Me saying goodbye!

Then, there was the two mile trek to my gate. (It's always on the other side of the airport, isn't it?) The duffle on my shoulder, as well as the 15lb in my backpack were beginning to dig in. When I got to the gate, they were announcing that the flight was very full and encouraging people to gate check their carry-on rolling bags. I asked at the gate and she told me that they could check it all the way to Seoul. I wouldn’t be charged for an additional bag (thank goodness). So, I decided that rather than try to carry around the duffle through SFO (San Francisco Airport), I’d just cross my fingers that everything makes it to Seoul. I grabbed my fuzzy socks out of my duffle and stuffed them into my backpack (which I was of course keeping on me). 

When called, I handed my boarding pass to the woman at the gate, and she stopped me and said I had a seat change and handed me a new boarding pass. Since I had paid extra in order to choose my own seat, an aisle, I wasn't why I would have a seat changed. When I got to the seat, I found it was a window, exactly what I did not want. Not only was it a window seat, it was the worst window seat I’ve ever seen. Next to me was a plastic panel, and the only windows I had any view from were basically behind me and way in front next to the seat in front of me. Hopefully you can imagine this; I think I explained it poorly. But, basically it was a terrible seat. Annoyed, I called my mom and told her to request a refund, since I was not given the seat I paid extra for. After about 10 minutes I realized I probably got more annoyed than I should have, since I got the extra leg room anyway. 

The woman sitting next to me ended up being nice, although I had my doubts at first. She was funny and we made fun of United and how dated plane we were in was. The flight was almost an hour late in taking off, but am I surprised? No, United sucks. We commiserated about that some more, talked a little of Korea, and I went to sleep. I took about 3-4 20 minute naps that flight. For some reason, airplane noises put me to sleep. I’m definitely not complaining, I only wish that there hadn’t been a baby behind me that kept waking me up. Thankfully, it was not a horrible screaming brat, but only made a few sudden loud noises that would startle me from sleep. 

When we were getting close to SFO, we hit a bit of turbulence. The captain came over the speakers and pointed out Lake Tahoe, which my window seat allowed me to glimse about 2” of. Regardless, it was neat. I’ve always wanted to go to Lake Tahoe; at least now I can say I’ve seen it! 

We landed in SFO, which was pretty neat since the runways go out on the bay; it looked like we were landing on water at first. We were only 20 minutes late in landing there, so I still had a fair amount of time to get to my next flight. I was starving so once I got the general vicinity of my gate, I found a food court and got a little pizza (overpriced of course). I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was (or maybe I was just so hungry?) After I snarfed that down, I followed the arrows to my gate. 

As I turned a corner, I was suddenly smacked in the face with ANOTHER security checkpoint. I’d already gone thru security at IAH, so I wasn’t expecting that. And, it was kind of a long line (I’ve seen worse, but still...) I started to freak out a little bit, but ended up getting through it in about 15-20 minutes. At this point I knew they wouldn’t stop me about anything in my bag since I’d given up the bag with my toiletries in it. 

Once I got through, my gate was very close. My seat-mate in my previous flight advised me to ask for an upgrade on my international flight, so that’s exactly what I did at the counter at my gate. All the upgrades were claimed, but she put my name on a waiting list for an aisle seat. I ended up not getting it, but Asiana is way better than other flights I’ve had and I am pretty happy with the leg room I’ve got in my window seat. (Hey, at least it’s not a middle seat!) 

That flight was also slightly late in taking off, and the ambient noise was so loud that I fell asleep just waiting to get to the runway. Man, what is it with me and airplane noises? So, now I’m somewhere over the Pacific ocean, maybe near Alaska. My original attempt to sleep during the initial hours of the flight were thwarted by my need for a drink (pizza has way too much sodium...) so that kept me awake. Then they served dinner. I was rather looking forward to trying the Korean dish, but I was informed that all they had left was beefsteak. Oh well, I’ll take it. I ended up eating half the side dish and a cracker. Well, maybe some cheese too. I didn’t even touch the questionable looking entree. I’m probably being a diva, but I wasn’t into it. I also watched most of the Hunger Games during this time. 

So, that about brings us to the present. I don’t want my iPad to die, it’s at about 60% right now. And I’ve got another 8-9 hours to go. I want to sleep, like I said, but I’ve also drank like 2 Cokes. Even if the caffeine doesn’t keep me up, the need to pee will soon hit me. So, I decided to chronicle my trip so far... nothing too crazy or exciting. I’m tired, but emotionally, I’m just avoiding thinking. Of anything. Although, on takeoff from SFO, I did have a moment of “this is the last time my feet will touch American soil for a year.” 

Oh, speaking of which, the girl in the seat behind me is also going to Korea to teach. She of course was telling her seat mate about it and for some reason it annoyed me. Maybe I subconsciously resent her for the attention; I’d like to be the special one. I can’t think I’m the only one doing this though! There's hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers hired each year. Anyway, airplane noises drown her out thank goodness. Annnnd the guy in the seat in front of me just put his seat back and now I can hardly see my laptop screen. I guess I’ll update again when I’ve actually landed! 

Packing

I guess I can no longer avoid the inevitable: packing. I've been putting this off for, oh, 3 weeks. "But, seriously, how am I supposed to pack that far in advance? I'll need stuff between now and then!" Alas, "then" has arrived...

My plan involves 1 checked bag, less than 50lb, 1 carryon suitcase, and 1 personal item (backpack!) Since I will be living in a motel for the first week and a half til I get my apartment, I decided to pack my essentials in my carry on, and avoid getting into my checked bag until I get to the apartment. And all my valuable technology goes in the backpack.

In the 3 weeks I've been starting to pack, I've been just dumping things on the spare room bedroom as I remember I need them. Today, I had to sort thru the mess and actually get it in a bag. Thank goodness my dad is a Tetris master, and packing is basically the same thing.

I kept feeling like I hadn't chosen too much to take. I know that there will be plenty for me to buy there; I wear a small enough size clothing that I will find my size there, and shoes are also available for my size 7. (Shoes only go up to a women's size 8 there...!) Toiletries will be fairly easy to find as well. I am making a point to take my Bumble&Bumble hair products and 3 sticks of deodorant. Supposedly you can find it easily now, but I'd rather pay $0.88 at CVS than $10 at E-Mart in Seoul.

Basically, I'm attempting to bring enough of everything (or almost everything) and not too much of anything. I figure, I can bring what I need, when I run out, I'll buy more there. If I can't find anything I do need, I'll have enough time with my small supply to order more online or ask mom to send to me. Must be smarter than the suitcase...

I decided to try the "Army Roll" for my clothing in my carryon. Here is the link if you want to watch the video on this... It worked pretty well, but I'm not convinced that it created a significantly greater amount of space than my usual space bags. Oh well. No harm, no foul. For my checked bag, I packed normally....

In my carryon, I also packed several small bags, a tooth bag (toothbrush, trial size toothpaste, floss, etc), a hair bag (trial size shampoo, conditioner, testers of hair products, etc). I also packed an extra pair of shoes. The ones I am wearing on the plane are great, but I'd like to have an extra pair for that first week.

Speaking of shoes, I packed only like 4 pairs. I am wearing silver snakeskin flats on the plane (totally worn out, will prob throw away before returning home), packed my silver crochet Toms in my carryon, and in the checked bag, 1 pair of Sperry's, 1 pair of worn out New Balance, and ... well, I think that's it! I plan to buy my fall/winter boots there, as well as rainboots and hiking shoes. Luckily, I will be living in the same neighborhood as Dongdaemun Market, where I will have access to 24 hour shopping at 23 malls, 30,00 vendors, 50,000 manufacturers. Um, Yes.... this is real. And all within 10 blocks. *heaven!* So, being a "normal" Korean size, I am confident in my ability to get cheap, fashionable shoes in my neighborhood.

I also decided to pack my Canon Rebel DSLR camera and extra lens in my checked bag. I'm not so sure about this decision, but my dad says he got it extremely snug, it's in it's special packaging, and my suitcase is a hard-side. So, cross your fingers it stays safe.

Once I got everything stuffed in my checked bag, sorted out what to put in the carryon, we attempted to weigh this sucker. The limit is 50lb... this stupid thing was 55lb!!! So, we had to eliminate a few things... most of this consisted of vitamins and medicine, school supplies, and some electronic converters and stuff. My mom says we will just pack the stuff up and mail it out this week. So, I'll just have to wait for it and hope I don't need my Aleve Cold and Sinus between now and when it arrives. I think I'll be okay!

So, at this point, I have successfully got everything confined to 2 suitcases (1 significantly smaller than the other), and a backpack. I still have a few things to put in: makeup, hair products, all stuff I need on the morning I leave to get ready. And a few tops are in the wash, so they will get stuffed in the carry on as well. That checked bag is not getting touched, 49lb is incredible!!!!

At this point, I am trying to soak up every moment with my parents possible... and, trying to not have a panic attack.

Booked

A few days ago I received my airline ticket itinerary from my school. I will be leaving Houston at 8:50am on Wednesday, August 22, arriving in San Francisco at 11am, continuing to Seoul at 1:10pm on Wednesday and arriving at 5:25pm Thursday, August 23. Basically, I lose 2 whole days, accounting for flight times and time zone changes. It will be 3:25am in Houston when I land. Good grief! 

Seeing my itinerary, with my real name on it, with actual flights, is insane. Is this really happening?! All my preparations are actually paying off. I am MOVING to ASIA for a YEAR! I can't believe it. I also can't believe I will have to pack so little for an entire year!

I looked up my airlines, and the international portion of the flight is through Asiana Airlines. They allow 2 checked bags up to 50lb. Alright,no problem there. However, getting to that flight I have to fly through United which, besides the fact that I hate basically every domestic carrier besides Southwest, allows ZERO free checked bags. So, I must pay $25 for the first, and $35 for the second. Now, most of the time, if you book an international flight and your domestic carrier doesn't allow for the same baggage as the primary carrier, they must accommodate you. However, I did not book this ticket. A travel agent did, who worked with my school and recruiter. So, I have a dilemma... 

If he booked my flights separate (which may have been cheaper), not only must I pay for the bags to get to San Francisco, but if my first flight is delayed and I somehow cannot make my international flight, I am screwed. I will have to attempt to get in contact with my school/recruiter and get another flight, which could take FOREVER (literally). However, if it was booked as one ticket, the airline must help me get to Korea.

Of course, when I emailed my recruiter to ask about how the flight was booked, she had no information. She said that the travel agent will call me this week to make sure everything is good to go. However, I have yet to receive this phone call...

Ah, well, such is life. I am more annoyed about the baggage and more scared about missing the international flight. I could be so screwed! :/ Yikes!

At least now I know that I can have 2 50lb bags, and may or may not have to pay an extra $60 to get them there. Now I can really start planning my packing...

I have read that I should not worry toooo much about clothes. Being a female, and a fairly style-conscious female at that, this is a dilemma. I want to bring ALL my clothes, not a few! I've read that the clothing there is inexpensive; also, if I buy it there, I know I will not make some horrible faux-paus of wearing a low-cut shirt to a traditional dinner or some other terrible ordeal. I still have no idea what my school's dress code is, but I guess I will just find out. So: pack only a week or two worth of clothes. 

Now this is disturbing: Koreans do NOT, I repeat, do NOT wear deodorant. "How is this possible?!" you ask?? I too would like that question answered. But, it matters not. Because I DO wear deodorant. Thus, I will be bringing 3 sticks of deodorant.

I can't seem to figure out if Korean women use certain feminine hygiene products... Sorry, guys! But we ladies are picky about what we use, and if they don't have some Tampax Pearl, I might die. Well, not really. But if anyone can answer that question, I'd be grateful. Should I pack my own preferred brand of tampons?

I am prone to body-aches and headaches and all kinds of aches, especially when I am not sleeping in my usual bed which has 2" foam padding. Therefore, I have determined to bring my own Ibuprofen. I know it can be gotten in Seoul, but I would rather not take the risk of getting the wrong thing, and would rather not pay through the nose for it. So, Economy-size bottle of pain killers, vitamins, sleep aids, and other necessary medications.

Of course, my carry-on will contain my laptop, iPad, iPod, iPhone, and other various i-Devices. As well as their chargers! The great thing about Apple is their chargers are conveniently already equipped as power-converters. All I need is the Korean adaptor piece. The world travel adaptor kit that Apple sells contains one of these magic items, but with all my iStuff, I really need more. If you or anyone you know owns the travel adaptor kit made by Apple, and do not foresee going to Korea within the next 13 months, I'll happily take it off your hands. I can pay you for it, or return it to you after my time abroad. Please comment if you want to help me get Apple adaptor plugs for Korea. I suppose I will also need a few converter/adaptors for normal plugs, and of course some Korean plugs with USB or Mini-USB input. I am crossing my fingers I can find some either online at an expat buy/sell/trade site or some cheap ones at mini-marts in Seoul. 

I am certain there are more things I will need to remember to pack, but for now, I will leave it at this. If you have any suggestions or ideas of what I desperately need for a year in Korea, comment! :)

I will be on a cruise next week and the following week returning to Houston for the Big Pack-a-thon, and will be updating you all further with my musings and findings of what I will need. Til then...