Arrival!

Emma’s Note: I started writing this post on Friday November 9^th, but it was posted days later when I had internet connection :)

Stage One: Arriving at my Gate (Friday Nov 9, 6am Toronto)

As I am writing this I have been up for about 23 hours. My body is starting to hate me a little bit, but it’ll get over it. They run things at Pearson Airport a little differently than I remember… We found out where I was to go and get my bags weighed and tagged and from there I was directed to another lineup for customs where I had to say goodbye to my parents and brother quite quickly (too quickly actually). Saying goodbye was a little easier than I was expecting but that might be because of how fast everything all happened.

Saying goodbye to my family also meant that I now had to somehow manage two suitcases plus my carry-on luggage and my knapsack. This wasn’t too bad once I figured it out but the line for customs was huge as always and I was wearing full winter getup. I was so hot but taking things off meant messing up my system haha. I felt like everyone was looking at me strangely because I had the most luggage. The officer I had at customs was very serious but nice enough. I tried to get him to smile but that didn’t happen.

After customs I was directed finally to ditch my checked baggage. This was quite relieving. Then going through security was strange all over again. Everything had to be removed. Well not EVERYTHING but more than I was expecting. Shoes, jacket, belt, computer out of my knapsack and even out of its sleeve. And that brings me here to my gate. I feel as though I am about to crash but that might be a good thing for this flight. Until the next stage…

Stage Two: San Fanscisco! (Friday, Nov 9, 10am (actually 1pm to me))

The first flight from Toronto to San Fran went well. I was so tired that I don’t remember taking off and must have already been asleep haha. Two hours later I woke up and was in and out for most of the rest of the flight. Arriving at San Fran was cool. Seeing the land from the air was pretty neat. The airport at SF was also really nice and well designed.

The plane to Seoul was hella packed! I was hoping to get a little more leg room, but that was not the case, I think I had less leg room for this flight than I did for my other flight. Which made things a little uncomfortable. However, one of the seats next to me was vacant which made it a little better. Again during this flight I was in and out of sleep for a few hours at a time.

 The entertainment on the plane was an interesting mix. There were a few television shows such as The Office, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, and a few movies. The first was Ice Age, the second was an interesting movie with Ted from How I Met Your Mother in it, and they also played The Amazing Spiderman. I would have liked to watch some of these but I don’t know that I made it through one movie without passing out haha. I was very grateful to have the neck pillow my parents purchased for me.

The flight seemed to last forever but finally we arrived at Seoul (Incheon).

Stage Three: Arrival in Korea (Saturday Nov 10, 4:30pm (2:30 am to me))

My first thought of Korea as I am walking off the plane into the airport is that if I didn’t know it and didn’t see hangul everywhere, I wouldn’t know I was in Korea. Actually at this point I still hadn’t processed that I had just travelled across the world. Going through customs was pretty basic and getting my luggage was pretty simple. The first different experience I had was that before I could walk off and take my luggage with me, an officer with a golden Labrador came up to me and the dog sniffed all my luggage before I was free to go.

Once I had all my belongings on me and was travelling through the airport to find the train to Seoul Station I realized that I packed too much! Lugging everything around was kind of a nightmare and I actually woke up with a bruise on my left arm from it and my arms are a little sore too haha. The next time I make a trip like this I will not be packing half as much as I did this time. Live and learn I guess! Finding my way to the train and purchasing a ticket was easy enough. The train ride lasted about an hour and while on the train I received a number of glances at my luggage and at me which I am thinking I will have to get used to. I also had two men stare and try to talk to me in Korean which was interesting haha because I am pretty sure both were a little tipsy.

Arriving at Seoul Station was easy enough, but trying to get up to the main level to meet my director, Jenny was challenging. The elevators don’t go up all the way, but to the highest basement level where you have to pass through another gate and find some escalators or another elevator. Well trying to get through the gate was not happening when I flashed my ticket, so I put it in this feeder that I thought would make it work and it turns out no dice. Then I spotted these machines where I think I was supposed to put my ticket in and get an exchange ticket. Without my original ticket anymore I couldn’t do this which got me a little worried because I was now stuck in the basement levels. After a little bit of fretting and calming myself down I waited and made eye contact with a man about my age and asked if he knew English. He knew a little and I was trying to explain what happened when another man came who knew more English and got the gate opened for me thank goodness! I knew that I had to get to exit 1 to meet Jenny, but getting there I still had no idea. I asked a woman at an information desk and she was able to tell me which floor to go to. Finally I found where I should be and parked myself. At this point it was about 6:30pm in Seoul. Jenny was a little late which was making me nervous because I had no idea what she looked like, but finally she found me and with her she had her very adorable 6 year old daughter. We found a seat and waited for the KTX (train) that would take us to Ulsan.

Jenny is very nice and her English is very good. One of the first things she said to me was that with eating Korean food I will be able to loose some extra weight. This was pretty much the nicest way for her to say that I need to lose weight. To us it seems weird but I have heard some other interesting and horrific stories about comments on weight so this was quite pleasant. As soon as we sat for a few minutes her daughter started to warm up to me and sat on my lap. It was pretty cute.

The KTX was like riding any other train and took about 2 hours to get to Ulsan. Jenny’s daughter picked out a snack and drink for me and we had this sweet flavoured milk and dried fish which was interesting but very good. Once we arrived in Ulsan, we were met by Jenny’s husband who we call Mr. Crow and her son who is about 11. Both of Jenny’s kids names I am having a very hard time pronouncing and remembering but hopefully I can get a hold of them soon. Before we were able to come to my apartment Jenny said that Mr. Crow’s aunt had passed away and he had been there with family all day but Jenny and her daughter who were in Seoul all day wanted to pay their respects so we went there first. I was a little worried about going there and if it would seem disrespectful to his family but it was fine. I mostly sat on the floor at a table with some family along with Jenny. Everyone was very nice but seemed timid to approach me. Jenny said that this is quite common. Jenny played interpreter with me and a few other women so we were able to have a nice conversation. After this Jenny wanted to take me with her family out to eat because she thought I would sleep better with a full tummy. At this point it was well after midnight and I was very surprised how restaurants were open so late and Jenny told me that they are open 24hours. The food at the restaurant was very good. I think it’s a variation of Korean Barbeque. I also had pork stew with rice which was quite tasty. Baked kimchi was also quite good. After this we went to my apartment.

The apartment is rather larger than I was expecting. The kitchen is very big and has everything I might need in it. The living room is quite large as well with couches and a television. The bathroom is about the size of the one I shared at home with my brother and there is a bathtub! This I was not expecting but it was a nice surprise. My room is actually quite roomy with tons of storage space. Once Jenny and her family showed me how to work a few things they left me to sleep and just before I unpacked and put things away. By the time I went to bed it was almost 3am here which would make it 1 in the afternoon at home. I was wiped. I woke up at 9 this morning, but might go back to sleep.

All in all I made it! And think that I am going to really enjoy it here. I will try to keep everyone updated on my adventures as best I can.

I have posted some pictures of the apartment here: https://plus.google.com/photos/108080094162280120728/albums/5809556091207795281