Departure

Hey everyone. I wanted to keep you all updated on my adventures so I created this blog. I'm currently at my desk in the Gonzaga dorm of Sogang University, but it took a lot of time and a few frustrating complications to get here.

I spent all night Friday packing my bags, deciding what was absolutely necessary and what I could begrudgingly do without. With only a few hours of sleep, Andrew and I were driven by my parents (Ally didn't come because she is the worst) to PDX where we said our goodbyes.

Parting ways :'-(

Andrew's flight was at 7:15 and mine wasn't supposed to be until 10:30, but since I checked in so early they bumped me up to an earlier flight. Our flights were on different ends of the airport and we had to go through different security points. This meant our dreaded separation came much earlier than we had anticipated and we had to bid farewell rather suddenly without time to process it.

As I waited for my first flight I read a Korean comic book in hopes of getting into a Korean language mindset early, but this was difficult because I happened to glance up from my book just as a large mouse ran out from under the door of a nearby supply closet. Upon seeing all of the people it quickly ran back inside. I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed and caught the eye of someone who obviously had. We shared a quick laugh. After this the mouse ran out every 5 or so minutes checking to see if the room had cleared. Quite a large crowd of people ended up gathering around trying to catch pictures.

Eventually I boarded my flight which was completely uneventful. I sat next to a quiet girl who said little more than hello. Eventually we reached Seattle where I had difficulties. When I checked into PDX with Alaska Airlines, I was told that I would need to get my second boarding pass in Seattle. I thought it would be simple enough, but when I reached Seattle there didn't seem to be anyone who knew where I could get the new boarding pass. I ran around for 2 ½ hours, back and forth across the airport trying to figure out what to do. I was told that if I left the secure area and there was no one at the Asiana check-in, I would be stranded outside, but if I waited at the gate for someone to come and it turned out they couldn't give me a boarding pass, I would have to go all the way out and might miss the flight. I was just on the verge of leaving when I decided to check the gate one more time. Finally some luck! The flight attendants were at the gate and were able to print out a boarding pass for me.

One of many trips on the TWO trains between security and my gate. Don't I look happy?

I spent the next three hours waiting for my flight which was late in departing. I sat in the empty terminal and eventually fell asleep. When I awoke, the terminal had filled with Korean people all bustling about and conversing in Korean. A young teenage boy sitting next to me was complaining loudly to his friend on his cell phone. He was whining about his 14 year old relationship problems and asking what it felt like to love someone. It was actually quite entertaining. Eventually the plane boarded and we took off. I was seated at the window with a very old Korean man next to me. He seemed to have a hearing problem and often made confusing requests to the flight attendants, such as to refill his half empty coffee cup with tea. The flight attendants by the way are all tall, slender, and gorgeous. Any one could easily be a Korean movie star. The seats were comfortable and the food was excellent, but 12 hours on a plane was brutal. I was kissing the ground when I stepped off in Seoul.

The plane tv showed where we were. Here I was over Anchorage. Hi Levads!

After getting through immigration and customs I met my next challenge trying to find my way through the chaotic jumble of buses to find the one going to Sinchon. The long bus ride was hot, sweaty and I think the large Indian man sitting next to me had just eaten a burrito or something… I got off the bus at the correct station and followed a street sign pointing to Sogang. The directions on their website had said it was a 10 minute walk, but after 20 minutes I still hadn't arrived, the sun had set, the streets were getting shadier and I was exhausted, but every intersection had a sign promising me Sogang. Suddenly the signs led to an overpass with no pedestrian path and I was stranded.

A limo bus similar to the one I took

I attempted to use my Korean skills to ask a young couple for directions. They kept asking me if I knew where different landmarks were as points of reference, but I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about so they recommended I take a taxi. Turns out I was nowhere near the school.

Well, i think this post is long enough. Stay tuned if you want to know what happened when I arrived.