The Beginning

Welcome back!

I've been living over here on the other side of the big pond for exactly 9 days now - so I'd say a post is long overdue. And judging by some comments I've heard (mainly my pops and sister), you think so too.

I arrived at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea, "soko," Last Friday at 4:30 in the morning, Korea Time. After going through a gauntlet of tests and formalities - a swine flu quarantine test (I passed), immigration, and customs - I lugged my weary body over to the baggage claim area and found that both of my bags had safely arrived. If you remember, this wasn't the case when I arrived in Germany about a year ago. Things were looking up.

After that, I had to buy a bus ticket to Cheonan, the place I will be calling home for the next 12 months, and figure out a way to call my boss, Jason, and let him know my arrival time - so he could pick me up and bring me to my sweet single apartment. Now, I didn't have a working cell and the payphones were understandably difficult to decipher. Imagine me standing there, in the middle of a humongous, bustling airport, at 6:30 in the morning, with all of my belongings for the year sitting around me in two large packs - and with no clue how to make a phone call. After some quick "field research," I learned that I could rent a cell phone for a reasonable price, make a call, and return it right then and there. If I remember correctly, it ended up costing me 70 American cents. Not bad - this will continue to be a theme in Soko - stuff is CHEAP here.

I made it onto the correct bus in time and settled into my seat, getting comfortable for another 2 hours of being in transit. I was enjoying the scenery when, all of a sudden, I found myself waking up in an idling bus - I was so tired that I apparently fell immediately into a stone-cold slumber. I was supposed to meet Jason at a Coffee Bean (a coffee shop my sister couldn't stop talking about before I left. I guess lots of "stars" go to the ones situated in areas where "stars" live, L.A. maybe?). While grabbing my bags from underneath the bus, a dude taps me on the shoulder and asks if I was Russell; it was Jason and he decided it'd be easier to just walk the 50 meters from the coffee bean and meet me at the bus stop. Nice.

A short stop by the school I teach at to pick up my cell phone (which is nicer than any I've ever had in my life up until this point) was the only thing that separated my from my apartment and some much needed sleep.

I walked into my apartment to find this: An already made-up bed, a washer (no dryer), fridge, stove, various necessary kitchen utensils, television, places to store and hang my clothing, iron/ironing board, and sweet wooden floors. All I could think was one thing: RADICAL!

I then proceeded to throw my stuff in the corner and pass out on my bed for several hours, for the television, gas, and internet dudes would be coming by to hook everything up at 4:00 PM.

That evening, I went out to dinner with 3 of my 4 eventual colleagues: Jasper (one of the two native Korean teachers), Jaime (from Philadelphia), and Miranda (a Canadian). It was a good time and, I'm happy to say, I think we are all going to get along very well this year. They are all very nice, respectful, and fun-to-be-around individuals. My 4th colleague is a guy name Julius, who is the other native. He is a well-traveled and very polite/courteous person. Each brings something different to the table, so to speak, so we enjoy our time together.

So, all told, I think I had quite the successful journey to Cheonan, South Korea. No lost wallets, no lost baggage, no wrong turns, and no missed buses. It's been only 9 days and I've already fallen in love with the area, culture, and food (all 3 topics will make for good post material later).

Okay. This post was just a little "Costco taste test". In the following couple of days, I'm going to be throwing up posts about my incredibly awesome school (that will include pictures, hopefully a few of my adorable students) and my first trip to Seoul (which was amazing).

Thanks for reading.

-Russell

p.s. - Everyone back home: Miss you!! Much Love.