The plane ride here was incredibly dull. It started when I got to the airport at 4:30am for my 6:00am flight to Chicago. I got to Chicago at 6:30 local time after a weather-related delay, and had 6 hours in the Chicago O'Hare Airport to entertain myself. Six hours is a long time for anything, particularly when none of the stores in the airport are open. I ended up walking around the international terminal a few times, where I eventually ran into some people who happened to be in my same situation. One of them is a professor and the other is retired, and they frequently travel the world together. They have been to all of the continents, including Antarctica! I spent a while talking to them, which really helped pass the time until it was time to leave for Seoul. The 14 hour ride to Seoul was hard. I slept as much as I could, but after 6 or 7 hours of being constrained to the same seat, all I really wanted to do was get off the plane. I envy the guy sitting next to me; he slept pretty much non-stop the entire flight. I only saw him awake twice, and for those of you who are wondering, I don't think he was awake while I was asleep.
Once I finally arrived in Seoul, I got my luggage and made it through customs without any trouble. Then, I met my host mom, Emo. She is a short woman with a big heart. From the moment we met, she has been doing everything she can to make sure that I feel at home and am getting a true Korean home stay experience. On the ride back to her house, she told me how Korean food is healthier than most American food, and that she in particular likes to cook with organic, natural foods. It made me laugh, then, that she prepared spam fried rice for dinner that night!
Emo lives with her husband and three children. Her middle daughter is in New Zealand, so I will be staying in her room. Her son's English name is Tom (I wasn't told his Korean name), and he is 12 years old. Yena is the 24-year-old daughter. The whole family is very nice. Emo definitely knows the most English, but Yena also knows plenty, and Tom knows enough to have short conversations with me (mostly if I've eaten or if I can understand him). I don't think Emo's husband knows English beyond the basics of hello and goodbye, but he also seems like a nice guy.
For those of you familiar with Seoul, I am staying in the Dogok-dong ward of Gangnam-gu (yes, the Gangnam from"Gangnam Style" for those of you unfamiliar with Korea). While I am not overly familiar with apartments in the US, the apartment complex Emo lives in is much different than I imagined. It is a series of at least ten 20-story towers that each house four apartments per level. Each tower looks exactly the same, except for the different number painted on the side. Navigating the complex is tricky, and I still don't think I've taken a direct path to get to anywhere within it. Luckily, it is a very nice complex, so it is not unenjoyable to just wander around and observe.
On Saturday, Emo took me with her as she ran a few errands so that I would not get bored all alone. We went to get her car checked, but the line was two hours long, so Emo decided to come back another day. Next, we stopped at a store where I picked up a few supplies I will be needing for my stay. Then Emo picked up some groceries and took me on the bus to Seoul National University (SNU) so that I would be able to find it on Monday. She gave me a nice tour of the apartment complex as we headed back to her apartment. It is right next to a small mountain, so I think that one evening, I will go on a hike up the mountain.
Emo was going to take me to a movie on Sunday, but San Andreas was no longer in theaters, and there were no other action movies that I could understand since I don't know Korean yet. Instead, I slept in while she and her husband went to see a different movie.
Later that day, I ended up going on quite the adventure. I intended to go to N Seoul Tower, then the Myeong-dong shopping center. This was my first solo venture on Korean public transportation, so I don't think it's completely unexpected that I got a little turned around. I think I got off the bus at the right stop, but I couldn't find the transfer station to get to the tower, so I ended up just walking around where I got off. The stop was for the National Theater of Korea, which did not turn out to be more than just an important looking set of buildings. I decided to keep wandering, so I ended up walking around Dongguk University. Then I saw a big group of people walking around with these ice cream encased waffle sandwich things, so I decided to find one for myself. Eventually, I ended up at a big underground shopping center called Dongdaemun. At the time, of course, I didn't really know where I was going. I just figured that it was probably a pretty important place since there were lots of people around.
I walked around the shopping center for a while before deciding to try again to find the tower. I think I made it pretty close to the tower, but I never actually made it there. I ended up at the Namsan Library, instead. It turned out to be a pretty cool place to end up because there is a little garden area outside of the library building that is filled with round stands that housed dozens of books. Some people sat quietly enjoying a nice book, while others visited with presumably family and friends in the serene setting created by the library and surrounding hiking trails. It was a very peaceful place to end up, although I am still confused about how I couldn't find the tower. I guess it's pretty hard to miss, but surprise surprise: I missed it. I'll have to come back another day when I have friends with me, or at least have gotten better at navigating the city.
I don't think I mentioned this already, but just to be clear... Korea is filled with mountains. Seoul is surrounded by mountains, and parts of the city are pretty high up. I hiked up quite a few roads Saturday that put to shame any hill on the UC campus. When I woke up this morning, my legs were sore! Since the Namsan Library was at the top of that giant hike, I ended up with some really beautiful pictures of Seoul.
I had to leave early for my first day of school, but not without eating a gourmet Korean-style breakfast. It featured more kimchi, some kind of vegetable beef soup, rice, and a few more dishes I am unfamiliar with.
It took two hours to get to SNU, which is longer than I expected. I wasn't late because the class started later on the first day because some people were undergoing level placement assessments. I was automatically placed in level 1, so I spent my extra time talking to the other students in the area. I expected all of the program attendees to be college-aged students, but it was a good mix of younger and older faces. There was also quite the mix of levels. One guy I talked to had spent the previous year as an exchange student at a Korean high school, while another was a professor at SNU who taught classes in English or Portuguese, and wanted to learn Korean to better his living experience.
After the placement testing, we were split up by level. I am in a class with 6 other beginners, each from a different country: Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Canada, and of course the USA. I think we were all a little nervous, but the teacher seemed very nice and helpful. We didn't even get homework on the first day!
Later, I met a girl named Jinny for lunch. She is a student at SNU studying English language education, and Emo helped me set up a meeting with her so that I could "make Korean friends and be able to go places." Jinny is very nice. We spent a lot of time contrasting the US and Korea. We got sushi and udon (noodles) for lunch. it was very delicious!
After lunch, Jinny had to study for her exam next week, so I came back home and looked around the neighborhood. I spent a lot of time exploring the Lotte Department Store. I'm pretty sure this store has every piece of clothing imaginable! It is a multi-story shopping complex similar to a JC Penny's, except this store has a lot more stuff crammed into the space. The very bottom floor is a huge supermarket, which was really cool to walk around. They sold everything from fresh produce to bottled drinks to pastries to fresh fish and octopus.
I would definitely say that I am having a blast here in Seoul! I'm looking forward to learning some Korean a continuing to explore this great city. Who knows what adventures tomorrow holds!
After lunch, Jinny had to study for her exam next week, so I came back home and looked around the neighborhood. I spent a lot of time exploring the Lotte Department Store. I'm pretty sure this store has every piece of clothing imaginable! It is a multi-story shopping complex similar to a JC Penny's, except this store has a lot more stuff crammed into the space. The very bottom floor is a huge supermarket, which was really cool to walk around. They sold everything from fresh produce to bottled drinks to pastries to fresh fish and octopus.
I would definitely say that I am having a blast here in Seoul! I'm looking forward to learning some Korean a continuing to explore this great city. Who knows what adventures tomorrow holds!
