The flight from DFW- Seoul was about 14 1/2 hours. Quite long, but it was much better than navigating multiple stops along the way. The flight crew on my Korean Air flight were amazing as well. Not to mention they had an entire movie library to pick from and your own personal TV screen so you could just choose whatever you wanted to watch. The first thing I watched was an episode of FRIENDS. As usual, I laughed so hard I nearly cried...I'm sure I was thought to be mentally unstable.
On the flight I had my first opportunity to try bibimbap, a Korean dish that is basically rice, vegetables, and sometimes meat all mixed together. It does not, however, come made like that. Thankfully I had a wonderful girl sitting next to me that spoke perfect English and asked "Do you know how to eat it?" I must have had a certain look in my eyes. She was nice enough to show me how, but the best part is the flight attendant gave me a hand out with directions! Too funny.
The dish was delicious, and also my first contact with the red pepper paste that Koreans put in nearly everything. Good thing I like spicy because it certainly was.
When I arrived in Incheon, everything went smoothly. I knew there was someone who would be waiting to pick me up, and he was easily spotted. He also spoke basically zero English. I also knew I would have to wait about an hour for the other new teacher to arrive. I arrived at gate A and we had to move down to gate E to pick her up. We had an hour, but the driver insisted on taking my luggage cart, running, and running in to almost every single person along the way.
This was instance number one that I knew my having been to China prior to this would help with my culture shock. Being pushy and not really caring that you run/bump into other people is just part of their culture. I'll never forget my sister's advice about just pushing my way onto the Subway to get a seat. It comes in handy here as well.
So I got to gate E and the driver points to the bench, mimes "1 hour," and says "sit." I had been sitting for 14 1/2 hours and really just wanted to stand but there was no way to communicate that and he was insisting. So, I sat. And he....ran away. I didn't see him again until 15 minutes before the other teacher arrived. Where did he go? To move the car? To have dinner? I don't know.
Language barrier.
There was a foreigner sitting behind me and he asked where I was headed, so we chatted a little. He was trying to be helpful, but he just seemed bitter about living in Korea so he was not all that pleasant to talk to. He told me he had been to China and that the driving here was much worse. I have to tell you, so far I have felt much more safe in cars here in Korea than I did in China. I am not sure if it is because, again, I knew to expect crazy driving in Korea and did not in China, or if it is truly better. I think he was just a nut job.
It took about an hour to get to the school. All the while the other teacher and I had no idea where we were going or what the plan was. Once we got there, however, I felt quite welcomed. The director speaks almost no English, but was very nice. The Assistant Director does speak English and he is very sweet. They took our luggage and stored it in Director's office. We loaded up our carry-on luggage to take to the hotel we would stay at until our apartments were ready and then were informed we were being taken out to eat by one of the morning teachers.
It was really nice to have someone to take us around a bit, and let us get our feet on the ground before starting training the next day. She was very nice and understood how exhausted and overwhelmed we must have been.
In the next couple of days (Thursday and Friday) I shadowed the teacher that I was replacing and met my students. They are adorable! Koreans count age differently than we do in the western world, so while my students are mostly 6 and 7 Korean age, they are really about 4 or 5 Western age. They all take Western names when they start Kindergarten (if they don't already have them), and I'm not quite sure why this is. One of my girls has the same name as my mom and the another the same name as my sister (even spelled the same!). Quite funny.
So that was the end of my first few days. Now it is on to a week of vacation before we start back to school. I have been exploring the city and learning quite a bit about Korea, but that is for future posts. For now, I am exhausted from a day full of walking, walking, walking!
P.S. William is just loving the inside of my new apartment. He's such a bum-- can't even organize for me! Pictures will follow once my kitchen is clean.
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