Anyway...I made it. I'm finally in Paju, South Korea!
I left early Monday morning. 4am to be exact. Mom drove me 2 hours to the Cleveland airport where I had to wait about 3 hours to depart. From there, it was almost a 5 hour flight to LAX. After arriving at LAX, my boarding pass from LA-Seoul did not have a departure gate, so I had to run around that massive, stupid airport for almost an hour to find Asiana Airlines and go through security again.
Sidebar: What's the deal with the new TSA hand check? They rub your fingers with a cloth...what?
Anyway, I finally got through security and into my terminal. I was starving and was hoping to have something delicious as my last meal in the US for a year...turns out, the only "restaurant" in the terminal was a terrible sausage sandwich joint. It made me sad.
After getting on the plane, I get situated...and I have a window seat...with nobody sitting directly next to me for a 13 hour flight...That definitely made up for my sad sausage sandwich finale.
RANT: Asiana Airlines flight attendants trump any flight attendants in the US. Ever. I've seen so many dumpy, cross-eyed, middle-aged women on US flights that treat people like shit. Every single one on this flight was young, Asian, and extremely attractive. And nice. I didn't have a clue what the were saying half the time...but it seemed nice. So that's really all that matters. At least pretend to be nice...Which is hardly the case with the dumpy, cross-eyed, middle-aged hags on US flights. Ok, done.
I had a hard time sleeping on the flight. There was a screaming baby for most of the 13 hours, so I ended up watching Kung-Fu Panda 2...Inside the Actor's Studio with Sean Combs....A bio on Justin Timberlake...and a really weird Korean drama.
While flying over Japan, I happened to wake up from a short nap to look out the window and see the top of Mt. Fuji. It was incredible. My camera was away, so I didn't get a shot of it.
After arriving in Seoul, I went through Customs, got my bags, found the little Korean man holding a sign with my name on it...then exchanged currency. 10,000 Won is equal to about 1 USD. I now have well over a million won. I'm rich.
As we start driving toward Paju, I realize this may be my final cab ride...because this man was driving like an insane little asshole. Weaving in and out of traffic going about 95 MPH. I wanted to get a picture of the incredible sunset over the mountains across the Yellow Sea...but I was too afraid of being ejected from the vehicle...that didn't have seat belts.
I eventually made it safely to my home for the next year. Gyeonggi English Village in Paju, South Korea
The people I work with are all incredibly talented, helpful, and generous people. I know this is going to be a good year.
My body has not yet adjusted to the time change or the long trip, so I will end this entry for now. I will leave you with a few more pictures from the Village. More pictures to come!
안녕히 주무세요!
This one is so racist. And hilarious.
