My First Day- Thank God they have Milk

After waiting 3 hours on the tarmac for take-off in Chicago and a thirteen hour, 10,574 mile, flight I finally reached the "Land of the Morning Calm."

I breezed through customs even though I should have known my address and did not. I stopped to exchange some currency (thanks Mom, Dad, Nanny and Mel), and finally headed out the door to find Dave, essentially my caretaker.

My first thought when stepping out into the horridly humid Korean night air was "Holy Crap I made it!" We jumped into a cab and started our journey to my new home: Room 401 in a rather decrepit looking building.

The entire flat is smaller than my room at home (albeit that room is abnormally large) but comfortable, except for the cockroach infestation--they are really small so I have no qualms with killing the bastards. The bathroom is really weird for someone used to a bathtub. First of all, the shower is just a hand held nozzle that you spray on yourself (along with the rest of the bathroom) in the middle of the room. Also, do I have hot water? Dream on! Actually I do, but not very much of it. I might just be compelled to go to a bathhouse. The kitchen is tiny but useable and the utility room is right next to my bed. The washing machine is larger than I thought it would be (SCORE!). My bedroom/living room is spartanly decorated but comfortable. The closet is almost the perfect size. All in all I think I can make this work.

After inspecting my living space last night I fell asleep very quickly. Dave called and woke me up an hour later and told me I should turn of the air conditioner. I complied, but was not happy. Today he explained that people get very sick with cool air in a room when they sleep-- lucky me I fully intend to not listen to that bit of folk healthcare advise.

After unpacking, much easier than packing I must say, I waited for Dave to take me to the supermarket at Lotte World (the big department store in Korea). I thankfully found pasta, milk, and cheese, peanut butter, and potatoes. I now know that I can survive in Korea. Hooray!

I am just experiencing a little bit of homesickness and don't want to break out into tears all the time. I am feeling somewhat lonely at the moment. Which is a nice reason to have a blog. It feels like I am talking to someone.  A good thing considering that Dave has warned me against making friends or meeting people. A very strange warning. He told me to just say hello to people and then not answer anymore. This he even recommended in dealing with my co-workers. I don't know if I like that plan. I want to make friends and talking is the only way I can think of so I will slyly start building relationships on the down low.

Tomorrow I go to the hospital to get some blood drawn so that they can determine if I am healthy enough to get the Korean version of a green card and, although I intend this next comment to drip with sarcasm, I am glad to get the process going. I can't wait.

I am now going to go over the books from which I will be teaching. Thank you all for taking the time to read about my culture shock filled day.

The PKC

As I wait to go through security at O’Hare to board my flight to Seoul I have decided to pass the time by trying to update my woefully neglected blog. And posting it once I get to Korea.

Going on a journey of any kind becomes immensely stressful for me as the departure date looms. There is so much to do and a good chance I will forget something.

Luckily, I got my visa a couple of months early. When I showed up in the Korean Consulate in Houston one girl was getting her visa to be able to travel in less than one week. I, thankfully, had plenty of time.

Or so it seemed. Towards the end I was scrambling to get things accomplished on my PKC or Pre-Korea Checklist.  I needed to renew my driver’s license, I needed to find adaptors and I needed to pack.

I have a neurosis about packing. I hate it. Not only am I chronically over packing I procrastinate because of all the anticipated pain associated with leaving something I might need at home.  Upon arrival at the airport I had to unpack some of the heavier items from my bag with promises from my parents to mail said items to me as soon as feasibly possible.

Speaking of the parental unit, it was incredibly hard to leave them. Last night my mom revealed to me that she and my dad were concerned about me leaving. Yes, they were very proud and excited for me, but fear kept creeping into their consciences.  Part of me did not want to leave them. However, when I finally cleared security, after being manhandled by a masculine looking female TSA employee in a very uncomfortable way, and reached the plane--just in the knick of time I might add--I did not feel as freaked out as I did when departing for college. So, this has to be good right? The fact that I was not experiencing any panic attack symptoms stands as a good omen. I’m ready to take on South Korea. They best be prepared because READY OR NOT HERE I COME!

Prologue

Having just graduated from university and not knowing the next step I should, as a conscientious citizen of the world, take,  I looked for information in the one medium I have learned to trust more than any other as a Humanities major: the printed word.

I knew that I wanted something different, something that I could experience that would awaken a part of me that was disabled so that I could concentrate in my literature classes. In effect, this disability allowed me to read, and not yearn to do.

 Now the wandering beast of adventure, my version of D. H. Lawrence's Bitch Goddess of Success, has devoured me and I intended to follow it to the ends of the earth, quite literally, until my thirst for adventure is satiated.

I have decided to settle on the notion forwarded by J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on page 56 of the hardback copy sold in the United States when Dumbledore is talking to Harry:

"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress adventure."

My adventure will begin in South Korea.