August 6th, 2008

So I left my parents’ home in Ottawa at 4am on Sunday morning after a sleepless night. Who can sleep when they’re moving to Seoul? I had bonded with my two cats, Luna and Zeb and really tried to drive home the point that mommy wasn’t leaving them forever. God, I STILL feel like a deserter… Anyways, after throwing on some clothes and chomping down on some toasts (lovingly prepared by my brother – who had spread on an uneven two inches of peanut butter on each), off I was to the airport with the fam. What a great way to start an adventure: it was dark, everyone had just woken up and was still groggy, and the streets were empty… We got in line at the airport, I received my itinerary, and everyone waited with me until I could go through baggage check-in (which only opened at 4:45). We chatted as the line advanced, trying not to think about what was about to happen…which, of course, eventually did. I was at the point of no-return. I had to check-in my baggage and walk on through customs. I WAS NOW ON MY OWN FOR A YEAR, ON MY WAY TO MILES AWAY FROM HOME, TO A LAND WHERE I COULDN’T SPEAK OR UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE. I felt excited, nervous, and more than a little awed that I was actually there.

Mom and I said goodbye through laughs and tears (although we both tried to stay very cool for the benefit of other airport travellers) and off I was. I held up the line at that x-ray thing since I was so nervous that I actually emptied my carry-on bag in the boxes. Apparently, that’s not necessary. So, barefoot (because they make you take off your shoes, I tried to repack as quickly as I could on the other side and off I was again to wait by the terminal. I smiled at just about everybody I could: I was the cool girl, on her own, moving to Seoul! If I came across as extremely friendly or absolutely weird, I’ll never know!

I tried to get some shut-eye on the plane but couldn’t, maybe due to the fact that the plane only carried about 50 passengers and was very tiny according to my plane standards. I could feel every bit of turbulence and became very aware of even the tiniest movement. I also couldn’t fit my bag in the baggage compartment and had to put it at my feet, which meant there was actually no room for, well...my feet. I was reassured, though, when the pilot announced he was committed to bringing us to destination since his parents were on board. I was immediately overjoyed and became incredibly more inclined to be nice to the annoying flight attendant that felt he had to constantly walk up and down the 4 metre aisle and chat everybody up. Did I really care if the couple at the back was on its way to Vegas to get married? I was on my way to Seoul and needed some sleep!

Which I didn’t. Thanks to the attendant’s endless chit-chat, the girl next to me (Cindy) figured out we were both on our way to Asia (she to China, me to Korea) and we both had to connect to Korean Air (which, in Chicago, isn’t easy to do since the airport is just HUGE!) This turned out well since we were able to take the train together to the international terminal once there and waited together to pass the time. Her 4 years-old daughter, Karen, was very entertaining and nicely repeated her two-song repertoire (Fly, Fly, Butterfly and something that sounded like Chougmyan, Chougmyan) to me over and over again for the next few hours. What a sweetie. :)

We parted ways on the plane since Cindy was in business class, and I, well, continued on to the thrifty economy section. I sat down beside this guy named Cory who it turns out was going to Korea to teach in another Poly school. Behind us was another guy, Mike, who was going back to Korea for his third teaching stint. Cory and I tried to ignore the fact that, even though we were in the three-seat row, OUR row only actually had two… What happened to the missing one near the window, we'll never know! We chatted, watched boring, cheesy horror movies on his computer, and enjoyed all that Korean Air had to offer (their service and food was actually amazing. I even had my first taste of Bibimbap on the plane and liked it!) Anyways, it turned out Cory was a musician (he showed me one of his shows on his computer) and was on his way to meet his girlfriend who was teaching in Seoul. He was 31, had a 12 years old son who would maybe visit him later on, and turned out to be a great travel companion. We both retrieved our bags together at the airport (he waited with me since my suitcase was a long time coming) and showed me how to exchange my money. We parted ways when we were identified by our drivers who were holding up signs with our names.

I had to wait an hour in the taxi since my driver was organizing other pickups and drop-offs and the ensuing ride into Seoul was an interesting one. It takes about an hour to drive to the heart of downtown (where my hotel was located) and my driver was a kamikaze. He would pass people, curse at them with his window up, turn it down to spit out what I assumed to be big fat amounts of mucous (but could very well have been hawked up tobacco) and then turn around, smile, and tell me to sleep since the ride would be long. I absolutely LOVE Seoul!!! He helped me sign-in at the hotel and I went up to my room, which is a miniaturized version of the perfect Ikea apartment. I had to go out to buy shampoo and immediately felt extremely small in the vastness of Seoul. Everything here is BIG. In a city of 20 million people, buildings are built high up to maximize space. It all seemed pretty impressive to my Ottawaan roots!

Anyways, I bought my shampoo and apples (which later turned out to be peaches) and went back up to have a nice shower. This, I must stress, was a novelty: in Seoul, the actual washroom IS the shower stall. The whole room is tiled and the shower head is affixed to the wall right beside the toilet. You put on little plastic sandals and, as you wash, water just sputters everywhere. I’ve since learnt that this is normal and you don’t even sponge it off with a towel after: you just turn on the fan and let it evaporate on its own. Neat! But not too much fun when you put on your makeup and dry your hair...

Since then, I’ve had two days at the school. Everyone is incredibly nice to me. Training is a little bewildering since there is so much to learn but I’m taking things in stride. I watched my first class yesterday and had to laugh: kids here are the same as back home… I had heard stories of Asian kids being much better behaved but really, that’s kind of an urban myth. Kids anywhere will be kids, as I found out! I can’t wait to start! The teacher that let me watch him, Ben, was incredibly funny and I think I may have picked-up a few tricks from him.

My first day at work, I was taught how to take the subway on my own and was treated to dinner by my two bosses, Mark and Maria (who is the spitting image of Minnie Driver! It's uncanny, really). We went out for bbq pork, which is AMAZING. They barbecue the meat right in the middle of your table and bring various side dishes to share. This was actually somewhat odd for me as the Ick factor kicked-in. In Korean culture, everything is shared with others, even your food. This meant that all of us were expected to eat right out of the bowls that held the dishes. So Maria and I dipped our spoons in the same soup bowl while Mark and I attacked the same bowl of Kimchi with our chopsticks. Bah! When in Korea…

So now, I think I am actually no longer jet-lagged. It is 8:30 am and I am about to start my 3rd day of work. I feel great and move into my apartment tomorrow morning (everybody at work keeps saying I am taking over one of the best apartments the school has!) Can’t wait to see it!