First Impressions

I'm in my apartment in Seoul right now. I'm not terribly busy yet because I don't speak Korean, I don't know the area (I will get lost if I wander around, I'm pretty sure), and I don't have anything to do yet. Please don't think I'm complaining, because I'm very happy to be able to just chill at home for a while. I don't remember what all I told anyone, but I'm living with the girl I'm replacing for a week. She's wonderful. She's been showing me around, answering all my questions, and generally helping me get along. It's about 11:00 am right now, so she's working, but she'll be around at noon to take me to lunch. Let me describe a little of what happened on my flights and such. I flew from Minneapolis to San Francisco (4 hrs). My layover in San Francisco was four and a half hours long (it took forever) and then the plane boarded about 45 minutes late. Next came the 12 and a half hour flight to Seoul Incheon Airport. I got lucky because I sat next to a Korean woman probably in her late twenties who was coming back after completing medical school in New York. She was friendly and patient and willing to chat with an ignorant girl. What was even better was that she didn't want to talk the whole time and we fell into a natural pattern of occassional comments and watching tv/sleeping. I'm not sure how much I slept. It was the kind of sleep where you are part conscious but you dream about things you think are happening. I was in and out for a while and then I got to Seoul. We were an hour late but the man picking me up was there and waiting (with my name on a sign!). He doesn't speak much English, so we didn't exactly talk. I was tired anyway, and I wanted to see what Korean traffic signs and such looked like anyway (you can call me a nerd). They're written in Korean, Japanese, and English, which makes for a crowded sign. I'm kind of surprised by how much English there is here. I could probably get by without knowing much Korean at all (but I don't intend to).

As I said, the girl I'm replacing has been showing me around. We chatted, she made me tea, and I changed. Then she took me to a bar nearby where some of our coworkers were. I had a Korean beer called Cass (it was tasty) and met three of my coworkers (all from Canada), and then we all went to a Korean barbeque nearby. It was delicious, cheap, and all in all enjoyable. We took off our shoes when entering and then sat at what I'd consider a booth. The booth was kind of like an elevated floor with a square hole where the table sat (it really reminded me of the deck around a hot tub). Anyway, the tables in the middle had charcoal grills, and when we ordered they brought raw meat pieces and various other foods in small bowls. We'd grill the meat, maybe some mushrooms and radishes or vegetables, then wrap everything up in a large leaf and eat. I also had the quintessential Korean dish, Kimche, for the first time. Kimche is fermented cabbage with lots of spices. It looked kind of like shell pasta with a little marinara. Considering I was worried it would taste like spicy Sauerkraut, it was very good (it tastes nothing like Sauerkraut, by the way). Apparently it's an acquired taste for most people, but I think I will acquire it.

One last little note about living here. The apartment smells surprisingly similar to my place in Italy. I'm not sure why; maybe it's because of mold? Either way, I can't help thinking of Italy when I walk in my apartment.