Our first morning here. As we sit in our round bed, eating breakfast and watching television, I am trying to write and remember my first sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of Korea.
As we made our descent into Gimhae International airport, we could see Busan. I stared out the window, mouth gaping, astonished at the magnitude, lights everywhere. I could not believe the height of buildings, the amount of lights. The feelings at that moment were overwhelming. I continuously elbowed steve and pointed, unable to create words or sentences, partly due to my fatigue and mostly due to my disbelief. This being my first trip out of the country, the experience was overwhelming, fascinating, and wonderful.
After landing, we made our way to customs. Stopping off at a payphone first to try and call home. Using the phone was an absolutely impossible task. All writing was in Korean. After several failed attempts by both of us, we went into the customs line and easily made our way through and received our first passport stamp.
At the baggage claim, surrounded by Korean people and only a handful of foreigners, a dog barking loudly as it was being inspected behind us. Frantically scanning the luggage, surroundings, people. Frustrated by not being able to use a phone to call home. At the money exchange, sliding doors open and I hear a man call my name from the lobby. Steve and I go out to meet the president of our recruiting company. He greets us enthusiastically, grabs a piece of luggage and escorts us quickly through the parking lot. The air is cold and I can see my breath. It feels good to walk and breathe fresh outdoor air. We come to his white truck and put all of our luggage in the back. Steve and I sit in the back as the president drives us to our motel for the evening (and the next 2-3 weeks). He kindly offers his cell phone for us to use and call our loved ones. I call my mom and gram quickly. I want to talk to them longer, but do not want to be rude and want to speak with them privately. As we drive out of Busan and into Gimhae, I watch tall buildings pass by. We go through a very large tunnel. "The president" says there are many tunnels due to the mountainous terrain. He talks to us about Las Vegas, burger king, beer, and Korea. The ride goes by in a blur. We arrive in Jinyeong area (our town) of Gimhae. There are different parts of town. Some parts look old and run down. Some parts are bright, loud, and overwhelming. Everything is in Korean. Korean writing goes by in a blur. We pull behind a brand new white kia and our supervisor gets out and we follow her now to the motel. We arrive at our motel. We are greeted by our supervisor, her son, and the current foreign teachers. They all greet us and help us with our luggage. We walk inside and go to a green sliding window. Our supervisor speaks to the motel attendant in Korean. We walk to our room. One door opens into a stoop area (for shoes), bathroom to the left and bedroom straight ahead. The president takes off his shoes at the stoop and as I step one foot inside our bedroom he commands me to "take shoes off". Some things will just take some getting used to I suppose. He explains heat, air conditioning, and water. The foreign teachers hand us two bags of breakfast food. Our supervisor says, "I am your boss" (accompanied by laughing) and informs us that she will pick us up at 11:30 to go to the school for a short orientation. Everyone leaves quickly and we stand in our "home" baffled and exhausted. We survey the surroundings. Green bathroom with no curtain on the shower, drain in the floor, bathing towels the size of american hand towels. The bed is round with a royal looking golden comforter and Korean characters on the pillows. The floor is vey warm, as this is the way the building is heated (water in the floor). We dump the breakfast treats onto the desk and investigate them closely. Cereal, milk, granola bars, yogurt, chocolate bread, clementines, caramel machiato, and orange juice. We lay on the bed and turn on the television. Korean channels with game shows, the news, sitcoms, commercials. A commercial for Cass beer comes on, a laundry detergent commercial. The familiarity of american television, but different due to difference in humor, emotion, and of course language. We manage to find Fox and "How I met your mother" and "America's funniest home videos" are on. We decide to go to sleep. I cannot believe we are in Korea. Becoming accustomed to the sounds in the motel. Sleep comes easily. We awake at 6:00am after 6 hours of sleep. I feel refreshed, excited, and ready to begin the day, our life in Korea.
As we made our descent into Gimhae International airport, we could see Busan. I stared out the window, mouth gaping, astonished at the magnitude, lights everywhere. I could not believe the height of buildings, the amount of lights. The feelings at that moment were overwhelming. I continuously elbowed steve and pointed, unable to create words or sentences, partly due to my fatigue and mostly due to my disbelief. This being my first trip out of the country, the experience was overwhelming, fascinating, and wonderful.
After landing, we made our way to customs. Stopping off at a payphone first to try and call home. Using the phone was an absolutely impossible task. All writing was in Korean. After several failed attempts by both of us, we went into the customs line and easily made our way through and received our first passport stamp.
At the baggage claim, surrounded by Korean people and only a handful of foreigners, a dog barking loudly as it was being inspected behind us. Frantically scanning the luggage, surroundings, people. Frustrated by not being able to use a phone to call home. At the money exchange, sliding doors open and I hear a man call my name from the lobby. Steve and I go out to meet the president of our recruiting company. He greets us enthusiastically, grabs a piece of luggage and escorts us quickly through the parking lot. The air is cold and I can see my breath. It feels good to walk and breathe fresh outdoor air. We come to his white truck and put all of our luggage in the back. Steve and I sit in the back as the president drives us to our motel for the evening (and the next 2-3 weeks). He kindly offers his cell phone for us to use and call our loved ones. I call my mom and gram quickly. I want to talk to them longer, but do not want to be rude and want to speak with them privately. As we drive out of Busan and into Gimhae, I watch tall buildings pass by. We go through a very large tunnel. "The president" says there are many tunnels due to the mountainous terrain. He talks to us about Las Vegas, burger king, beer, and Korea. The ride goes by in a blur. We arrive in Jinyeong area (our town) of Gimhae. There are different parts of town. Some parts look old and run down. Some parts are bright, loud, and overwhelming. Everything is in Korean. Korean writing goes by in a blur. We pull behind a brand new white kia and our supervisor gets out and we follow her now to the motel. We arrive at our motel. We are greeted by our supervisor, her son, and the current foreign teachers. They all greet us and help us with our luggage. We walk inside and go to a green sliding window. Our supervisor speaks to the motel attendant in Korean. We walk to our room. One door opens into a stoop area (for shoes), bathroom to the left and bedroom straight ahead. The president takes off his shoes at the stoop and as I step one foot inside our bedroom he commands me to "take shoes off". Some things will just take some getting used to I suppose. He explains heat, air conditioning, and water. The foreign teachers hand us two bags of breakfast food. Our supervisor says, "I am your boss" (accompanied by laughing) and informs us that she will pick us up at 11:30 to go to the school for a short orientation. Everyone leaves quickly and we stand in our "home" baffled and exhausted. We survey the surroundings. Green bathroom with no curtain on the shower, drain in the floor, bathing towels the size of american hand towels. The bed is round with a royal looking golden comforter and Korean characters on the pillows. The floor is vey warm, as this is the way the building is heated (water in the floor). We dump the breakfast treats onto the desk and investigate them closely. Cereal, milk, granola bars, yogurt, chocolate bread, clementines, caramel machiato, and orange juice. We lay on the bed and turn on the television. Korean channels with game shows, the news, sitcoms, commercials. A commercial for Cass beer comes on, a laundry detergent commercial. The familiarity of american television, but different due to difference in humor, emotion, and of course language. We manage to find Fox and "How I met your mother" and "America's funniest home videos" are on. We decide to go to sleep. I cannot believe we are in Korea. Becoming accustomed to the sounds in the motel. Sleep comes easily. We awake at 6:00am after 6 hours of sleep. I feel refreshed, excited, and ready to begin the day, our life in Korea.
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