Seoul, Day 1 - Aug. 23rd, 2011

I made it to Asia! YAY!

The travelling wasn’t too bad. It was surprisingly easy to get used to the time difference. I felt very little jetlag at first. We arrived at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea at 6:30pm, which would have been 3:30am in Pacific Northwest time (I think). I hardly slept on the plane so I was exhausted by the time we landed. Luckily we had some pretty sweet in-flight entertainment. I watched Water for Elephants, played Tetris and learned some Korean phrases and stress-relieving exercises. And I was lucky to have some good seat buddies:

So presh.

I got a taste of the Asian aesthetic value even before we left the United States. The flight attendants were totally angelic. They had their hair tied back in a neat bun with their makeup perfect and uniform. Sarah and I counted 3 costume changes. And they were all so petite. I felt like such a slob.

The food on the plane was pretty good. We were served two meals. Here is a picture of one of them:

I chose a “traditional” Korean Bibimbap, which is kind of like a roasted vegetable salad with beef and rice. There are bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini  and mushrooms in this one.

The more I’m in Seoul, the more I realize what a perfect first stop it is. Nearly every sign has an English translation, and most people speak at least a little English. Navigating and purchasing things is no problem. The money exchange is also pretty easy. It’s basically 1 dollar to 1000 Korean Won. Its pretty safe here, and the tap water is probably safe to drink, even though we boil it anyway. I’m sure our program directors strategically selected it.

On Wednesday the 24^th, the entire group met up outside the hotel at 8:30am to explore Seoul. Because of the time-change weirdness, I woke up at 7:ooam so Connie, Sarah and I decided to go on a morning run. Such a great idea. We found a dirt track a few blocks away from the hotel, so we ran a few laps and enjoyed the morning quietness.

The next adventure was figuring out how to get breakfast. A few of us went to the Minimart next to our hotel and grabbed a snack because the plan was to find an authentic Korean breakfast somewhere Seoul. This turned out to be a mistake…

We weren’t expecting it to take nearly 2 ½ hrs to get downtown by subway. I was so hungry.

And it made A LOT of stops.

Finally we got to the city, starving and confused. Our group became smaller and we found a tiny shop with a good looking menu, so we went for it. It turned out to be really good. I got a curried seafood porridge, which was kind of like runny, curried risotto, with shrimp, mussels and scallops. 

The lifestyle is a lot healthier here. And everything seems more demure, which I like.

Then we journeyed in search of a marketplace we saw on the map, which was TOTALLY THE BEST! Here are some pictures:

I wanted to be Anthony Bourdain and try some food but we didn’t have time.

When we got home from our day in the city, we met up for dinner at a real Korean BBQ restaurant connected to our hotel. We sat cross-legged at low tables with grills installed in the middle of each. We grilled thick strips of pork and beef which we wrapped with kimchi, bean sprouts, pickled garlic, and some sauces in a lettuce leaf. I enjoyed it. Last, they brought out a big bowl of Bulgogi for the table to share, which is a beef broth soup with mushrooms, onions and rice noodles. It was a lot of food. And it was a LONG day. I slept so well.

Lesson Learned:

1. Find a seat on the subway ASAP. They go real fast. And you get tired standing.
2. Don’t get off the train unannounced to the rest of the group, and then tell everyone else to get off as the doors are closing. We got regrouped at the next stop, but there was a moment of panic.
3. Always bring a snack.
4. South Koreans produce the possibly cutest children on earth. They are all so precious and beautifully dressed. Here are some adorable kids from the museum at the Gyeongbokung Palace:

You go girl! Rock that visor.

They made me so happy.

The 3 essential phrases in any foreign language are “hello,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry.” Luckily people cut us a lot of slack in Seoul because it is a fairly multicultural city, but in other places I don’t think it would have been this easy. It is so uncomfortable to be handed a plate of food or to be given a service and be unable to say “thank you.” At least if you know how to say “I’m sorry” you can apologize for your ignorance.

Good travel buddies are invaluable. Sarah and Kari were mine today J. Qualities = similar walking speed, similar interests and flexibility.

It’s really hard to explore in big groups. Just getting the word around to everyone is a huge challenge. It’s like the game “telephone.” Five people is manageable. And three is ideal, in my opinion.

Life is moving pretty fast right now. I doubt I'll be able to keep up this amount of detail in my posts, but I'll try. I don't want to forget anything.

Day 1 down. Tomorrow we go to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. I have no idea what to expect. How cool.