Day #2

Today was a whole new day. I woke up around 4 am to clean. And man I went to work. I was able to unpack and just felt so much better. It's so crazy to think that I came from living in this big apartment with a queen sized bed, to an itty bitty living space. Definitely working on simplifying my life. This will be good for me :)

I was able to talk to my Mom and Dad for about 20 minutes this morning. After talking with them I decided to venture out on my own. Of course once I stepped out, it started raining. Korea has it out for me already haha. I walked down the street to this bakery called "Paris Baquette". It's literally 5 min from my house. They have all kinds of breads and pastries. Looks like I'll be getting my carbs fix afterall :)

After breakfast I came home and chilled before meeting up with Sarah. She's a teacher I will be working with at ILS. We walked over to Emart, which is like Walmart but so much better. It has almost anything you could ask for. It has a movie theater, bowling alley, department store and then groceries. I could spend hours in there. After that we went to lunch at "LunaRich". It's a nice little Italian place across from Emart. We had Gorgonzola pizza with honey. So amazing!

I'm now at home, thinking I'll take a nap before my jet lag gets the best of me. I need to be refreshed before heading out to dinner with the other teachers. I think I'm trying my first Korean BBQ! I'm also hoping someone can help me figure out my phone. It's all in Korean and I have no idea how to text haha.

I'm Here! - Day #1

Disclaimer: This a really long post. So if you get bored of reading, I will understand :)

Wow! I can't believe I'm here. This is so surreal. It was really tough leaving my family. There's no way to give someone a year's worth of hugs, but I sure tried. I am really going to miss them!

The beginning of my trip started out a little slow. My flight was to depart from Roanoke on Friday at 5:47 am (EST), but of course we didn't take off until around 8:15 am (EST). After only having a total of about four hours of sleep, having nothing to eat and sitting on a plane that was not moving for 2.5 hours, I was not a happy camper. There was a nice, very talkative, girl from South Dakota next to me and she helped to make the wait go by faster.

I finally arrived in Chicago about 10:35 am (EST). This didn't give me as much as a layover as I was expecting, but it was just enough time. I was able to locate my gate, grab some food and exchange currency. I was going to wait until I got to Korea to exchange currency at the bank, but I'll pay for convenience.

My flight took off as scheduled at 1:00 pm (EST) from Chicago to Seoul. The plane was HUGE and so nice. I probably sound like a big nerd, but I've never flown overseas and had no idea what to expect.

The plane had a total of 42 rows with nine seats across. I was lucky enough to get a window seat, as well as being seated next to two very nice Korean women. One of them is actually an English teacher in Seoul. She gave me her contact information just in case I had any trouble. After about 15 minutes of being on the plane I was knocked out. I was then awaken almost an hour after take off so I could be given goodies and food. They supplied me with headphones, indoor slippers, a pillow and blanket, and a menu.

Here's one of my meals...

Keepin' it Western

I arrived in Seoul around 4 pm Korean time / 3 am (EST). A driver picked me up and drove me to my apartment. As I arrived, I was so nervous as to what to expect. I walked up the stairs, behind the driver who was carrying my luggage and opened the door. My stomach just sank. My first thought was, "What the hell am I doing here?" The place was left in a bit of mess. The studio apartment is very very small. I began to get discouraged, so I called my Director. She said she was coming over at 8 pm to help get me acclimated around the apartment. As she arrived, I felt very comfortable knowing she was so helpful and willing to correct the issue. She said it wouldn't be until Monday before she could have someone come in to clean.

I decided that was fine and that I could deal with it. I think the best part of my evening was turning on the TV to find "Sex and the City". Ahhh!

Wait! What am I doing?

And the final countdown as of today is...1 day!! Guess you could say I'm freakin' out. I have a pretty good idea as to what to expect, but my biggest worry is starting a new job. It's always a little nerve-wracking starting a new job, especially when you don't have a whole lot of experience teaching English to children.

I began packing my two HUGE 29" suitcases yesterday. Of course after all the packing, I forgot they need to be under 50 lbs. All things considered, I weighed my bags and they were 10 lbs over. Oopsie! According the Asiana Airlines I'm allowed two 50 lbs suitcases free. If I go over, it's $200/per suticase. No thank you! My parents are going to send the rest of my winter stuff to me. I had to forgo my boots :( ~sniff sniff~

Tomorrow at 5:37am begins my big adventure. I, again, want to thank all of my friends and family for supporting me with this decision! It wasn't the easiest decision to make considering I left a life in Norfolk that I had made after 5 years. Now I'm going to a new country where no one knows me, and starting a whole new life. Thank you all for the positive and motivational thoughts.

Love y'all <3

Soakin' Up Some Lazy Days

I have been out of work for almost 2 weeks and I have become a big lump of lazy. I had hoped to use this time at home, in Roanoke, for working out. Hahaha I just had to laugh at myself. Yeah the workout thing has not happened.

I have really enjoyed being at home. I forgot home much I miss this boring, little town. I'm missing Norfolk and all my friends there, but it's been great catching up with friends and family in Roanoke. I just need to remember, I have a plane to catch in 12 days.

There's still a lot I need to do before I leave. I bought my oversized luggage this weekend. They're just big enough to stuff two people in them if anyone would like to join me ;) I'm generally a really good packer but I'm dreading all this. What am I going to do with all my shoes? haha

As promised, here's my flight itinerary. I'll be flying Asiana Airlines.

Depart: Roanoke Municipal Arpt 05:47 AM Friday, July 29 

Arrive: Chicago O'Hare Int'l Arpt 06:50 AM  

*** 5 hour layover :( ***

Depart: Chicago O'Hare Int'l Arpt. 12:00 PM  Friday, July 29          

Arrive: Seoul Incheon Int'l 04:00 PM  Saturday, July 30