Goodbye USA - an-nyong haseyo Korea
Excited, nervous, what will happen, did I pack everything I need, will my backpack be too heavy (more on that later), will my camera work ... gads, it's endless!
What a wonderful sendoff from San Francisco ... my sis, Maryanne picked me up at home and my parents took the jaunt there as well. Even better, Rebecca (my sis, who just happens to be an airport cop) met me there with her partner Reggie and was able to meet me past security. It's not what you know, but who you know ... and lo and behold, I'm ugraded! Many goodbye's and hugs later, we're off!
Did you know that just sitting for almost 14 hours is really boring? I had a delightful seatmate, Chini (her american name) ... a young Korean girl who had just spent 2 months in a San Diego language class. I slept, ate, paced, stretched, chatted with the flight attendants (no one else was awake), read my book, and top of the list, I figured out how to work my camera!
An-nyong haseyo Korea! That means hello, at least I think it does from reading my phrase book. Finally, it's over and on Saturday night I stumble in a fog into the airport - which seems awfully similar to any US airport with a a touch of Korean flavor. Total organization, from customs, baggage claim, getting a bus ticket and the right bus to Anguk! Ah, but from there it went a bit south!
OK, don't be alarmed, it's not that bad! I carefully followed my walking instructions to Seoul Backpacker, where a single room with private bathroom awaited! Yikes, somewhere I must have taken a wrong turn. I stopped from place to place to ask directions, realizing the map I had with me was a wee bit not-so-good. By now it's after 9 pm and dark. My backpack I discover is really heavy (I'm going to be losing some stuff real quick) and I've had to split it up with my backpack on my back and my daypack in front. But I keep walking in what I think is the right direction, miss a curb and lose my balance. And discover the benefit to carrying all this backpack stuff! A quick face plant, but it's just a bounce against the daypack padding, get up, dust off, and off I go.
Going where, I still don't know ... but a 7-11 employee (yes they have a lot of 7-11's over here) tries to figure out where and even walks with me for a couple of blocks ... and hands me off to a London chap who lives in Seoul, works as a railroad engingeer building a railroad from the airport. What a helpful fellow - he walks me around and around, seemingly in circles, trying to find the hotel and eventually success!
Seoul Backpacker ... the Hilton it's not! But it's clean, friendly, and has a western toilet ... I ask for nothing more! And it's got a nice ceiling that I stared at for many hours, enjoying(?) my jet lag.
And with that, my Saturday ends and my journey begins!
What a wonderful sendoff from San Francisco ... my sis, Maryanne picked me up at home and my parents took the jaunt there as well. Even better, Rebecca (my sis, who just happens to be an airport cop) met me there with her partner Reggie and was able to meet me past security. It's not what you know, but who you know ... and lo and behold, I'm ugraded! Many goodbye's and hugs later, we're off!
Did you know that just sitting for almost 14 hours is really boring? I had a delightful seatmate, Chini (her american name) ... a young Korean girl who had just spent 2 months in a San Diego language class. I slept, ate, paced, stretched, chatted with the flight attendants (no one else was awake), read my book, and top of the list, I figured out how to work my camera!
An-nyong haseyo Korea! That means hello, at least I think it does from reading my phrase book. Finally, it's over and on Saturday night I stumble in a fog into the airport - which seems awfully similar to any US airport with a a touch of Korean flavor. Total organization, from customs, baggage claim, getting a bus ticket and the right bus to Anguk! Ah, but from there it went a bit south!
OK, don't be alarmed, it's not that bad! I carefully followed my walking instructions to Seoul Backpacker, where a single room with private bathroom awaited! Yikes, somewhere I must have taken a wrong turn. I stopped from place to place to ask directions, realizing the map I had with me was a wee bit not-so-good. By now it's after 9 pm and dark. My backpack I discover is really heavy (I'm going to be losing some stuff real quick) and I've had to split it up with my backpack on my back and my daypack in front. But I keep walking in what I think is the right direction, miss a curb and lose my balance. And discover the benefit to carrying all this backpack stuff! A quick face plant, but it's just a bounce against the daypack padding, get up, dust off, and off I go.
Going where, I still don't know ... but a 7-11 employee (yes they have a lot of 7-11's over here) tries to figure out where and even walks with me for a couple of blocks ... and hands me off to a London chap who lives in Seoul, works as a railroad engingeer building a railroad from the airport. What a helpful fellow - he walks me around and around, seemingly in circles, trying to find the hotel and eventually success!
Seoul Backpacker ... the Hilton it's not! But it's clean, friendly, and has a western toilet ... I ask for nothing more! And it's got a nice ceiling that I stared at for many hours, enjoying(?) my jet lag.
And with that, my Saturday ends and my journey begins!
posted by CECILIA at 5:36 PM
<< Home