Day 1

Today was so much fun! I woke up early and rested, which actually surprised me, because someone on the floor above me stomped back and forth last night, doing God knows what, for so many hours that I had half decided to meet them, take them out for dinner, and secretly spit in their food. Fortunately (for them!) sleep, like love, covers a multitude of sins…

A few students had decided to go shopping at E-Mart, and were planning to meet in the Global Village at 10:00 AM. E-Mart is a supercenter where you can get some of anything, like a Safeway and a Target combined. The Global Village is a collection of dormitories where one or two international students are housed with ten or eleven Koreans, so the Korean students can experience an initiation into Western culture. The dorms here, which is where I am, have couches and beds, as compared to not and mats, for example. The Korean students have yet to arrive for this semester, so I and my international suitemate, who is from San Diego, have the whole place to ourselves, for now.

A and B buildings are for males, and C and D buildings are for females. Each building is six stories tall. There is a security guard in the lobby which connects all these buildings, who ensures that contraband is confiscated, and genders do not mix.  However, I hear that this semester we are lucky, in that he is much more understanding than the previous guard, who was fired. I guess this means that there will be mixed gender parties in the boys dorms, with wine and other such nonsense. LOL. Being married is MUCH more fun, and those nights will most likely find me studying J

Anyway, our well-laid shopping plans were dashed by a loud chime that rang in every room, summoning us to the lobby. By a stroke of genius or luck, I had a coat and gloves, and some water with me. We were gone for several hours to the matriculation and welcoming ceremony. We walked what felt like several miles, with the wind chill and our choices of either “Hell Stairs” or “Death Stairs”. Being who I am, I took the Hell stairs first and the Death stairs on the way back, and I’m undecided about the more evil of the two. I do know that I don’t need to join the gym, because we have to walk them several times a day.  Bring it!

The ceremony was incredibly impressive. There were several thousand students there, and most of the Koreans haven’t even arrived yet. The auditorium was massive, and concert quality. The lights, sound, and video were all very nice, but almost every last word was in Korean. I was able to pick out a few numbers I heard spoken... I’ve seen the look, that I know was on my own face, on other people before – happy to be here, completely in the dark about what is being said, and un-used to being the minority. We are stared at for sure, and sometimes I feel only tolerated, but mainly it is celebrity status, and people bend over backwards to try out their English or make out our horrible butchering of their beautiful words.

There were many videos and awards that I’m sure were fabulous, but I have no idea what they were about. The president spoke for a very long time, and he was a man of authority and power, I could feel it. It felt like we were getting schooled, and I was intimidated, and a little bit low in my chair, but I think he was just passionate. The Korean National Anthem and the pledge to their flag made me cry. There were guards all along the walls of the auditorium, standing in a wide stance at attention, and there was not one instance of disruption or disrespect from any member of the audience. At the end, the president and other dignitaries left on a red carpet, shaking hands with the people fortunate enough to be standing close. Then suddenly, with no warning at all, two canons fired gold confetti in an arc that was parallel with the stage! It was so beautiful in the light, but so loud that I jumped clean off my seat and yelled. Then two, more powerful canons shot long silver streamers all the way to the top of the ceiling, and they fell all the long way down to the crowd, glittering. The air smelled like smoke from fireworks, which always makes me happy. When the ceremony was over, every person stayed in their place, and the fashion in which we left was clever and orderly, not to mention fast. We were given priority, and left first, and we were also seated during the ceremony, as opposed to the vast majority who had to stand.

I am overwhelmed with the resources of this University.  The production today seemed quality enough to be governmental, to me. It is beginning to sink in, what has been given to me, to be scholarshipped here. Korean children do nothing but study when they are in middle school, because getting into a University sets the path of their whole life. I am spoiled, and grateful for the chance to realize it, and appreciate it.

So after the ceremony, the group that wanted to shop grew to about forty strong. Some returning students (you can be an international student at Soonchunhyang University for up to three semesters) took us to the nearby city of Cheonan. We had to walk about a mile to buy our T-money cards, which are for the subway system, and then make our way to the proper station and tracks. We are the last stop on a rural route, so we had seats on the way to Cheonan, but not on the way back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take my camera today, but I promise to begin, hopefully tomorrow, taking pictures so you can see what it’s like here.

Back home, when I tried to understand the sheer numbers of people I was to encounter, it seemed like it must be chaos here. Not so. This society is very streamlined and efficient, and some of their ideas and technologies are brilliant. For example, there is a button on your table at any restaurant, and if you need service, you press it. No waitress or waiter has to check on anyone, which is good because their work is labor intensive. There are many steps to a meal, many things to bring out and take away.  So, while much of the day was spent shoulder to shoulder with large numbers of people, I don’t feel exhausted or drained, I was never mistreated, and I wish I didn’t have to sleep before I went out for more!

It felt so nice to buy some of the things that I was unable to pack, and I confess the highlight of my day was washing my hair. Tomorrow I plan to be much harder to please J Tomorrow is orientation, beginning at 9:00 AM. We will begin  the process of receiving our phones and alien registration cards, as well as bank accounts, and there will be more campus tours, etc.

The Korean placement test is tomorrow, so I’m planning to study now in order to place well. I heard about a program, designed for the Chinese, that is strictly Korean language study, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM daily, with no other classes. If I can get myself admitted to that track, that is what I will do. I will be the first international to try it on the first semester, because they say no one can keep up with the Chinese. However, I have a friend in my corner who has some sway over who gets admitted, and as far as keeping up, they’ve never met me before J

또 뵙겠어요 (See you again)

Grace

It's fun to travel across the world and hear your name called.

Soju, pagodas, and other delights

   Last night I went out with friends for galbi, Korean barbecue. Another landmark experience in this delightful string of firsts! We entered a crowded, tiny room, and were seated on boxes, essentially. Underneath the cushion is a storage space, like a piano bench but deeper, where you put your coat and purse, because there just isn’t anywhere else for them to go! The table top is square and small, with a hole in the middle. They bring out some side dishes, which I’m learning is a constant here. We had rice and black beans, cloves of raw garlic, (I think I ate about fifteen, all told) pickled onions and leeks, red bean paste, lettuce, and a kind of radish that is thinly sliced, round, bright green, and about the size of the palm of your hand. It’s pickled and sweet, and can be used like lettuce, as a wrap for the meat. There was also a bowl of spicy soup, with vegetables and tofu. Someone brings a pot of coals, and with a long handle places them in the hole in your table. When they’re ready to bring out the meat, they pull a blower down from the ceiling that looks like a dryer vent, and they blow the coals red hot, then place a grate over them. Someone at the table is designated cook, and with chopsticks, places bite size pieces of meat, beef in our case, on the grate to cook. When they’re ready, you dip the meat in sesame oil and spices, place it on the lettuce or radish slice, and add whatever other sides sound good. Then you take a sip of soju, which is a kind of fire water like Everclear, but smooth, like sake, and then you pop the meat in your mouth in one big bite. I know I was ravenously hungry, and I know I’m attracted to exotic foods, but seriously. Those biases aside, I think it was my favorite meal ever. Of course it could have had something to do with the company, and now that I think about it, the soju :D

   We went to a place called Woodstock, which has been there forever, and is renowned for its collection of music from the 70’s and 80’s. It was very loud and very fun. The whole clientele would shout to songs like Don’t Fear the Reaper, and Fame, then toast and congratulate each other for knowing the words, and then make more requests.

   There is no pictorial evidence of this night, intentionally, so you’ll just have to believe me, but I hit the hay exhausted and slept like a baby, in spite of the fact that my room was directly over a hopping bar.

   This morning I made myself breakfast on the house. 

They provide toast and an egg for each guest, which we cook and clean up after. 

There was also a kind of hot drink made from peanuts, which is very soothing to people who have done shots the night before. Koreans have many, many remedies for this, which is especially nice for people like me, who have done shots the night before, but not any of the nights for about two years prior…

   I met my friend again, and we took the subway to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. 

This is a tiny, tiny portion of a very vast complex. It was designed according to geomantic theory, and perfect in that there is a "plain with a stream immediately to the south, and mountains around the other three sides." - (brochure)

Pagoda at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

This is the throne room of the king at Gyeonbokgung Palace.

And the throne room of the queen.

Every detail of this massive compound is lovely, and stands alone in beauty and design. There, I sound like a Korean brochure myself!

Figures like these are meant to ward off evil spirits.

Seoul seems to have hundreds of downtowns, which all have a unique flavor. This area was very different from the one I’m staying in, which is by Hongik University. 

This is the entrance to the Hongik campus. 

My area is more of a nightlife kind of place, and is very attractive in the dark, with the lights and music. In the daytime it looks busy, crowded, and is little overwhelming. 

The area by the palace is something completely different. It is spacious and rich, and the architecture is sophisticated and clean. The Korean version of Feng Shui, (I think it’s called Pong Su), is used to make decisions about aesthetics, etc. I found myself wanting to take pictures of all the edges, because the lines are so very, very beautiful to me. I love it here.

This is a Performing Arts building.

This pagoda houses a very old bell that is only rung on New Year's Eve. The streets are closed to vehicles, and everyone crowds around to here the monks ring it twelve times.

My friend Shelley says that Seoul is difficult to understand, because of the unique blend of modern and ancient, not only in architecture, but in thought and culture. Construction began on this palace in 1394.

This water way was filled in a long time ago, and recently re-discovered. It's beauty has revitalized this area's business.

   Hauling my suitcases around has been challenging, and I’m ready to unpack for keeps. However, Seoul is full of angels. I was struggling with a bag, trying to lug it up three stories of stairs to come out of the subway, and a girl just came up beside me, grabbed on, and worked with me the whole way to the street. Then she smiled and left, like it was nothing. She probably saved me from having a heart attack. My whole experience has been like that. It’s difficult to plan for benevolence, but I keep getting myself into scrapes that I don’t recognize as close calls, and being saved by these kind, generous, sweet people. I love it here!

   Tomorrow I will check out and make my way back to Incheon Airport, where someone from my school will meet me and take me to Asan. I’m so excited to meet my fellow students and move into my dorm. I heard there are three major hot springs near there!

Annyeonghikyeseyo, (goodbye, as said by the person leaving)

Grace

Have arrived. Stop. All is well. Stop.

   I have wanted to travel all my life. My dad was a military man and a faithful subscriber to National Geographic. Between his stories of traveling through Europe on standby with my mom, and the glossy pictures of Tibet, or the Amazon, or Alaska, I have had an almost constant ache to go, ever since I can remember. I narrowed my top choices down, and decided my goal is to see all the places I haven’t been yet. Considering that I’m 35 this year and this is my first trip off the continent, I’m a bit behind. But better late than never!

   So this trip is a non-stop series of firsts for me. It was the first time I officially needed my passport. (The Canada Incident doesn’t count: I waylaid the poor official at the sleepy Alberta border above Eureka, Montana, and made him stamp my passport because I was so excited to have it, even though it wasn’t required to enter Canada at that time). It was my first time flying internationally, flying on such a huge plane, and for such a long time! I had to trade my window seat for a middle seat in an exit row, but I ended up being very grateful for the extra leg room. I still managed to see some mountains as we flew over Alaska, and some vast expanses of unbroken snow as we flew over Siberia. It was a bit surreal to me, how far we flew, how big the ocean is, and how white the snow from five miles above.

   When we landed, everything was different. The sky is a different color, signage is different, street markings, everything. It is complete, and disorienting. A wonderful young man helped myself and another American girl through the hazards of the train to the main terminal, customs, and baggage claim. Then suddenly, I was on my own, and I had no idea what to do. I had booked a hotel near to the airport, so that I could walk off the plane and into the shower and bed, but I underestimated the vastness of the airport when it comes to locating the shuttle. I began to wander a little bit, feeling like I might cry.  An airport employee saw me and chased me down, asking me if he could help, and we worked it out.    He allowed me to use his phone to talk to my hotel, and when I gave it back I remembered to use both hands, and to bow and say, “Kamsahamnida,” which is “thank you” in Korean. A look of pure surprise and pleasure flashed over his face, and he took the phone with both hands and bowed to me. I don’t know how to express this well, but it was an exchange of such honor, somehow, while still being firmly separate from each other, and was very powerful to me. I felt like I was going to be ok, and I think the floodgates of my curiosity and adventurousness opened fully.

   I’m here! It’s so different and fascinating! I can’t stop smiling! I am thrilled beyond expression to have so much time ahead of me to explore and learn and experience.

   In my fuzzy state, (I purposefully stayed awake on the plane, in order to help myself accommodate the time change more quickly) it took me about half an hour to figure out how to turn on the lights in my hotel room last night. I discovered that my room key, which seemed like an old fashioned, out-of-date piece of wood, is actually an electronic device, which you must insert into a receptor, which then activates the light switches. These are small, square buttons that do not respond without the key being in its cradle. Very cool.

I slept well and solidly for about eight hours, and woke up at three in the morning Korean time. Incidentally, we are seventeen hours ahead of Pacific time. I tell my kids the best way for me to figure it out, from your end, is to add five hours to your current time and then change the PM or AM to its opposite. For example, if it is twelve noon there, add five hours, which makes 5 PM, and then change the PM to AM. Twelve noon in California equals 5:00 AM here, the next day.

   I did some repacking and organizing, and then read the paperwork from the Department of Health, in order to make myself sleepy. When I woke up again it was a more decent hour, and I started preparing to go out. It’s hard to admit, since I don’t consider myself a ‘fraidy cat, but I was scared, and I procrastinated. I was scared of getting lost and not being able to find my way back, of committing some social wrong that I wouldn’t know how to fix, and maybe of being more overwhelmed than I already was. At any rate, I got myself out the door, and I’m so glad I did.

   First of all, there was a water dispenser that I hadn’t known about, with both cold and hot water. I had exhausted the supply of drinking water in my room, and somehow remembered not to swallow shower or sink water, so I was pretty thirsty. I also made myself a decent cup of coffee, which does wonders for the soul, you know.  Then I found a Dunkin’ Donuts right on the corner, and while I didn’t go in, it made me smile and gave me a landmark. I saw some birds and plants I recognized, which balanced the unfamiliarity of the signs and billboards, the makes and models of the foreign cars, and the color of the sky. Many of the buildings here have what must be gardens on their roofs. I can see trees and bushes and some grasses from the street below.

   I found a park with a path through it, and took some pictures. While I was walking along, I think what I have done finally hit me. I made it. I made it to today. I am here, with time, and resources, and help, both from my new connections in Korea, and my family and friends back home. What a crazy, crazy thing to be doing!

   Now I’m preparing to go back to the airport to meet a wonderful lady who is going to help me learn how to navigate the subways and find my next hotel in Seoul. Thanks to Professor Keith Foust, at Shasta College, and his hard work and energy on my behalf, I have a connection here to speak English with! I’m planning to grill her on money, ordering food, and the buses.

   I miss my family terribly, but am not feeling the same levels of devastation that marked the first twenty-four hours. Being able to see them and talk with them through Windows Messenger helped tremendously, and was a highlight of my day!

Until next time,

Grace

The entrance to the park, with a foot bridge leading off to the right.

I think this is some kind of chickadee.

View from a foot bridge in the city of Incheon, near the Sky hotel.

                    

Welcome to Swimming Upstream!

     In about three weeks I leave Redding for South Korea! I'll be staying in Seoul for a few days, and will then make my way to Soonchunhyang University, near Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, which is about 60 miles south. I've been accepted and scholarshiped to a foreign exchange program and will be there for four months.
     This semester will be mainly about the experience. I plan to study history and Korean, primarily. While these things do not forward my majors, which are Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Psychology, they will transfer to the California State University system when I come home.
     I'll be living in a dorm and will be taking eighteen or nineteen units. When I'm not studying or attending class, I intend to be traveling, taking pictures, and practicing my Korean!
     I hope to update my blog daily or very nearly so, once I've arrived. This is where I plan to share with you my pictures, experiences, and a feel for my daily life across the ocean.
     I so appreciate your support! I know communication with you will be my lifeline on this crazy adventure. I welcome your comments, and invite you to share my blog with those who come to your mind.


     Much love,
     Grace

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

- J.R.R. Tolkein

The Fellowship of the Ring