Hello From Korea!

Hello, hello, it's January 7, 2011 and I'm in Seoul:) I'm writing this on some word document because I don’t seem to get Internet in my room. I will post this as soon as something can be figured out.

Hello from Korea! 

The Flight:

After checking in my baggage, trying get Korean Airlines to let me keep Dukarol in their fridge and having to publicly explain what traveler’s “diarrhea” means to one of the men (geez, really), it was finally time to says my final goodbyes.  Kissing friends, family, and Alex goodbye was so difficult. It was totally surreal; the idea of leaving for 6 months had become a reality.

The flight to Korea was quite comfortable. I have never had such good looking and happy flight attendants. Their uniforms were fashionable, their hair and make-up perfect…Frankly, I was jealous.  The service on Korean Airlines was great.  I tried bibimbap for the first time on that flight—the first of many bibimbap meals it seems. They even gave us instruction cards on how to put the dish together.  Of course, I thought it was adorable, I find myself saying “how cute!” a lot more these days.  I stole the card and put it in my scrapbook.  Speaking of which…I read all the messages my friends wrote in the scrapbook, and I’m grateful to have such great people in my life.  And yes boys, you will be rewarded with whatever Girls Generation things I can find, hah. And I did try to familiarize myself with some K-pop while on the plane.  I listened to some Girls Generation, some Big Bang, and some 2pm (aka the only bands I recognized on the playlist). I have to say, I really enjoyed the music. Many of the songs made me want to bounce around and draw happy kitten faces on everything. 

Arrival:

I arrived In Seoul around 4am yesterday sick and exhausted.   My classmates and I had to wait 6 hours for a student from Sookmyung Women’s University to pick us up.  We decided to grab some food from the airport, and we flocked towards the McDonalds. Typical. But psh, some of us were a little more adventurous and opted for the Zinger at KFC.  Later, we each had a big bowl of Udon soup, which was delish and warmed by belly. Though, it also was not Korean.

The student came to pick us up and when we left the airport, we finally began to sink into Korea!

We took a cab ride from the bus station that would have normally been around $10-15 CAN but only cost us 3,500 won…that is just below $3.50 CAN ladies and gents. I know—awesome! Transit is even awesomer. It’s less than a dollar per fare. 

After settling into our rooms, which are quite nice, we decided to go for a late lunch.  Yum, yum, some more bibimbap for me! This one was so good, and for only $4.50 CAN, I knew I had found my go-to place to eat.

First Impressions:

Fashion: Dress is very similar to the way people dress in downtown Toronto. Military greens, top buns, parkas, military boots, (on HEELS!!—And I have to tell you, its all up and down steep hills here), fur, leopard, etc…A lot of the stuff here is very cutesy and feminine--it'll be difficult to find a skirt below the knee here--again, not unlike what one would see Asians in Toronto clothed in.  I will update more once I get a better sense of the fashion.  I haven’t been around the area enough and it doesn’t seem like there are very many places to shop for clothes around the university. One point of concern: my shoe size is 8 US, every shoe store I’ve passed by seems to have shoes on display that look smaller than a size 6.  Will shoe shopping be an issue?  I sure hope not. 

Coffee craze: Down the road, literally every other shop is a café.  In some cases, there are cafes on top of cafes in the same building! Seriously! Finding a place with wi-fi will not be a problem.  And the pastries look YUM, and obviously cute.

Girls only: It seems like everyone who lives around this around is female. Maybe that has something to do with it being a women’s university…But I mean even on the street there seems to be a lack of testosterone. Not complaining, but it’s just peculiar.