I’ve finally arrived in South Korea. It’s three-thirty a.m. and I’ve just woken up from my jetlagged slumber to find myself in the basement of the airport. Although, the basement of this airport isn’t something creepy, like one could easily assume—It’s a spa. I arrived yesterday around four o’clock in the afternoon and found my way down here with my entire luggage. It wasn’t until I tried to check in to the spa that the realization that I am in Asia really took hold. They don’t speak English, and I don’t speak Korean. But the people so far have been really nice and helpful. I think it’s obvious sometimes that I’m lost, and people try to lend a helping hand when I’m walking in circles. So, twenty dollars and eight hours since I’ve landed, here I am writing to you, oh Internet world.
The jitters really didn’t hit me until almost 2 hours before my mother and I had to leave her house for the airport. I thought I would be anxious and nervous for the past week, but instead I just slept and ate as much good-old American food as I could. Once we were in the car, however, it really hit me hard and I was nervous. My flight left at six a.m. and the flight itinerary recommended arriving to the airport three hours early for international flights. So, we left New Hampshire at one a.m., just to make sure.
Mom was really helpful during the leaving process. She helped me pack, and made sure I had everything I needed. She even looked up the luggage rules online, making sure I wasn’t bringing too much. Once on the road, she stopped at an ATM to give me a little investment, making sure I would be able to eat all the rice and kimchi my little stomach could handle. Love you, Mom.
After my mother took a few picture of my on the curb at the airport, I walked in expecting to go though all kinds of checkpoints where I’d have to fill out hours of paperwork and explain my reasons for living in Korea for the next year. On the contrary, there was nothing. I was one of three people in the airport, and the only one awake. Turns out the airport didn’t even open until four-thirty a.m. So I did what any twenty-three-year-old would do in that situation. I sat around watching Jackie Chans’ Kung-Fu classic, The Drunken Master until personnel arrived.
During international check-in I met another girl that was teaching English in Daegu. She was about my age, and graduated from the University of South Carolina. The difference between our situations was that she was going through a private school, and didn’t have orientation. I tried to talk to her about our journeys this year, breaking the ice a bit, and just passing the time. That only got me so far because, for one reason or another, she didn’t want to talk. I left it alone, chalking it up to the early hours of the day. Again, I saw her in San Francisco during our layover. We talked for a brief minute, and then she went to the bathroom, evading the conversation altogether and I never saw her again. What I got from her situation is that she and a friend (who flies in tomorrow) are doing this together at the private school. This girl didn’t seem very extroverted, and I think I may have annoyed her a little. But does that make sense? If she doesn’t want to talk to random people already—especially ones doing the same thing she is, in the same city she’s doing it in—what does she expect from this experience? I hope her and her friend don’t do what I think a lot of people do when they travel in groups in foreign lands—they create a bubble around themselves that keeps the outside world out, and the inside world in.
One of my best friends has been fortunate enough to travel a lot in his life (China, Africa, Europe), and that’s one thing he always stressed was the best angle a traveler can take—travel alone. I know, this can seem daunting, and even down right crazy to someone who’s never tried it. But the fact is one rarely is indeed alone. They are always meeting new people and going for small stints with fellow travelers or locals to other places. This works best when everyone leaves his or her homeland alone. Then, while out there in the wild world, we want to connect with others doing the same thing we are. Individuals look for this, when groups tend to confide amongst themselves, often missing great opportunity at new friendships and experiences. Now don’t get me wrong, it would be great to travel with a friend. But I think that it should be broken up into segments of time, where the party is split, rejoins, the splits again.
So, orientation starts tomorrow, and I’m really excited to get into the city. I’m not sure whether I’ll have Internet or not for the next few days, but I’ll try to keep a good memory of what happens so I can share it with you all. Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment