Getting Started

As most of you know, I was lucky enough to spend three weeks traveling in January.  Although it hasn't been quite a month since I left for this adventure, as I look back at my photos and journal it certainly feels like it's been longer just because of the number of things I saw and did during that time.  This was my first time traveling by myself, which means I was entirely in charge of the planning and organizing of everything for this trip. I guess the first thing I learned about traveling by myself is that it makes me much more organized.  Overall I felt really prepared for this trip--by the time I left school on my last Friday before my trip I had everything booked, printed, and my bag was packed.

My flight left on January 12th, but I actually went up to Seoul on January 11th to say goodbye to one of my Korean friends who was about to leave to study French in France for the year.  It was a bit of a bittersweet start to the trip because I met Ji Young early in time time in Korea, which means by this point we've collected quite a few memories together over the past year and a half.  As I said bye to her I couldn't help think "man, there goes another one."  Out of all the people I used to hang out in Seoul with, Ji Young was the last one from our "group" that was still here.  Of course, it wasn't really goodbye--she is one of the people I really do believe that I will see again.  Nonetheless, it was a good reminder of how quickly time goes by, which was a good boost of motivation to see as much as possible while I'm still in Asia.

After saying bye to Ji Young, I went back to my hostel and had a restless night's sleep.  One of my friends who knows me all too well sent this to me the next morning:

I don't think there's a better way to describe how I feel before I travel.  I never sleep well the night before I fly because 1) I'm afraid I'll oversleep and miss my flight 2) I really, really hate flying  3) I don't know what to expect of these places I've never been and 4) Excitement...because even though it's kind of terrifying that so much is unknown, it's also exhilarating.

Before I fly I actually quite often feel nauseous due to my anxiety, but luckily I wasn't SO bad this time, but I was mostly thinking about how I wanted to SLEEP once I got on the plane.

Nonetheless, I got on my flight, which was scheduled to leave around 1:00, but we ended up getting a little delayed. I didn't think it would be a problem because I was scheduled for a two hour layover in Vinetiane. And while it shouldn't have been a problem, our flight landed about an hour later than it was scheduled for, even though we only left about fifteen minutes late.  Again, this would have been ok, but I knew once I landed I needed to apply for my visa, go through customs, check into my next flight, and go through security again.  Needless to say, by the time we landed I was staring at my watch and ready to speed walk my way through any lines.

I rushed off the plane and luckily I found the smallest airport I've ever been to.  I filled out my visa form and was almost immediately given my visa (I'm pretty sure they didn't even look at what I wrote at all)  I was through customs in a breeze and walked over to the check-in area for domestic flights.

This is pretty much when I knew I wasn't in Korea anymore.  There were only a few small counters and when I went through security there was only one metal detector and the guy who was supposed to be watching it was quite literally picking his nose. When it came time to get my ticket checked there was no scanner, but just a list that my name was crossed off of.  There was only one room that everyone waited in, and when it was time to board there was no intercom--they just yelled and announced our flight.

I made it pretty much just in time to board my flight, which was fortunately a very short one.  Technically I could have saved some money by taking a bus from Vientiane (the capital of Laos) to Luang Prabang, but that would have been about a 7-8 hour bus ride, and I just didn't want to spend that kind of time on a bus during my short vacation.  The flight to Luang Prabang was only about 30 minutes, and I spent pretty much the entire time with my eyes glued to the window.  Laos is an incredibly mountainous country, and I was flying over the amazing landscape just as the sun was setting.

Once we landed, I walked off the plane into the refreshing rush of warm air, which is always a rejuvenating feeling when you're in the middle of a Korean winter.  I was also greeted by one phenomenal sunset.  Laos certainly knows how to make a good first impression.

Once I made my way to the arrival hall, I exchanged my money and got a cab to take me to my hostel.  Driving around and seeing the tuk-tuks everywhere I felt my anxiety diminish as I realized I was really back in SE Asia.

Once I got to my hostel I checked in and immediately realized it definitely wasn't as nice as I had been hoping for (or expected due to its good reviews online), but I knew I had to deal with it for at least a night.  I met my three roommates--a girl from CA, a girl from Europe (I don't remember which country because she left the next day and I never really got to talk to her), and a guy from Brazil.  After introducing ourselves and having some small talk I was asleep early that night--between the sleepless night beforehand and the stress/anxiety of flying, I was done for, but looking forward to getting out and exploring the next day.

Orientation

Apparently I've almost been in Korea for a week?

What?

It's all been a blur so far, and despite the fact that I'm in another country, it doesn't really feel THAT different yet.

But let's start from the beginning.

I left from Boston on the morning of the 18th.  Talk about an absolute insane mix of emotions.  As I sat in the Boston airport feeling completely sick to my stomach and trying my absolute hardest not to cry, I was seriously questioning my sanity.  Did I REALLY think it would be a good idea to go to Korea? What had overcome me in the past few months?!  Why did I think this was a good idea?!

Nonetheless, I got on the plane.  I actually slept for my entire flight from Boston to Chicago--I guess the 3 hours of sleep I got the night before weren't quite enough.  Once I got to Chicago I felt a whole lot better--we had a ton of EPIKers on our flight, so I was surrounded by people in the same position that I was in.  We were all nervous, we had all just said goodbye to our families, and we all had no idea what was ahead. There was some sort of comfort in our collective uncertainty.

The 14 hour flight from Chicago to Korea wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting.  There were plenty of movies to watch, and after days of stressing out about moving, it was kind of nice to sit back and just watch some movies and sleep.

Once we got to Korea, I gathered my things and met up with my recruiter.  From there we got on a bus with other EPIKers and began another 4 hour bus ride to our orientation site at Jeonju University.  We made a quick stop to get some food.  And what did I buy?

Pringles and Vitamin Water.

Nice work, Sarah.  Really starting life in Korea by taking in that culture!

Once we got to the University, we were all hot, tired, and had way too much luggage to haul around.  Luckily, check-in was easy enough (although they did check our temperature as part of the check-in process...random?)  and before not too long, we were finally in our rooms and ready for bed.

The next day started out pretty easyily.  We had a pretty awesome taekwondo performance at out Opening Ceremony...seriously these people were AMAZING! I really wish that I had recorded it because there's just no way I'll ever really be able to convey the awesome-ness that it really was.  You'll just have to believe me on this one.

Wednesday morning started with our medical check-up.  I knew about this check-up beforehand, but that didn't make it any less awkward.  This is a full on medical checkup--they do simple things from taking your height and weight, but they also do more intense things like take your blood and urine AND do an x-ray of your chest.  FUN!

Besides that, our days have consisted of classes until 8:30 night.  Classes range from everything from taekwondo (pretty fun!) to the more traditional stuff like lesson planning, classroom management, cooperative learning, and basically mini refresher classes on stuff I've already spent a lot of time learning about in college. It has been pretty exhausting to say the least, but after a year of being the teacher, it's interesting to be in the student's position again.

Today we went on a field trip around Jeonju's cultural sites.  It was really cool, but it was POURING pretty much all day (which is funny  because every other day it's just been INSANELY hot and humid).  We started the day by making a craft with traditional Korean paper (hanji).  Then, we headed to drumming class, where we all got to use traditional Korean drums --it was fun! Then we had a traditional lunch--bibimbap with a bunch of different side dishes.

After lunch, we headed to Hanok Village--this was a super cool area with some really traditional Korean architecture, but also plenty of modern shops.  It was a really cool area, and I definitely want to go back at some point when I have more time (and when it's not raining!)

Tonight we had the night off, which has been great because there really hasn't been any time to just chill since we've been here.  I've been meeting tons of people from all over the place, which is awesome, but also really draining.  I'm definitely the type of person that needs some alone time to recharge, so days that are so jam- packed with people 24/7 are super draining for me (don't get me wrong, going out after class has been fun!  But everything in moderation....)

Tomorrow and Sunday we have classes 9-8:30.  Monday we have our lesson demonstrations and meetings with our POE supervisors (and finally find out where we're going to be!), and Tuesday we head out to our new homes.

Although I've been in Korea for almost a week, it doesn't really feel like I'm in a different country because I am still surrounded by other westerners.  As much as I'm sure I'm going to miss orientation once it's done, right now I'm anxious to get settled into my new life and really start experiencing Korea.