Here at Last...

My long day of traveling has come to an end and I must admit, it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined! However, I feel as though having very spacious seats on my first two flights (one being 13 hours and all) made the situation much more comfortable! I had no problems getting through immigration at Seoul and I actually made my first friend while standing in line! Her name is Janice from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and I learned she is also teaching English for the same company! The more we chat , we learn that we both live in the same city (10 mins apart), are sharing a vehicle from the airport (yay!), we are both fire signs (very compatible), and this is her second year with the company. She immediately takes me under her wing and tells me as much as she can fit into the 1.25 hr car ride! As we get closer to Bundang, to my surprise, the driver hands me his cell phone. Who could it be I wondered? "CASSIEBEAR" - she screams over the phone. And the converation begins as such...

Me: "Sionna? How the hell did you get my cab drivers cell phone number?"
Sionna: "Cass, don't ever doubt me."

We then proceed to make plans for the following evening in which she will travel to my school after we finish work. We then arrived at Janice's apartment and boy is it fabulous! A high-rise with an elevator! Her apartment is beautiful (I'm just hoping mine is as lovely). Very spacious and looks very new/modern. I then leave my new friend and the driver takes me to my new pad. I find that I am not as lucky as Janice...but lets just say it has a lot of character! I am greeted by a fellow mgr. (Tony) from a nearby school. Tony then takes me inside my studio and explains how to use the washing machine, heating system, stove, TV, etc. (as everything is written in Korean characters). He then leaves and I begin to unpack. It's about 11:30 pm and I'm wired from all the excitement! I proceed to unpack everything and put things in its place. The previous tenant graciously left a handful of hangers behind which makes things much easier! I completely finish around 2:30 am with my current issue of Vogue positioned ever so carefully on my table and I attempt to get a full nights rest as my new mgr. Jae will be picking me up at 1:30 pm the following day.

7:30 am rolls around and I can no longer stay in bed. I get up, make some hot tea and bread with strawberry jam (which thank goodness they provided for me) and watched some morning television. None of the pictures come in well (all black and white and fuzzy) so hopefully Jae can give me further direction. But as I'm eating my gourmet breakfast, all I can hear is Spanish on the TV...go figure in Korea right!?! I'm actually pleasantly at ease because at least its something familiar!

Now its time to go explore my block a little. I can't go too far as I don't know my address yet in case I get lost. But I'd love to stumble upon a currency exchange so I may purchase a few items! For now, I must take a much anticipated shower in my Korean style bathroom (the whole room is a shower with a drain on the floor next to the toilet and sink). However, I can't figure out how to get hot water yet - UGH! But I'll keep trying. So in the meantime, wish me luck!!