I made it!

Ok, so I've now been in Korea for 4 days I guess. I got here on Tuesday night around 9, well Daegu I guess. Let me go back.

I woke up on Monday morning (well technically I never went to bed) and went to the airport only to discover that my flight to Vancouver had been cancelled due to mechanical problems. I checked in for that flight, which was 1.5 hours later (so many flights to Vancouver from Edmonton) and then my parents took me to Tim Hortons where I had some apple juice. Then we decided to go back home since there was no point hanging around the airport when we live maybe 15-20 minutes away (the advantage of living at the southern end of Edmonton). I went home and watched TV. I learnt something interesting....I think, then back to the airport.

I get on my flight and fall asleep almost right away. I wake up and realize that I'm on my way to Korea for a year. I panic somewhat and then fall back asleep. I got to Vancouver, walked right out of the airport into a cab. The driver was nice. He'd read something about teaching in Korea and said that the Koreans resented having to learn English and didn't want foreigners there (uh oh). I arrived at the consulate and I asked if my passport was ready and some guy didn't really say anything but just motioned for me to sit down. Luckily I was only sitting down for maybe 20 minutes and some other guy called my name. My passport was ready. I got in a cab and went back to the airport. I didn't really talk to the driver. I did manage to walk around downtown Vancouver for 5 or 10 minutes though but I didn't get to do anything else in Vancouver.

I'm back at the airport. There are a lot of Asians in the international teminal. I look at the flights. For some reason nearly all the flights are going to Asia except for one to Mexico City and one to New York JFK. Maybe another one. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing maybe. I walk around a bit. I sit down and watch the Price is Right then I go eat a cookie and have some more apple juice. Everyone one my flight is Korean except for a few people. Some are figure are probably going to teach English as well. I think about talking to one of them but don't. My flight is fine. I'm sitting on the aisle with a Korean man on the other aisle (it's a 2-3-2 plane) and his 5 year old daughter in between us. I sleep a bit but not that much. There's a white man half a row ahead of me on the other side of the aisle. I spy as he flips through his passport to see if he's going to teach English. Jonathan Bankman from some town I've never heard of in Manitoba. I don't see a visa but figure that I'm a good spy. There are a few movies. I watch Before the Sunset but am disappointed because I thought it was another movie with a similar title. It was alright though for an aeroplane movie. Then I go to sleep and wake up to find that Friday Night Lights is playing. I decide not to watch it so instead I just look at the screen. After 15 minutes I decide that's silly so I decide to just give in and watch it. Watching it made me grateful to be out of Texas and reconfirms my belief that American are way too into sports, especially high school ones. Why is this even a movie? I don't even remember if they won or lost. I fall back asleep. Then I look up and Alias is playing and it's halfway through an episode. I watch but 3 minutes later they cut it off and tell us we're landing.

The Seoul airport is nice. So much room. This isn't what I thought Asia would be like. Then again it's supposed to be the 2nd or 3rd nicest airport in the world. I go through immigration. I notice there's a special immigration line just for investors and it's next to the diplomatic line. How bizarre! The immigration lady doesn't say a word to me. I get my bags and go out. There's a man with my name on a sign. I've always wanted to be met at the airport by someone with my name on a sign. He doesn't speak much English and he offers to take my bags. One is way too heavy to carry. I carry it. I thought that I would be taken to the other airport for a domestic flight to Daegu. I realize that I'm just going to be taking a bus the whole way. The bus comes and I just get on.

The bus stops at some place. There's an announcement and people get off. I figure it's a break to get something to eat or go to the bathroom. I need to go to the bathroom but I'm hesitant to get off in case I'm left behind. There are only a few people left on the bus and I decide I can make it. I go in to the place which seems like a food court at the mall without a mall just a little kiosk. I can't find the bathroom. I go and walk along the outside. There it is! with the man and woman bathroom sign. I don't know whether I have to pay to use it or not. I use it without incident. I get back on the bus. It's still empty mostly. I decide to look at my korean book and put it away quickly. Too tired. Eventually, the TV comes on and the news is read. There were some fires and Korean people said things in Korean. Then a soap opera came on. Their emotions seem very exagerated. Funny how when you can't understand, everything just looks so cartoonish. Then we stop at a station and I'm worried since I don't know at which station I'm to get off. The man at the airport only told me 4 hours. 3:50 Minutes. I get out my guidebook and realize I'm far from Daegu. The bus has some English on it, including this place, east Daegu and west Daegu.

Then an hour later we stop again and everyone gets off so I follow. Being the only non-Asian on the bus a man picks me out right away and says my name. I figure it's my boss, Jupiter but I don't know for sure. He tells me that he's going to take me to Matt and Renee's and I'm going to stay there because someone is still living at my place. We go to McDonald's. It tastes the same. He then tells me his name. It is Jupiter. He takes me by the school and then to Matt and Renee's. They have special lanes here just for doing U-turns and they're everywhere. How bizarre. I get to Matt and Renee's. They seem nice. I stay up for a bit so that I'm not going to bed at 9:30. I ask them some general questions about Korea and we watch Troy for a bit, well I do (the for a bit part) and go to bed or maybe that was the second night. My bed seems wobbly.