I'm here!! I'm actually in Seoul, South Korea, on the other side of the world and I still can't even believe it. I have so much to say and not the vaguest idea of where to start.
OK, to begin, probably the most important question is whether or not I like it so far. To which my response is YES. I don't even have the words to begin to describe how happy I am to be here. I seriously feel already that I am a completely different person than the one that boarded the plane in Minneapolis one week ago today. So, speaking of the plane, I guess that's a good place to start.
The flight was actually fantastic. It was easier and seemed shorter than my flights to Europe, which is completely illogical as it's more than twice as long, but the fact that I had an entire row to myself probably helped. Seriously, the airline gods were smiling upon me that day, clearly, because that NEVER happens. So, the flight was easy, and for any of you that are coming to visit, I would highly recommend Singapore Air.
Anyway, so I got here a day too early to go to orientation, so I had to fend for myself for the night. All I will say about that experience is that it's a really good thing that people bow in this country a lot, because it seems like exactly the right thing to do when you are the epitome of a stupid foreigner that doesn't speak one syllable of the language. Literally. I had at least 3 conversations that consisted of a person trying to communicate something to me, me staring completely blankly back, and then them saying it again, this time with hand gestures, and me staring blankly back, and then them saying it again, with hand gestures and incredibly slowly, and me still staring blankly back, and then the person finally walking away. So, yeah, the bow just seems really appropriate. Like, with each bow (because I usually do it several times) I'm saying internally "yes, I know, I'm very stupid, thank you for your patience."
Anyway, I'm not even sure how to describe Seoul. I envisioned this place that was so densely populated that you couldn't even walk down the street without being shoulder to shoulder with people, and it's totally not like that. There are definitely times when it gets that way, like, on the subway, but thus far the actual streets aren't like that at all. I haven't gotten to go to too many neighborhoods just yet because our training schedule is incredibly intense, but our training facility is in the center of Seoul. Anyway, I swear, this city was made with me in mind. Everything is open all the time. You're 5 steps away from bustling activity at any time no matter where you are, you can buy liquor at all hours of the day, there are street vendors every two steps, karaoke is central to the culture, and it's CHEAP. Of the three neighborhoods I've been to, they all have a completely different vibe, which is so cool. Hongdae is basically the college area of town, so it's got this incredible energy. It's full of dance clubs and crowded bars, and it's really bright and colorful. It reminds me of all the pictures you see of Seoul with the bright neon lights and everything. Then Itaewon is basically the foreigner ghetto. That's where you find all your Western stuff and English speakers and bars that have pool tables (!!!!) and Bombay Sapphire martinis **big smile** But, without question, my 2 favorite things thus far are Noraebang and Soju!!
Noraebang are karaoke rooms, and they are as ubiquitous to Korean culture as happy hour in the U.S. BUT, a Noraebang is your own private room. So, you gather up all your pals and go into this room, and sing all night long! It's, like, my own personal heaven, made even greater by the fact that you bring your own alcohol. Which brings us to Soju! I had never heard of this before I came here, but it is this alcohol that tastes like water except a little crisper with maybe a hint of a minty flavor?? It's hard to describe, but it's DANGEROUS because it is incredibly strong, I think comparable to Everclear maybe? and yet so tasty! So, you can get this stuff absolutely anywhere, including the convenience stores that are every 5 paces here, 24 hours a day, for the bargain price of 1000 won, which is equivalent to roughly $.90. Yes, you read that right. It's less than a dollar a bottle. So, clearly, this leads to drunkeness. No problem! Stumble out of the Noraebang, and fall head long into a street vendor, parading his wares of delicious street food that's also insanely cheap and delicious. Heaven?? I think yes!
But what would the Noraebang be without a crew of friends! I think this is what has made this experience so fantastic thus far. First off, as you all know, I was feeling incredibly confused about the direction my life was taking prior to coming here. I've always kind of felt like something was just missing, or, I don't even know what, and I feel like I have fallen headlong into this massive group of people that are exactly the same in that regard. What's so great is that, everyone is so incredibly open-minded and accepting to begin with, and when you couple that with the fact that we all arrived in more or less the same boat as far as not knowing anyone, it has made every second of meeting people amazing. Point being, for the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to do. The clarity of it all is just so refreshing. Also, it's this unbelievably diverse group of people. There's something like 7 or 8 countries where English is the native language, and those countries are all very well represented. I'm in training right now, so we're all in this big dorm, and it's just so awesome walking through the halls and hearing all the different accents and terminologies for things. It's like, on top of learning Korean, we're learning all these different versions of English as well. Also, there are a surprisingly large number of people here that are Korean American, and then of course white and black, too and other Asian ethnicities. So, it's just, this sea of colors and accents. It's just so cool and I've never had a comparable experience before now. Also, with those different ethnicities, listening to peoples' stories about their upbringing is just so eye opening. The cultures around the world are just incredibly different. We stay up for hours just talking about our backgrounds, and I hang on every word.
So, I really do get along with everybody, but my new close friends are the best ever!! One of the first people I met here is Alicia and she and I just clicked right away, so I spend as much time with her as possible which is mostly at meals and after training. She's from San Francisco, she's Korean but adopted, and she's hard to explain. She's a writer and has this incredible style. I guess she has a lot of traits of people from SF, but I've never been, so I don't know how to describe her other than to say she's awesome--incredibly generous and kind, unbelievably open-minded. Then there's KK--his name is African so KK is the easiest form of his name. He's from Uganda originally, but his dad is in the UN, so he's literally lived everywhere. Josh is another Korean from Seattle who is just incredibly sweet and considerate, and also an incredibly good person to have around since he actually speaks the language. Kahlid is this teddy bear of a black man from North Carolina who literally can't utter a sentence without everyone dying laughing. And then there's Andryos, who you have to meet to believe he's for real. He's from Brazil and the second I met him, I asked if he'd be offended if I called him Jersey since he looks like he stepped off a taping of Jersey shore. Seriously. Works out every day, wears skin tight clothing, gelled hair, does the fist pump, giant diamond studs in both ears. The man wore head to toe skin tight denim yesterday. I was afraid he was going to rip his sleeve if he tried to fist pump. But he's awesome. Super funny and nice. And entertaining. Clearly. So, in this group, I am the minority. I am the only caucasian which is both incredibly humbling and an entirely new experience. So, these are my closest friends, but there's quite a few others that I really like as well, and let's face it, we'll be here all night if I go into detail on all of them.
Anyway, the training has been brutal. It's 12 hours every single day, so I'm feeling very disconnected from the US right now since I haven't been able to really talk to anyone, but I think initially that's probably better anyway because you need to just throw yourself out there and immerse yourself in this new life. I move in to my apartment on Wednesday and while I'm very excited to not feel like a transient anymore, I'll be pretty sad to not be surrounded by my fellow teachers anymore.
OK, there's so much more to say, but I'm getting really tired so I'll leave it at that for now. I absolutely love it here and spend every single day excited for what is yet to come!
XOXO
Tiffany
