Jet Lag

So, here I am, sitting in my apartment that I will be living in for a year, trying to figure out if this is truly reality, and succumbing to the fact that even though it’s only 4 in the morning, I will not be going back to sleep. I just got on SKYPE and was overjoyed to see that my sister was on. After talking with her and my parents for a little bit I decided to come back to writing. There has been so much happen over the past 48 hours that I can not even begin to really write it all down. Here are the things that I want to remember and I thought it would be a nice way to journal for myself and inform all of you what is going on. I understand that some of this information will not be interesting to everyone but I do want to use this as a journal for me as well so if you start to get bored just skip to the part where I am in Korea J

4pm on February 26, 2011 in Muskegon, Michigan USA

            I traveled with my family and Justin to Grand Rapids where they dropped me off for my flight to Chicago. The flight was supposed to leave at 7:02. When we arrived, United Airlines informed me that my flight had been canceled because of weather but that they would try to get me a flight with American Eagle leaving at 6:55. The man printed off the changed information and sent me to the other end of the airport to check in to American. When I got to their counter the lady informed me that I did not have the correct information and the man at United had made a mistake so I had to go back and get him to fix it. I made my way back to the United counter and the man fixed my ticket and then I was able to get checked in at American. The wonderful thing that came of it was that they never made me pay for my baggage and I thought I was going to have to do that. We proceeded to make our way to the food court for dinner and after a delicious sub sandwich and wonderful conversation I had to say my goodbyes. These were tear filled and sad but also exciting because I knew that a new adventure was beginning.

6:55 pm Grand Rapids (supposed departure time for my flight)

            As you can guess, we did not leave at 6:55. Our plane that was supposed to take us to Chicago was still sitting at a Chicago terminal waiting to be de-iced. After the allotted time for de-icing, Chicago decided to shut down all flights from their airport for an hour because they had to plow the runway. When the plane finally did get to Grand Rapids, over half of the people on my flight had changed their flights until the next day because they had missed their connecting flights. This meant that most of us on the flight were able to have an entire row of seats to ourselves. I was grateful at this point that I would have had a 6 hour layover in Chicago because I did not feel rushed or nervous at all about making my international connection. We finally boarded our plane at 9:15 but then had to wait another 45 min for them to de-ice our plane.

9:40pm Chicago

            We landed in Chicago and I had to then figure out how to get to terminal 5 – the international terminal. For this to happen I had to make my way across the Chicago airport to the tram where I then had to check in again. It was an amazing blessing that I did not have to recheck my baggage because the lines were crazy long. They had a separate line for those of us with carryons only which was much shorter. I then made me way through security again to my gate. I was so happy when I got there because it meant that I had made it through all the hoops and security and was officially on my way to Korea.

I was boarded and situated on my flight by 12:50pm. They again had to de-ice our plane which took another 40 min but by this time I was pretty exhausted and had fallen asleep. The flight was uneventful and I sat next to two very nice ladies who both spoke a tiny bit of English. Towards the end of the flight I started truly freaking out. I had been so focused on getting everything ready to be able to get to Korea that I had not started to think about what would happen once I got there. I knew who was picking me up and what they looked like but I started thinking: what happens if they are not there to pick me up, I do not have contact information for them; what if I had to have other papers that I did not know about and they will not let me through customs; what happens if my bags do not come and no one speaks English and can help me; what happens if, if and if. I started really freaking out and crying again but then I just started praying harder and harder that God would calm my nerves because I knew He was in control. That is when the lady on my left started making conversation with me. We had not talked the entire flight but she struck up and conversation with me and I can guarantee God put her there for me. We did not even talk about what I was nervous about and yet just making small talk with her completely calmed my nerves. The couple behind me was going to Korea for their son’s wedding in Seoul and started talking with me about what I was doing in Korea. They informed me that I looked like a teacher, was very sweet and that everyone would love me. I know it sounds little but for someone who was freaking out about everything it was probably the best thing anyone could have said. As we were getting ready to get off the plane the lady to my left looked at me and wished me the best of luck and said may God bless you. My theory was then proven – God knew exactly who I needed at my point of vulnerability and because she was willing to listen to His leading she was able to truly make a difference for me. I have no idea if she knows how much God used her, but just by making small talk with me and letting God speak through her she changed my whole experience. God is amazing!

6:40am Monday February 28 Incheon Airport, South Korea

            We landed at the airport in South Korea and I made my way through the maze to find immigration. I will say that the airport here is very well laid out and each sign had both Korean and English listed. I stood in line at immigration for a very long time and received my new stamp in my passport! I then made my way to baggage claim where I found a luggage carrier and saw both of my bags right away. I was overjoyed that my bags had made it! The next and final step was to make my way out and to find Mr. Mark (Vice Principal) and Isajannim (founder of KONIS). I felt the butterflies in my stomach as I looked out the doors and saw a huge line of people smiling and staring at us. Many of them had professional looking signs that held the names of the person they were waiting for. Many signs were typed and fancy and I frantically looked around for a Canadian and a Korean holding my sign. I looked over and I saw a sign that was made out of crayon, had a giant heart and said, “Welcome to Korea Miss Heather.” I knew at that moment that everything was going to be amazing. I met Mr. Mark and Isajannim and they were so friendly. They immediately asked me how the flight was, how I was feeling, if I needed anything, etc. We made our way to the money exchange station and Mr. Mark started filling me in about everything I could possibly ever want to know about Korea, Seoul, KONIS, the people I would be working with, etc. We made our way out to an extremely nice black Jaguar that was probably the most modern car I have ever ridden in. It was so high tech and apparently that is very common here. Koreans LOVE their gadgets. From the Incheon Airport we had about a 45 min drive inland and during that drive I again was bombarded with an information download. I know that I will never remember all of what he said but I was so grateful to have an outpouring of information. I would always rather be informed too much than not enough.

            We arrived to the school and I got to meet all the teachers that I would be working with. There are four floors at the school and everything is kid sized. On the first floor is the office, teacher’s lounge, teacher’s restroom, (yes we have one because all of the other ones are way small because they are kid sized) music and art room, the gym room, and the kitchen. You make your way to the second floor and that is where the blue jays are. The blue jays are the youngest children. They are children who are 2-3. Now, when I say they are 2-3, you have to remember that in Korea, ages are vastly different than in the states. When you are born in Korea you are one year old; this means that when I say 2-3 Korean, it means they are 1-2 if you are trying to make a comparison.

            On the next floor of the school we have the green parrots. This is where my classroom is and the children are 3-5 (Korean age).  I love my classroom and I am really excited to get started! On the top floor are the golden eagles. These are children who are 5-6 years old(Korean). Our school also has a garden and a playground. I will attempt to take pictures and load them on the blog when I get back there.

            After we visited the school Mr. Mark and Isajannim took me to get a cell phone. Apparently in Korea you have to be Korean to get a cell phone plan so Isajannim has the teachers on his plan and plans here are different than in America. I do have a cell phone here but I think it will be better to use my home phone to call the states. We are still trying to figure out all the logistics of calling America but it is very nice to have a phone in case I need to get in touch with someone here in Korea.

            The next step on our list was to get some food. I had not eaten in over 12 hours so I was getting hungry. We made our way back to the school and I had a plateful of about 7 different types of Korean dishes. Rice is always a staple and so I know that I will be eating a lot of it this year. The food was delicious but very different; I even tried tofu for the first time. After I was full it was time to come to my apartment so I could see it and figure out what I still needed to get. It is a very nice apartment with everything looking fairly new. It is a larger apartment by Korean standards and yet it is still only one large room that includes my kitchen, bedroom and living room. I do have a small bathroom, a nice size wardrobe, bookcase, desk, a place for the tv that is coming soon, and a small little room off the back that will have my washer and a place to hang all my clothes because there are not clothe dryers here. It is a very nice apartment and so far I have no complaints.

            A huge blessing came when we found a cord that worked for my computer, would not fry it and was able to fit into Korean outlets.  We learned that I needed some basic things for food, sheets, a power cord, etc so they decided to take me to what I think was called E Mart. This store was insane. There were 9 floors of parking underneath the building and there were so many people there that we had to park on the 7 one down. Then, once you made it to ground level again there were 9 floors of shopping. Each floor had different items and I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff available. This store was one that I will not go to very often because it is not in my vicinity but it is a place where we were able to get everything on my list so that is why we went.

            We returned to my apartment and I was able to spend the evening unpacking. I have another small shopping list of things that I need to get but it is not too long which is nice. I will be very happy when I can get some things on the wall so it will look a little more like a home. One of my biggest blessings of the day was when I was finished unpacking and about to try and figure out something to keep me busy and something to eat. I received a call on my new cell phone from one of the teachers at the school inviting me to come over to her place which was just across the street. She was having dinner and had some extra macaroni and cheese J. We had a lovely conversation and I enjoyed getting to know her. She is from the USA and so it was nice to talk to her about her experience here. She has been here six months already and was able to give me a lot of good tips. She also had some extra things that were on my list of things to pick up so I was able to get them from her and that was so nice. She also invited me to go with her today and see Seoul. She is going to show me around, how to use the public transportation system here, where some of the good places to shop, eat, etc are and just hang out today. Today in Korea it is a holiday because on this day in 1919 they declared their independence from Japan. I am looking forward to seeing the city and having a friend here in Seoul.

            As I mentioned earlier, I was given information overload on Seoul and Korea and here are some of the many things I learned:

• The entire country of South Korea could fit into Lake Michigan. It is very small and yet the population of Korea is 1/6 of the United States. That is a lot of people in a very small space.
• Korean people love their holidays. There is at least one holiday a month and they even celebrate a Thanksgiving here. It is celebration that lasts three days and it is where they are thankful for the harvest. It is obviously not when we have our Thanksgiving but I was excited to hear that they celebrate Thanksgiving.
• Space is a commodity here. Everything is small. Within one or two blocks from my apartment there are a couple thousand shops. It is probably not that many but it seems like it. Shops are super small and all right next to each other. Buildings here are not wide but tall. Each shop is about a one room size and they are tons of them right next to each other and each floor is a different shop. There are obviously shops that are different, (E Mart for example) but smaller seems to be a lot more common.
• I live a couple blocks away from what they call the Blue House. This would be the equivalent to what we call the White House. I am living in what is known as a very wealthy part of Seoul. It does not look that way because it is old money but it is definitely a very nice part of Seoul.
• Seoul is in a gorgeous location but you can not really tell because there are so many buildings with no space in between them.
• Koreans are the leaders of the world in flat screens.
• Koreans LOVE their gadgets. I have seen more gadgets than I know what to do with it.
• Most cars in Korea are less than 5 years old and you will hardly ever see a car with rust on it. Once they become older they ship their cars to other countries such as China.
• There is a Buddhist Temple between my apartment and the school (I am about 5 blocks away from the school)
• Korean people are very friendly
• My apartment does not have a normal key. The apparatus I use to unlock it is a little tiny sensor. I put the sensor up to the door in a special spot and it lights up blue, I hear a noise and my door unlocks. To leave my apartment I press a button and my door unlocks. It is pretty cool.
• You have to pay about 1 dollar a bag for trash bags and they are about the size of a Target bag. They have a ridiculous system for getting rid of trash. You also have to have 5 bags for taking trash out: 1. plastic 2. glass 3. paper 4. aluminum 5. I can’t remember right now
• Jet lag sucks
• Korean beds are like sleeping on the floor – their mattresses are very hard.
• They have an easy public transportation to follow and they have made it very user friendly – even for foreigners
• My phone came with a map of the subway system on it
• They have internet phones – no I do not know what you do with it but I do have one
• Koreans are heavy drinkers. They have this special drink called soju but apparently it tastes like a mix of vodka, tequila, and turpentine. I think they were kidding on the turpentine J but in other words it is insanely strong. A bottle of it only costs about a buck and if you were to drink a cup of it you could get wasted. I was informed of this because I will apparently see it at almost all restaurants because Koreans do not drink at their meals unless it is beer or this soju.
• My Vice Principal sounds identical to John Corbett
• They have Korean baseball which is apparently really funny to watch
• Volleyball is a big thing in Korea
• We get American movies that have Korean subtitles and there are usually about 4 playing in the theaters each week. If you go to the theater you have assigned seating. You purchase your ticket by where you want to sit. Prices are not affected but it is so they can maximize seating by making sure to not have one seat here and there open when they can have 2 or 3 together.
• The heating in Korea comes from the floors. My thermostat is run by me deciding what temperature I want the hot water to be that is heating my floors. I do not decide the temperature of my room but that water. It is very different.
• Prices here are a little cheaper than the states unless you want specifically “American” things.  
• Korean currency is about 1,000 won to $1. It is a little more than that but it is easier to convert it like that.
• When I ate with Lillian last night she was shocked that I was only 22. She told me that I seem more confidant and I carry myself better than a 22 year old. This made me feel very good and I know that that confidence is only from God. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me over this year!! I know it is going to be an enriching and wonderful experience.
• I am sure there are many more things that I learned but these are the ones that I am remembering now.