Busy

It's 9:21pm as I type this. That's KST - Korean standard time. We're 14 hours ahead of EST, my native time zone. Shall we translate this? It feels like 7:21am and I've been awake since 5am (16hrs). So yes, I'm tired.

Day 2 of classes done. They keep us super busy, but the lectures are great and our "homeroom" teachers take good care of us. They even give us a small snack between class in the afternoon. ^^;'

This is what it looks like outside my window right now. (prettier in person..camera doesn't do looowww light well).

But to catch up, this is my first hour in Incheon Int'l Airport. It was sunrise, and a very pretty one.

From there I got on a bus. I should say that the flight I was on had two other teachers from the program/group. We met getting off the plane and stuck together through customs declaration. But they were in team 2, and I'm team 1 so we parted ways after talking a bit (and after making sure i could get the right bus). The bus was an interesting experience.
So you may read online that Seoul is easy to navigate because signs are in "English" - and yes things are labeled. But sometimes it's not as apparent or your eyes gloss over. You have to be quick and watchful. The airport does have English speaking staff, but at various levels of ability. So one guard was helpful, one less so, and the bus info person changed shifts so decent speaker left, less skilled came. But I digress. I decided to stand at the bus stop earlier than the departure time and it was cold, so I huddled in the little station/stop thing (what is that called in English?) with ALL Koreans. Not a white in sight. Nbd. I stand as out of the way as I can though it is crowded. A minute or two later a bus came up and was loading. It seemed too early to be mine, so I asked in Korean "Where is this bus going?" to this older lady. She told me, and then began to tell me which bus went where. It was a lot of place names and details. I only caught the names. I nodded and bowed, like I should and thanked her. After a bit I asked what time it was. Tbh, I couldn't understand times, but I hoped someone would flip up a watch and I'd catch a glimpse. (no, my cell phone does not do a contemptible thing here. it wont keep time, even on airplane mode.) The same lady responded, but I didn't totally understand her, and couldn't see her watch. However another man commented and I caught "ship bun" which I knew! 10 minutes. So I assumed 10 before 8. *victory trumpet*
In all that, one gentleman spoke up, in English, asking where I was going, and I told him. He said he was going to the same place and would help me get on the right bus. He also told me basic information about the trip. I thanked him. excitedly. He helped me get my bags onto the bus too. So kind!

So from the airport to the uni, it was a 4 hour ride (due to heavy traffic around the city). It was a fun/crazy ride. So much to see out of the windows. The sun was shining and warming things.

There was this cool bridge we went over.
And the best part.. the bus had heat and a satelite tv (flat screen, HD). I was torn between watching a talk show and looking out the windows. A drama came on after a few hours too. I forget the name now.

Oh, here's a picture of water and boats. I can't remember if this is part of the bay there or what. Landing in Incheon at night was fantastic, btw. So pretty!

At the final stop, I got off and started getting my bags. The man from before helped some, and asked who was coming to pick me up. I told him in bad grammared Korean I was taking a taxi. And he said, oh no no, I couldn't get a taxi to carry all my stuff. His wife was picking him up and he offered me a ride. He asked where I was going, and I told him in Korean. He understood. Oh yes at the bus stop the woman asked if I was a teacher (in korean) and I said I was an English teacher (in korean). We talked a little more in English than Korean, (i had asked if he wanted any money for the ride, and he declined... in korea, it's they don't expect that sort of thing - something i had forgotten in my tiredness) and waited for his wife. Yes, it did cross my mind "What if I just got picked up by some dangerous person?" But I really wanted to get to the uni and his mannerisms were kind and not creepy (i said a short prayer for safety). I've been told Koreans are very kind and service oriented. This man was a beautiful example of kindness. He told me "I've traveled a lot, and I know what it's like to be in your position."
When his wife arrived, he helped me load the car. As soon as I opened the door, his wife greeted me in perfectly enunciation English, "Hello how are you?" She was very warm and friendly, and although it seemed that was the only phrase she knew, she was excited. She asked me lots of things in Korean, and I understood a tiny bit, and her husband translated. I tried my best to give Korean answers, but used a lot of English. As we got down the road, they turned on the GPS and started typing in the name of the school. So I knew then we were definitely going to the right place. His wife gave me a choco pie (delicious thing! it's like the little debbie marshmallow supreme except a sandwiched cookie) and I thanked her a ton. I probably looked silly. I couldn't believe their kindness. As we got to the gate and I saw up the street, I saw the building I recognized from the pictures in my info email. I was definitely in the right place. I said in Korean, "That building" something.. I forget now but essentially "that's it!". XD
So we stopped at it and the man got out and wanted to check and make sure it was right. It was. I knew. But he was being nice and not just dropping me off irresponsibly. As he got my bags out of the back, I was on the sidewalk bowing into the car thanking his wife (like an excited foreigner). He helped me get the bags to the door and I thanked him and they left.

When I got in, other teachers helped me with my bags and got me up to the main office. From there it was a whirlwind of info and the only important part was they knew who I was, kind of, and were waiting for me to show up. The sentence was "Oh Kelsey (my coordinator) was worried about you, and will be glad to know you made it." She walked in a minute later, and she knew who I was.
So after all the travel frustration - I had made it, safely, and was shown so much kindness. (God is good, ne?) Of course, I also hit the ground running and was thrown right into the busy schedule.

We eat early, attend classes 8 or 9 hours a day, and climb stairs...lots of stairs. So I'm tired. It's almost 11pm... so goodnight!