Getting settled

Two updates in one day? Yikes! See below for a video update too :)

So this is the story all about how my life got twisted upside down

And I'd like to take a minute, so sit right there

And I'll tell you how I came to this crazy place called Seoul and about my first few hours here.

I got to the airport yesterday (day before yesterday since I'm in Korea, I suppose) at 8:40. My flight wasn't for another 3 1/2 hours. My parents are nuts (Hi, Mom+Dad!!!). So it was awesome that people came to say bye to me :)

So I got on the plane and this nice guy who sat on the aisle (I got window!) put up my carry-on before I realized a few minutes later that it had all of my "passing the time" stuff: iPod, books, journal, etc. But I felt too bad to tell him to get it for me, so I decided just to forget it and sleep the entire time. 

Which is what I did. I woke up, ate 비빔밥 (bibimbap), slept, drank orange juice, ate 죽 (juk), watched House, slept, woke up, landed. Nice, eh? Plus no one sat in the middle seat so I had lots of space. 

The only annoying thing was the immigration line. I must have stood there for more than 30 minutes, but that's OK. So I got my luggage, and I was a little anxious because I was supposed to take a taxi to my second cousin's apartment in Seoul (oh, in case you didn't know, the international airport in Korea isn't in Seoul. It's actually about an hour west of the city on this island). AND I didn't have a cell phone so I didn't exactly know how they were going to know I was at their building (and I didn't really know where the building was either). So you can imagine how relieved I was when I saw them waiting for me at the terminal. Woo!

Then we were off. They bought me 설렁탕 (suhlungtang) for breakfast, then we got some coffee at this really cute bakery/cafe at the bottom of this apparently really famous office building where the father of the family works. It's famous for being 63 stories high. AND the bakery gave me my first taste of engrish in Korea. Lover it.

Oh, remember how I said it was supposed to be freezing cold? It actually isn't that bad. My tan coat is good enough to keep the cold out as long as I'm not standing around and doing nothing. Whee! It might rain/snow tonight though...

ANYWHO. We eventually got to the apartment where I am now in this really girly study room that belongs to the daughter. I'm not sure if she's my cousin or if her mother is my cousin. This generational thing gets all whacky sometimes. But her name is HyunJoo, and I'll refer to her parents as HyunJoo's Mom and Dad. The room is very pink and very cute. I'll be spending the next few days here, so expect more updates soon. 

Final thoughts:

- Wi-Fi really isn't that prevalent here. Might be a problem?

- Their GPS navigators here have LIVE TELEVISION ON THEM. WOW. What will they think of next?

- I saw my first 바나나 우유 bottle today (banana milk). Wonder when my first taste will be...