"It's as slippery as an Eel!"

** Many of you have asked me how my life is going since arriving in South Korea. Well, I dedicate this post to the things I can check off my "Korean Checklist" now that I'm here. Many of you also know that I love making lists. And I'm about to seriously love me some Korea.

- Survive a 13 hour plane ride next to a very large, bald, white man who oddly resembles Hulk Hogan? Check. 

- Successfully meet up with a man named Mr. Kim, who would eventually drive me to my school the first day? Check. (But seriously, Mr. Kim...in Korea? That was like BEING the needle in the haystack full of hundreds of Korean men named Mr. Kim.)

- Cursing myself for not bringing a winter coat because naturally, April = Spring, but rather finding in the land of Korea April = Snow? Check. 

- Finding the coolest bar ever with all the Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Oasis, Tom Waits and much more records on file? Check. 

- Participating in a scavenger hunt consisting of hundreds of foreigners + insanity? Check.

- Having a group member put his arm in a live eel tank, grab the eel out, and slap another one of our team members in the face? Double check. 

- Get a tattoo? Check

- Fall in love with the cute Korean boy who works at Dunkin Donuts because he gives me a perfect latte every morning, and he doesn't speak English that often, but when he does...it's perfect. Check. 

- Watch Jonathan Lapham bust out a huge piece of cardboard in the middle of a busy intersection and attempt to break dance? Check.

- Meet tons of new people who I know will rock out in Korea with me the next year? Check.

- Successfully catching a nasty head cold within a week of arriving? Check. Attempting to ask the pharmacist for throat losengers but being rather certain I received mints instead? Check. 

- Attempting, (but only succeeding with one or two), to teach my students to pronounce the "L" sound instead of the "R" sound? Check.

-Being extremely happy with where I am right now? Check. Check. And Check.

KOREA!!

It's officially my first day in South Korea. I'm almost positive the last 24 hours have been the strangest 24 hours of my life. My flight from LA to Seoul was 13 hours, and the then drive to my place with Friday night traffic was almost 3 and a half.

Surprisingly I wasn't that tired after I arrived. My savior and one and only friend in South Korea thus far, Jonathan Lapham, met me at the airport and endured the insanely long ride to my place with me. After we moved all my stuff up to my apartment, we went around the corner to have some food. My first meal in Korea, totally Korean style. It was actually pretty good. Lots of pork, onions and mushrooms. Then I decided it was best that I went to bed because I had been up for almost 30 hours.

So now I am sitting here wide awake since 7:30 (that's probably a record for me or something), and I am trying to take in the insanity that is South Korea. I had pre-ordered a cell phone to be delivered to my place so it would be up and working when I arrived. Was it delivered? Yes. Does it work? Nope.

We spent all night last night trying to figure out how to make it work, but have yet to accomplish anything. I think that's the most frustrating thing because it was supposed to be this convenient thing, making the transition sooo much easier. But it doesn't work. So I'll have to update on how that is in a few days or so.

My apartment is actually fairly nice. A studio with a little kitchenette and bathroom. There is tons of storage. The heat and lights don't work. And I have no curtains. The neon signs outside that are lit 24/7 make it feel like day light 24/7....so that's cool. Haha. I'm going to have to get this curtain situation figured out asap.

I'm supposed to start "work" on Monday. And I say that lightly because I'll be working like 3 hours a day. Which will be good to start out with. I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the city, the subway or the buses. I am set to meet a woman at some subway station on Monday, so until then I'll be studying the subway lines and trying to figure everything out.  Being here is super overwhelming right now, but it's the beginning. And it's the beginning of a good thing. So I'm happy. It. Will. Be. Good.

Top 3 Things I Like About Korea So Far:

1. I have my own place. No more cleaning up after people, sharing bathrooms, or wondering what kind of mystery liquid is on the toilet seat anymore. I call that a success.

2. There are tons of coffee and bagel shops around. I'm gonna rock the bagel like every morning.

3. It's new, and still exciting!

Top 3 Things I Don't Like About Korea So Far:

1. My cell phone doesn't work and I have no idea how to get ahold of anyone that I need to get ahold of.

2. It's freezing. This is not Spring. This is winter.

3. Everything's in Korean. Haha. Seriously though. It's crazy.