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.