Journaling Jerry's journeys

Greetings from Korea! I'm writing this on Saturday morning off-line since I don't have internet access in my apartment yet.

The Flight:

I took off on Wednesday afternoon, the wheels leaving American soil at 2:15 in the afternoon on Singapore airlines flight SQ15 bound for Incheon airport. Leaving the US for the first time in my life, I felt anxious about what I would find in Korea. There's something unsettling about leaving my comfort zone for a culture, language, and environment completely different from what I've known all my life. I wasn't looking forward to being cooped up in an aluminum tube for fourteen hours either, I get restless on much shorter flights.

I must give credit to Singapore airlines: their in-flight entertainment is outstanding. I watched three movies, learned Korean number and played video games during most of the flight, all using the little LCD monitor and hand-held controller build in to the seat. I also did a little bit of reading during the flight to break up the monotony. The food service was good, too. I had chicken and baby red potatoes for lunch, and beef with rice for dinner. Snacks were served regularly, except when turbulence made navigating cabin hazardous.

If dogs could fly I'd fit right in along side them, with my head hanging out the window and my tongue flapping in the breeze. I always like to sit in a window seat, using my GPS to see if we're still in Kansas and watching the landscape roll by, but there wasn't much to see out the window this time, and I didn't turn on the GPS knowing we'd be over water most of the way. Most of the time there were clouds and ocean to be seen out the window, but I did get to see some of the Aleutian islands, and the sight was magnificent. On the display in-flight I watched our progress as we inched across the pacific

Landing in Incheon was uneventful, as was customs. My co-worker and I retrieved our luggage and we found the bus to take us to Anseong, where I will be living for the next few months. On the bus (affectionately called a limousine) I saw my first glimpse of Korean life: neon everywhere blazing in the night, lighting up gritty downtown street scenes, but looking at the people they all appeared contented and safe. In Anseong there were university students in their uniforms milling about, along with people in general out walking around the town.

What struck me most was how vertical everything is. I'm used to urban sprawl covering large pieces of land, but here the buildings seem very tall for their footprint. On a plot of land where I would expect a one- or two-floor single-family home, theres a six floor apartment building. It's pretty obvious the architecture isn't designed with earthquakes in mind, and I wonder if the buildings will fall over in a strong breeze.

That's enough for now. Next time: a touch of culture shock, moving in to my studio apartment.

Jerry