First day on Geoje Island

August 29, 2011

After some very frantic packing (I was emailed a ticket less than 24 hours before I had to leave with no warning), I headed off to the airport. I said a very sad goodbye to my parents then went through security to meet up with Morgan Orlandi, who will be teaching about an hour away in Jinju. The little notice and hectic prepping for this trip became quickly worth it as I do not know how I would have made it to my school panic attack free without her! To start, our flight was delayed multiple times. We had been told that we would be taking a bus from where we landed (Incheon), to Jinju, where our
respective school administrators would pick us up. We were also told that this was the last bus for the night and there was very little leeway between our landing and the bus leaving. If we missed this bus we would be left on our own for the night to find what they referred to as a "love motel" (named for the fact that they are rented by the hour) to stay in the night. Luckily, even with our delays we made it in plenty of time.

Morgan and I waiting at the airport...and waiting...

Free drinks on international flights? yes, please.

When we exited the plane there was a man, Mr. Hahn, holding a sign
with our names which instantly set us at ease. We had at least made
it to our first checkpoint! We struggled with our multiple bags (I think little Morgan’s luggage outweighed her by about 200 pounds) and made it to his car. He brought us to the bus terminal where his wife met us with tickets. We still had about a half hour to kill so Mr. Hahn asked if we were hungry and what type of food we wanted. I replied that yes we were, and we will eat almost anything as long as it does not contain meat, as Morgan is vegetarian and I am as well with
the exception of seafood. Mr. Hahn smiled like he knew exactly what I meant, marched off to some sort of sushi counter, and came back with four rolls that all contained not only crab, but beef and pork as well! Morgan and I tried as politely as we could to discreetly pick out the meat chunks and eat a few
pieces graciously. This does not bode well for being a vegetarian in Korea…

The view out my apartment window

"Bed"room

We soon boarded the bus and had another 3 hour trip, which
we both slept through as it was the middle of the night, at least in our prior
time zone. Jinju was the last stop, which seemed simple enough, but when we exited we did not see TJ, the director who was supposed to be there to meet us. After much incomprehensible arguing with taxi drivers that we DID NOT need a ride, we were meeting someone, Morgan finally was able to borrow a phone and call TJ, who had been waiting for us at a different stop. He came with his wife after a few minutes, and a director from Morgan’s school was close behind to bring her to her new home. I had about an hour ride, and fell asleep once again. I awoke outside of an apartment building where TJ and his wife helped carry my luggage up to my room on the third floor. This is where I will be staying for the next three days until the teacher who is currently working my spot at the school leaves and I take over her job and apartment. Since it is only temporary, they had not bothered to put a bed in it yet. Thank goodness for my sleeping bag since all the room contained was a thin mat and even thinner blanket.

Shower-toilet

Next I attempted to shower, which turned out to be a very
interesting process. The bathrooms are completely open; by this I mean there are not walls around the shower portion. Instead you shower in the middle of the room, pretty much next to the toilet, with the water running towards a drain in the center. I had to take a cold shower as I could not figure out the hot water (since the directions are
in Korean- obviously). I do not mean to sound as if I am complaining though, all of these aspects just add to the adventurous nature of this trip, and makes me even more excited to see what comes next.