The 15 Hour Journey

My first flight left at 6:30am which meant I had to be up at 3:30 and to the airport by 4:30. Which also meant that I didn't sleep at all that night before my flight. I had packed two suitcases, my backpack, and laptop bag. Thank goodness my bags were free since they were under 50 lbs. each.

The plane was fairly small and sat two columns on each side. I sat next to a woman who was going on an Alaskan cruise with her husband whom was sitting in front of us. We talked a little about each other's plans for our trips and then both did our own thing. I tried to listen to my ipod but it wouldn't turn on. I thought maybe I left it on after I charged it the night before, so I just used my zune instead. The flight was pretty short and arrived in San Francisco at 7:30 local time. My next flight didn't leave for another 3 hours so I tried charging my ipod and found out it was corrupted. I tried fixing it but it started to make my computer act funny so I just ended up putting my ipod music on my zune. I later fixed my ipod and it works just like new! Here are the stages of my emotions toward my ipod revival:

The second plane was huge!!! It sat 3 columns then 4 columns then 3 columns. There were 4 bathrooms in just the back! I sat next to the window and a man who didn't speak a word to anyone. He basically slept, ate, and then slept some more. This guy had the worst breath and no table manners. I had 12 hours in a confined space with him, so I did a lot of half sleeping, half lucid. I also watched a movie until my tablet died :(. But most of my time was spent listening to music and standing in the back of the plane. About half way through the flight I lost my glasses so I couldn't see anything, but good news: the flight attendants fed us snacks, lunch, and dinner! Both meals had the most amazing roll! I thought I would hate on-flight food, but it was pretty yummy! After this flight I will definitely be getting an aisle seat every big flight, because trying to go to the bathroom was impossible. I had to get past a sleeping man and another man who didn't seem to talk know how to speak. But alas, I made it with no major problems! *Typing this has made me see how whiny I am.

I finally arrived at the airport in Incheon, South Korea around 3pm local time. The process of getting out of the airport took about 1 hour because of customs and all the foreigner documentation I had to do. I was finally able to gather my checked baggage and exchange the $60 I had to some Korean Won. Jaehoon, the Interim Resident Director for ISA Seoul, was waiting there at the airport to help me get to the Konkuk campus. His English was a lot better than I was expecting. I found him to be very nice and pretty funny. He got me and a fellow ISA student a taxi to Konkuk. The ride was about 1 hour and traffic was crazy! So many cars... Everyone and I mean everyone has tinted windows so all you can see are their arms, if that!

I arrived at Konkuk University around 5:30pm and met met Yena. Her English is amazing! Turns out she studied in North Carolina, which is where I was born! She gave me all the things I needed for my dorm room. I met my roommate, Maria. She is from Columbia, but studying in Florida. She showed me where to shop, and I bought a pillow and a few things I needed. I am so glad to have a roommate that I get along with and who speaks English! God is good! :) We still can't figure out the air condition and it will be forever stuck on 22 degrees celsius and turn off and on whenever it wants.

The view from my room!

I was going to write another post today, but I have classes tomorrow so I will write my next update another day.

안녕!

Annyeong!

Goodbye!

P.S. Sorry about any misspellings or grammar mistakes. I am a little sleep deprived while writing these posts.

Update!

Well, a lot has happened since my first post. Had to completely change my whole schedule because many of my planned classes (even my back-up classes) were no longer being taught in English. Took me nearly 3 hours to come up with a new schedule. I got a luggage set, my visa, and cute little luggage tags from ISA. And I just wanted to update you on a few things so here it goes:

I can't believe how time flew by this summer. My sister got married. Found out the sex of my brother and his wife's baby (I called it would be a girl and was right!) Met my oldest brother's girlfriend for the first time. Dyed my hair purple. Made up with a high school friend.

And now it is finally time for my newest adventure. I leave in 6 hours for South Korea. I have a long journey ahead of me: a total of about 15 hours of traveling! I will be flying from Boise, Idaho to San Francisco, California. The flight is about 2 hours and then I have a layover of 3 hours. I depart from San Francisco at 10:30am Pacific Time and arrive in Seoul at 2:45pm local time.

This second flight is 12 hours and I have prepared. My backpack is stuffed with my sketchbook, tablet, books, lots and lots of snacks, ipod, zune, mints, and airplane pillow. You know, all the essentials for a long trip. Most important of course are my ipod and snacks. :)

I am all packed and the nervousness has finally hit me. I can't sleep right now, so hopefully I will sleep most of the plane ride. I will be heading to the airport in about 3 hours, so I better try to get some sleep.

Well, Idaho and the U.S., it's been fun! Here I come Seoul, South Korea.

Don't forget: Once I get to Seoul, I will be updating this blog about once a week, so keep an eye out for my posts. Also, check out all the cool things on my blog, such as, the local time and weather in Seoul.

Bye, Bye for now.

Why South Korea?

During my junior year of high school I became friends with a foreign exchange student named Sahyun from South Korea. I learned a little about her and where she was from. Sahyun made me become intrigued by the Korean culture. 

A year later I was watching tv shows on Hulu and it suggested I try watching a Kdrama (Korean drama tv show). I decided I would try it and I fell in love with the Korean language and all things Korean. I began researching South Korea and its history.  Because of my research, I wanted to visit so I could learn and practice the language locally. 

My freshman year of college, I was sitting in Search for Meaning class when the head of the Study Abroad office came in and gave a presentation on Rome and Paris for the Theology and Fashion students, respectively. I was interested in studying abroad, but none of the programs were for my math major. I decided I would do a study abroad trip to South Korea independent from my school.

I started my planning and paperwork the end of my freshman year. I chose to do my trip through International Studies Abroad (ISA) during my first semester of my last year of undergrad because that is when my major or minor would allow me to. I chose to study at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea. I chose this school because they offer classes that are not offered at my current university. 

To help with my study abroad expenses, I applied for two scholarships. I recently found out that I received one of them and I was able to purchase my plane tickets!!! :) I have my passport and now all I need to do is get my visa, apply for STEP, and pack!!!?!??!?! :) :) :)

I can't wait for this new step in my life!
Here's to many new experiences!