Sooo.... do you speak Korean?

It was a grueling marathon of flights, but I am finally here at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. Let's recap some highlights!

My first flight was to Charlotte, NC, and then back down to Atlanta. I had about a 4 hour layover, which was plenty of time to traipse up and down the ticketing counters, trying to find "Asiana Airlines". As it turns out, this is a company that only flies from a few select cities in America. So to my horror, reps from United, Delta and every other airline kept telling me that I must be mistaken because there is no such thing as "Asiana Airlines". Luckily, my last stop at the American Airlines desk proved useful- yes, there is an Asiana Airlines (Award-winning as it turns out) and they are affiliated with American and have planes in Chicago.

So onward to Gate t12 in Atlanta! I scanned the room for other TaLK program possibles when a man in his 30s sauntered up and introduced himself as Lindell. Lindell has been substituting for years, and decided to spice things up with a Korean adventure. He is part Native American and part African American, which is a trend I see in all of the program participants. My roommate is a girl named Corrine, and she and I stick out like sore thumbs! There are people from Nova Scotia, Canada, Western Africa, England, Wales and just about every other native English-speaking country you can name. The people who do this program seem to be primarily Korean American though, and it catches you off guard to walk up to a clearly Korean-looking person and have them be from Kansas!

At our layover in Chicago, out plane didn't board until 1 a.m. Unfortunately, there aren't any restaurants in the international terminal at O'Hare Airport, so I sat on the ground trying to ignore my grumbling stomach until a nice lady from Denmark took pity on me and gave me homemade zucchini bread and pistachios!


The plan was gargantuan, and the stewardesses didn't miss a beat! They were all beautiful, not a single hair out of place in their perfect updos. I've never had such a fancy meal on an airplane before. About a half hour into our flight they passed out scalding hot towels to wipe your hands with and served your choice of steak and potatoes or "a Korean meal" The Korean meal turned out to be Bimbim Bap, which is a bowl of various shredded vegetables and some sort of protein that you mix rice, sesame oil and red chili paste into. The chili paste came in its own foil tube and was marked similarly to an American fast food coffee: CAUTION: CONTENTS ARE HOT! It's frickin delicious! The meal also came with black bean noodles with green onions, crab soup, a side of fruit and uber-spicy kimchi. Then polish it all off with your choice of herbal tea. When 3 a.m. rolled around, the stewardesses served breakfast in the same ornate little red porcelain trays. I had an omelet stuffed with spinach and cherry tomato with broccoli on the side, fruit, yogurt and a roll. Delish!


I have to add a section on the Swine Flu mania that seems to be sweeping through Asia. On the plane, numerous Korean people were wearing masks and the instant we got off the plane in Incheon we had our temperatures taken and were inspected by customs officials for runny noses and coughs. Here at the dorms, we have to have our temperatures taken twice a day, every day for the remainder of our stay.

Customs was a 5 minute affair, and it was a seamless transition from the airport to the dorms because TaLK has its own permanent desk in the airport. All of the TaLK reps speak perfect English, and they even passed out Gyung Dan to all of us! These little colored rice balls are made out of sweet rice flour, and are filled with sesame oil. I bit into one before I knew any better and splurted oil all over Corinne on the bus- these are definitely a one bite kind of food.

The bus ride to the dorm was about an hour, and the campus is beautifully landscaped with tennis courts and jogging paths everywhere. Everyone at the university seems to be fluent in English, and the campus is separated by gender. Most curious in the room: there is not a separate shower. There is a toilet and a sink, but the shower head is attached to the sink, meaning you end up soaking the floor of the bathroom when you flip the shower head on. The floor dries relatively quickly, but the same cannot be said for the toilet- I slipped right off of it!


Corinne and I plan on heading over to Home Plus, which I am told is similar to Walmart. I need to buy clothes hangers, a hair dryer and a hair straightener! I'm also going to check on a cell phone. but not before lunch :o) For the first month (orientation) we will be eating in a cafeteria with the rest of the TaLKers and the actual students. I plan on taking lots of pictures of food to show you how massive the meals are.

I love and miss everyone already, but it is too exciting to get sad yet!