We are here!!!

After 24+ hours of travel we made it to Seoul safely and without any major happenings. :) Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! Yes, all my luggage made it as well and they were all under weight limit at the airport in Houston. Yeah! The second flight of 12 hours was long and sometimes boring, but I tried to sleep and rest as much as I could. We landed at 5:30pm (Seoul time--3:30am Texas) on Wednesday evening. Then we got the baggage and cats and headed to customs. Only one trunk had to be searched. They placed this large yellow padlock thing on the front of it and when you pass a certain point then it starts to sing and make lots of noise. No worries though. The cats made it through quarantine check well too and we were all happy. Then we proceeded out to meet the SFS crew....WOW mandy new teachers. Loaded all the luggage on this van/truck (like a UHAUL) and then we got to ride in a small bus to the school. It took about an hour to get from the airport to the school. The drive was really pretty. The sun was setting and the scenery was great! Paul mentioned that the area reminded him of Seattle.....water, trees, metro area....really cool! Once at the school it was dark and we were handed the keys to my apartment and a small Pizza Hut pizza! We had to hike up the hill to my apartment building.....D! If I do not lose some weight while I am here there is something wrong with me. The hills, stairs, and amount of walking should help my figure.

My apartment is HUGE in comparison to my place in Houston. I feel like I am living in a mansion. There is a mud room like foyer when you walk through the door then the living room area. To the left is the open kitchen with a small dining space. Then you walk through the living room to my bedroom. I have a small room with closets, dresser, and desks then to the left is where my bed is which has sliding rice paper doors. The very traditional doors that are white with the wood geometric shapes on them. It is super cool! I love it! The bathroom is just off the living room area to the left. It is a nice place and I like it. The cats seem to like it as well. They have been roaming around sniffing and checking things out. They had some food items in the apartment for me when I arrived......Coke, Coke Light, Water, OJ, bread, cereal, etc. The bed is new and comfortable so that was good.

I was able to get some good rest last night which was wonderful. I did not have an alarm clock so I had to use the kitchen timer instead. It worked like a champ!!! I woke at 7:45 and piddled around. I had to look for some things to shower and such. I never imagined showering would be so wonderful! I journaled a bit as well. Then headed off for the morning activities. We spent the morning doing orientation like things---devotion, breakfast, informational stuff, money, ice breakers, etc. Then we had lunch in the school cafeteria. It was yummy! Paul worked in the morning and then joined us for lunch. There were sandwiches on the western menu and then noodle like dishes on the Korean menu. I had some o-e kimchi with rice. It was great! I also had pineapple Fanta in this skinny can! :)

After lunch we went on a tour of the school then went out to the neighborhood--Yonhi-dong. We saw lots of shops and even went to the local grocery store. They sell EVERYTHING there......clothes, computers, food.....you name it, it will be in the grocery store. CRAZY! I bought some drinks, BBQ flavored Cheetos, and some laundry detergent. I also opened a Korean bank account today and had some Baskin Robbins ice cream.

Tonight we have a family cook out. It should be fun! The people are fantastic and very friendly! It has been such a great experience so far. I really feel "at home" here. The sense of community is amazing and everyone really helps everyone else. I have taken some pics and plan to share them soon!

Until next time.........