Welcome to Korea 한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다

I'm here!

I had no problems with my flights, didn't get lost, found my bags, didn't even get mugged or kidnapped!

Wouldn't you know, on the second flight, as we all found our seats and glanced around to see our new 14-hr neighbors, the row behind me is empty until the very end, and a loud woman with two energetic toddlers moves in. OH MY WORD! Yes, they were loud. And bad. And screamed. At one point the man next to me turned around and asked them to please stop kicking his seat. yikes. They finally fell asleep I think, I thought about slipping them some Benadryl, but just kept my earplugs in. Basically: I got no sleep on the plane. I did however catch up on a bunch of movies, and somehow they all made me cry.
I was so happy to arrive!

Here we can see Incheon Airport.
Very clean, quiet, and beige.






















And my ride showed up right on time with a lovely bouquet for me!


The Incheon Airport is actually on an island, so we drove across to the mainland into Seoul. Not too much to see along the way, but here's a few pics to give you an idea. Lots of ... beige.







I actually had enough energy to go out to dinner before I involuntarily fell fast asleep. So we walked just a block down the street to a Korean bbq place. We sat on pillows on the floor! They heat the charcoal under the round grill, and bring you the pork and veggies to cook it yourself. Minho was our chef! And lots of little bowls of sides and condiments to eat with the meat. It was all really tasty!

To drink the common thing is beer with a shot of soju - which is a sweet, strong liquor. It was good too, and it made me even sleepier! A group of business men sat at the table next to us, it was a little comical to see middle-aged men, in suits, sitting on the floor with their shoes off, having a meal after work. Yet this is one of the most typical Korean meals. Their faces were priceless as we were leaving and they all stared at me speaking English with Jane, haha I guess I can't pass for a native here ...



These friends joined us for dinner and dessert (we got blueberry cake!) and I fell asleep at the table while they were all chatting in Korean.

I think I'm off to a good start here! :)