Flight to Seoul / First Day



I got everything set to go for the flight and tried to get a decent night sleep so that I’d be alert and ready to go Sunday morning. It was definitely sad to say goodbye to my family at the airport, although it hadn’t really sunk in that I would be gone for at least a year. I first flew to Chicago via American Airlines, then transferred to Korean air for the flight to Seoul. Luckily Korean Air allows for two checked bags, so I didn’t have to pay extra fees (it also applied to the American flight!).

 The flight from Chicago to Seoul was over 13 hours; I tried several times to sleep, but never got past a light 30-40 minute doze. Each seat had a TV in the headrest with a selection of movies, music, and audiobooks to choose from, so at least I wasn’t bored. Towards the end of the trip I stumbled upon beginner Korean lessons in the audio files. Too bad I hadn’t seen them earlier! Even if I had the phrases were tough to remember and I probably wouldn’t have gotten far.

Flying Korean Air was a good start to my journey.

The plan was to meet up with a second teacher, Matt, at the airport in Incheon. He was scheduled to arrive from London just before my flight came in, and our academic director had suggested it would be good for us to come to Jamsil (the area of Seoul where our school is) together. I was glad to hear that Matt was also starting at the same school, meaning I would have another foreigner in the same situation as me. I was also worried though. How would we find each other in one of the world’s busiest airports? Needless to say we were both surprised when we ran into each other in the baggage claim area. Our baggage claim stations were next to one another! We collected our luggage, went through customs (extremely quick and easy), picked up some Korean won, and caught the airport bus to Jamsil.

My co-teacher Matt
My academic director said I could take the limousine into the
city...I was thinking, "how the hell much will that cost?" Apparently
the limo is just a normal bus service.

The ride took over an hour, but it was nice to relax and get to know Matt a bit. The school’s new academic director, Anna, was waiting to meet us and show us our temporary residences (the old director was quitting to have a child). For the first week we had to live in a small complex across from the school. When the teachers we were replacing moved out on the last day of November we would be allowed to move into our new apartments. The temporary residences are small, but close to the school and complete with a bathroom, fridge, washer, TV, and closet – pretty much all I need! One of the big surprises was finding the shower head between the sink and toilet. I later learned that it is unusual in Korea to have a separate shower, and it is instead part of the general bathroom area. The sink and toilet get wet when I shower, but it really isn’t much of an adjustment.

A typical Korean bathroom

We arrived on Monday evening, and the following morning we were slated to observe classes. It was a quick turnaround for sure! I got a solid night sleep and was pretty much over jet lag by the next day though! Matt and I each had a schedule of classes to observe from 10 am until 5 or so. We also had lunch with the academic director (Anna) and manager (Jenny). The manager is responsible for student recruitment and works directly with the YBM head office, whereas the director deals with the day to day running of the school. Both Jenny and Anna seem nice so far, and I was glad to hear that Anna, who is younger, has lived in several European countries. I would expect that the directors are accustomed to dealing with Western teachers, but it still should make the transition to her new job easier.

Comments

Susan said…
Happy to hear your are settling into your new digs. Don't leave important notes on the sink when you shower. haha Saw Lost in Translation a few days ago and thought of you.
December 7, 2011 at 3:58 PM
Ben Irvine said…
Just updating the blog, reviewing my previous posts and I realized I missed you comment last time Aunt Susan. Thanks for reading and look out for lots of new updates!
August 29, 2015 at 12:04 AM
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