A plane, a train, and Anthony Bourdain.

Okay, SO-- first blog post since moving to Gyeongju, South Korea. Let's see how well this goes!
Let me start from the beginning of my travels.

As I was waiting to board the plane at 7:50 a.m. Tuesday morning, there was a bird perched on a huge bay window, obviously looking to reek havoc. And reek havoc it did. It flew from it's place of rest over a small sea of people, causing resltess passengers to scowl in disguist-- none too pleased with this tiny creature. It continued flying back and forth over the crowd, making those of us on the ground nervous that it might poop on our heads. When I say "those of us", I of course mean me.

During my short flight to Chicago I sat next to a woman named Ann Watson; Ann was flying to Tokyo as I was. She has lived there for 10 years working as professional singer, and had returned home first to Buffalo, New York, then to Detroit to visit some friends. She hadn't been home in over a year. Ann is 47 and single and loving her life. When I explained to her where I was flying to and what I was going to be doing, she kept saying to me, "This is freedom, honey. This is freedom." She also told me how it was her dream to make a living singing, and that if I ever needed a place to stay in Japan, she would be more than happy to take me in.
When we landed in Chicago Ann gave me her contact info, helped me find Terminal 5, and left for Tokyo to continue living her life, one of which I believe to be simultaneously passionate and excessive.

Not but five minutes after I began walking alone toward the tram that would take me to the International Terminal, I had a celebrity sighting-- yep, you guessed it, Anthony Bourdain. And let me tell you I about FREAKED OUT. I was staring at him, thinking to myself, "Holy shit, that's Anthony Bourdain! Oh my GOD!" And the conversation went as follows:

Me: Anthony?
(he stops in his tracks)
Me: Bourdain?
(as if I was nervous that saying his first name wasn't enough)
Anthony Bourdain: Yes!
Me: Ohmygodyou'resogreatIloveyourshowI'mmovingtoSouthKoreaforayeartoteachEnglishandIjustwatchedyourshowonSouthKorealikeamonthagoandIjustthoughtitwassogreatandIloveyourshow!
Anthony Bourdain: Thank you.
Me: Yup no problem! Have a safe flight!

And that was that. In and out of my life like a Travel Channel dream.

I hopped on the tram (train) to the International Terminal and boarded my flight at 10:10 a.m. I flew over on a 747 Japan Airlines aircraft, and let me just tell you, that plane was pure grandeur. It had two stories, a projection screen for each section of the plane that had GPS showing where it was we were, and little interactive t.v. screens in front of every seat. Think: the plane in The Brady Bunch movie when they went to rescue Carol.
Anyways, the in-flight meals were delicious. Teriyaki chicken and fried cod with pesto sauce. I fell asleep after the first meal (the chicken) while we were flying over Minneapolis. I woke up about 8 hours later as we were flying over the Pacific. Talk about getting caught off guard!

The Tokyo airport wasn't anything like I expected. It was nowhere near the crazy, chaotic, hustle and bustle of O'Hare. Instead, it was smooth and quiet and there was ambient music playing everywhere. I only had to take one escalator to get to my gate, and I managed to find time to call home while I waited on my third flight en route to Busan.

Again, I slept for the majority of the 2.5 hour flight from Tokyo to Busan. They served a Japanese meal this time, consisting of salmon flakes and salmon roe on steamed rice, stuffed egg with meat, a pickled cucumber, fried eggplant with miso sauce, deep-simmered seaweed and beans in soy sauce, and a Japanese sweet rice cake. The only reason I know this is because I took a picture of the menu and the meal to show people (Brett) who know how picky of an eater I can be. I ate the salmon and it tasted like lox, and the fried egg with meat was also delicious. I am almost positive that there was caviar with the salmon though, and it took some serious mind-over-matter attitude to not think about how grossed out I was by the fish eggs. Ew.

When I got to Busan I had to go through customs (took less than five minutes), my checked luggage made it all the way from Detroit with no problem (as I approached the baggage claim I saw mine rearing towards me), and, much to my relief, I was picked up by my boss's (Cate) brother in-law.

The drive to Gyeongju took just under an hour. Cate's brother in-law and I (don't remember his Korean or English name) talked about Barack Obama, racism, and the New York Sun-- he worked as a photographer for them for 8 years while living in New York. He gave me a lot of tips on American etiquette versus Korean etiquette, and what I took from that conversation was that Koreans pretty much don't have etiquette. He said people will push you and step on your toes and bump into you while on the street, but that no one apologizes and no one is expecting an apology if you are the proprietor. He also informed me that because I am from a "strong, powerful, smart country" that I will be treated with nothing but the utmost respect and consideration. He also told me that Jews and Koreans "have strong hearts, connected". He compared the Nazis to the Japanese because of their treatment towards the Koreans for almost 38 years. Suffice it to say he was surprised I had no trouble at the Tokyo airport and that I had a pleasant conversation with a Japanese woman while waiting to board my plane.

And this leads us to the present moment. I am sitting on a heated floor, typing on Cate's computer, waiting to get picked up by her husband Mark who is coming for me in two hours. She said her and Mark will be taking me to lunch. From 2:30-7:30 I will be observing Stephanie teach, and I will be doing the same tomorrow. Tonight Stephanie invited me to dinner with some coworkers at a Vietnamese restaurant, which I thought was so kind.

It is 40 degrees here in Gyeongju and the winter has just ended. Although I am homesick right now, I know that once I get adjusted to the time difference and hang out with some other native English speakers I will be absolutely fine. Til next time! :)