Greetings from Korea!

I have made it safely to Daejeon!

I arrived at PDX at 5.45am, Sunday morning, with my family and Val in tow. We were met at the airport by Emily and Sean, who are such wonderful people that they woke up at an ungodly hour and drove up to see me off. I'm so lucky to have friends like them. And I do have many fantastic friends who have been great helping me prepare for this journey.

After many tears and more hugs than I've willingly given in the last six months (outside of goodbye hugs, of course), I went through security and to my gate. This took me to the bowels of the Portland airport, to the end of the terminal and down a flight of stairs to a place I didn't know existed. This is where commuter planes live. I don't think it could hold more than fifty people. It didn't even have room for carry-ons. I had to give it to the attendant before boarding.

So I flew to San Francisco, went through security again, and found my gate. I wasn't looking forward to the twelve hour flight to Seoul. It was long and uncomfortable, especially since I was in a middle seat. When the meals came, I tried to eat t-rex style, keeping my arms in as much as possible so I didn't elbow those next to me.

The flight wasn't all bad. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to someone also going over to teach. What are the chances? There must have been 350 people on that plane, although upon exiting, I discovered there were a few other teachers. But it was great to talk to someone about to embark on the same adventure. He also kept me from another freak-out, bless his heart. While I didn't even feel the stirrings of a panic attack, imagine the annoyance of those around me if I had spent the entire flight crying.

I slept a good part of the flight, but it too uncomfortable to be restful. And there was turbulence towards the end, which nauseated me to the point of wanting to vomit. However, I could only wake up enough to acknowledge it, register how miserable it felt, and fall back to sleep. When I finally did wake up for our second meal, just the smell of the food brought it back again.

After landing, I breezed through customs and picked up my luggage, still accompanied by Awesome Plane Friend. It was in the Customs line that I met Airport Friend, who, with the help of her friend, helped me figure out how to get to the right bus and use an ATM. I handed out my email like it was going out of style. I would rather have someone think I'm an overeager creep than miss out on making new friends.

I got on the bus and headed to Daejeon. I wanted to watch the scenery, but it was dark and misty, so I didn't feel bad about sleeping through most of the drive. When the light came on and woke me up, I wasn't sure where we were. I briefly saw a flash of the Daejeon city logo and knew I needed to get off at the second stop. I did so and still wasn't sure if I was in the right place. But after about twenty minutes (my bus arrived early), my director found me and took me to a hotel. I believe I am in a fabled Love Hotel. My room is normal, but the hallway has a sweet glow in the dark ceiling. I don't immediately go to bed, but once I did, I slept like the dead for a solid four hours.

And that, dear ones, is the tale of my journey to Korea. Tune in next time for "My First Day in Korea!"