Day 3

I wake up right at 5:00AM to my alarm clock blasting music. I am wide awake! I have already gotten accustomed to the NSLI-Y PDO (PreDeparture Orientation) and it was already time to leave! As my roommate’s alarm clock music droned on, I started to pack up all of my things and get ready to leave for the airport. Last night, I had found the name tag that I had lost and so I was feeling pretty confident and ready to leave today. I step out of my room with my bags packed, ready to leave and…

Suddenly my eyes feel tired enough to allow me to collapse on the floor, but I have to push on!

Our group walks past the dorm of UW and heads toward the bus stop. It’s a super long journey, but eventually we make it and take a final picture in front of the engineering building. After a few college-packed buses pass, our bus arrives and we begin the journey to Seattle’s airport.

Check in took a while, but our group left an hour earlier than scheduled to ensure that everything happened in a timely manner. Some people outside of the group got very salty that we were all checking out and causing them to have to wait for us to finish, but our group got there first and earlier than them. If we were not all in one group, then there would be no fuss. We wait for an eternity to get through TSA, but it eventually happens and we are waiting at gate 14 for our flight to board at 11:30AM.

I get a chicken panini and no drink, but I figure that I can use the water fountain for water. Beside the water fountains are vending machines that sell drinks. Perfect! I can buy some water here! I look at the cost of a Sobe drink and

It’s $4.00 for one bottle. Um… well I go to check the price of a water bottle and

It’s $3.00 for one bottle. Well.

Huh.

At least I have the water fountains, right?

In no time, we board the airplane and I already can’t wait for the cart to come to me to bring me water. We take off and my eyes feel too heavy to continue, so I end up falling asleep for about two hours before takeoff. Oops.

I woke up with my lips feeling super dry, begging for moisture, and with two forms held neatly between my thumb and index fingers. Apparently, I had accepted these forums while still asleep and managed to hold them in such a way for however long without dropping them! I watch all of the episodes of Portlandia that the airplane allows us to watch and I watch a Korean movie about a reporter that does an exclusive about a corrupt director that fabricates a story about sexual abuse in order to control people.

Throughout the flight, the attendants give us many opportunities to recieve drinks and snacks, even giving us ice cream at one point. For my dinner, I had chicken with bread and a salad. Served with this meal was mashed potatoes that had the flavor of pickles, causing me to push it away to avoid gagging. The other choice was bibimbap, but it was very lacking from what I saw. The attendants gave us many services and I didn’t have to worry about being dehydrated from the massive amount of water being served.

I do some knitting with the end of my crochet hooks and make sweat bands to catch water that runs down my arms when I wash my face. However, most bathrooms in Korea have a shower handle next to the sink and the whole room functions as a kind of shower itself, so water falling on the ground will definitely not be an issue. Before I know it, five hours turned into four hours turned into one hour and suddenly, I could see Korea through the window from my middle seat in the middle aisle. My mouth could’t help but break into a huge smile as I see the beautiful land and prepare to arrive.

We go through the airport and I notice how nice everything looks. Also, the signs are in Korean! Wow!!! I read every single sign that I see to get as much practice as I can get and we pass through the Korean Security. I get my new passport’s first stamp and walk with the group to claim our baggage. After that, we take pictures and go on a bus to drive to Seoul. The bus had a fancy purple interior that made me believe that we would get our palms read and our fortunes told.

Passing through the streets of Korea, I felt like I was at a familiar place. The island vibe I got was something I had known from my time in the Philippines and in Hawaii, so it didn’t feel at all foreign, rather, more like America mixed with island feels. We eventually arrived at our motel, the International Seoul Youth Hostel and we receive some gifts at our rooms. We have five people to a room, but it is very nice and clean. However, our bathroom sink appears to be broken, causing only the shower head to operate rather that the sink as well.

After eating a large, delicious Korean dinner of chicken, soup, kimchi, and salad, we went to the garden on the rooftop. I captured a very beautiful view of Seoul. Standing on the roof, looking over the city felt very wonderful! I felt like I was at home. The island vibe reminded me my days in Hawaii and the city reminded me of the Philippines. In addition, I felt like I was in America because of the roads and agriculture. Needless to say, I felt very comfortable and couldn’t wait to begin my experience.

As I bonded more with some NSLI-Y kids, a group of Koreans also made their way to the rooftop and we had some fun playing 가의 바의 보 and doing yoga on top of wood blocks. Time passed on and I ended up returning to my room feeling no ounce of tiredness. While my roommates wanted to sleep, I felt like I could run a marathon! Tomorrow, we do orientation and although I can’t wait to meet my host family, I am patient and know that it is best to prepare for the immersion that is about to take place. My life as of right now is filled with excitement and although I now feel tired, I look forward to tomorrow with eager anticipation! Our RDs had brought us some chips and a drink, but everyone is sleeping, so that will have to wait for another time.

It is currently 10:10PM in Korea and I will head off to bed. Yves signing out. 안녕히 주무세요~!