August 23, 2009

Ok seriously I should not be allowed to travel alone. Not only did I get on the wrong bus because I was misled but also because when I finally got to Korea University I was at the main entrance and the whole campus is UP HILL. im not even joking you. I don't even know how to describe my abilities to survive because I walked up so many hills and got lost so many times and finally these koreans had seen me pass them like a billion times and started helping me except none of us could communicate then this lovely woman came and called a friend who thankfully worked with international students and they got a car and drove me the rest of the hill. Did I mention by this time that it was dark? I finally got there and I saw this girl on my flight who I should have gone to FIRST but I saw 2 boys and i SWORE one of them was holding the application but apparently not because they told me they were in the MILITARY (air force) so then I walked with them to Gate F got on a bus that said it went to Korea University but it was not the free one and I had to pay 13,000 won (not even 10 bucks) and talked to an old australian man then got dropped off in the middle of Seoul across the street from the University and EVERYONE was looking at me like I was crazy. I felt like I was in a movie. Finally anyways I got there and the girl was like "oh yeah we were announcing your name" but I had already gotten on that other bus. geez louise. OK so also I am rooming with the RA which kind of sucks but oh well and we share a bathroom/little hallway with a girl from Matild and I couldn't actually catch what country she is from but we are going shopping when she wakes up. My roommate's name is Irina and she is from Russia, which I flew over in the plane and their landscape is sweettt. I took a picture.

This morning I got up at like 5:30 then dozed in and out of sleep until 7:30 then got up and read then Irina woke up to work downstairs greeting people. By the way this country is wayyyy paranoid about H1N1 and they take our temperature like every 100ft ok well that's an exaggeration but I got it checked at the airport then also at here. Anyway and then I decided I was really hungry and I asked how far away Tiger Plaza was from here (one of the many places I got lost at yesterday and I saw that they had a starbucks and other stores) and she said like a 10 minute walk so I get dressed and I start walking, I don't know why but there was like a nature path and a sign in Korean that I definitely could not read and so then I followed it and that went to absolutely no where. but then I got on a road and to get to Tiger plaza you have to walk down this street where everything is stores and people's houses and so I started walking and I got to a street like that but it seemed so different from the university that I figured I was lost but I didn't want to admit it so I kept walking and went into one of the little stores looking for a bagel or something and some coffee even though it's already like 80 degrees here and so I went it then I saw coffee and a bagel but I was too overwhelmed by the choices so I just got a bottle of water then I kept walking. I decided I didn't want to be lost anymore so right before I turned around I went into another store and got a starbucks little chilled coffee thing that had way too much sugar and I saw some bananas and got those too ( they served bananas on the plane for breakfast along with these rolls that I thought was just bread but then I bit into it and there was something meaty or something in there and I just ate it but my stomach was NOT happy with me) so I decided to go with those instead of a foreign roll. I ate one banana and gave another to Irina and I think I'll ask Matild if she wants one too when she wakes up.

THEN I spent seriously like 2 straight hours trying to figure out how to connect to the flipping internet because we have to use IP addresses and I changed the IP address liek 10,000 times then I just was really mad and decided to have a positive attitude about it and then it changed! (I think a positive attitude changes a lot especially since I've known all along something bad was going to happen to me between the airport and the university) anyway so basically I'm sorry I didn't email you sooner but I seriously tried everything. also I stole Irina's cord from her battery to the outlet because I don't have a korean adapter yet so I hope her computer stays charged...

That's all.

3 comments:

  1. Classic Clare! So glad to hear that you are where you should be, and thank goodness for rolling luggage! Can't wait to hear the next adventure.
    xox,
    Momica

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  2. You are too funny!! I can't wait to read the next installment!!! love you! Mart

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  3. I KNEW it! Is that you third from left? Did you dye your hair black to blend in? HAHA. Perhaps you can translate, eh?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvRO_D5eUOE
    Happy Trails....and tell us how you like that super-fast internet there...if you can ever figure out how to hook up! --Scott

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