Arrival, 1st Impressions, 친구!!!

(***I really hope the vids work - took me forever and a half to get 'em to upload 😬)

First post IN Korea!!! YAY!

I actually arrived in Busan about 5 days early (orientation starts Aug. 20th). I am SO glad I did. Not only was I able to get over jet lag (ugh! 16 hour difference is no joke!) but I also had an amazing time with friends. Addri and I flew the whole way together and shared an Airbnb. It's definitely been a blessing getting to do this new adventure with a friend.

We few from LA to San Diego to Narita (Japan) to Busan (South Korea). I would highly recommend flying Japan Airlines (JAL), they were awesome and super classy. Also, Japan is beautiful!!! Check out the pics as we were flying in:

 

 

Also, Addri and I made friends on the flight from Japan to Korea, which actually turned out to be the highlight of this week 😄 It all kind of snow-balled... So Addri recognized Michael from ASU, Alex overheard that we were EPIK teachers, I asked Jun for a pen, and then we all agreed to meet up later in Busan the next day. Then Alex met Sophia and Sophia met Alexa. And thus, our beautifully clandestine 친구 (friend; "chingu") gang was born 😂 I had a lot of fun with these people this week! (More on our adventures down below)

Addri and I rented a 2-person room at a guest house in 북구 (Buk-gu; "buk" means "north" & "gu" means "district") on Airbnb. It was close to the airport although a little off the path of the main city hot spots. We both think it's super cute, but our friends (including our Busan-raised friend) were a little worried about the area being "ghetto" - whatevs! We were safe, the place was nice, and the people who owned it were super kind. Let me know, I'd be happy to recommend it to you! Here are a few videos (I promise to try to be better at video quality in the future):

First impressions of Korea:

• it's HUMID (I will never complain about Arizona dry heat again!!)
• it's so beautiful, green, rainy & sunny all in the same day
• people stare 👀 especially older people and in areas where there are less foreigners (like where we stayed; once you get in university or tourist areas, it kind of stops)
• I am SO grateful for anybody who knows English and I just want to shower them with praise (because I definitely don't know enough Korean and it's a lot of work learning another language!)
• People don't smile back (and I'm someone who always smiles, especially if we make eye contact!) However an 아저씨 ("ahjusshi"; older man) did return my bow and smile when I bowed - win! Also, lesson learned: I'm gonna keep being myself and smiling but might be a little more cautious with my smiles and strange guys in the subway... home-boy was trying to recharge his T-Money card and I was waiting behind him, he turned around and I smiled, and he proceeded to look me up and down, leer, and cock his head suggestively as if I could give him something *shivers* not today, son, not. to. day. 😤

Anyway... ADVENTURES!!!

Day 1 (Wednesday) - Addri and I explored our area (북구, Buk-gu) and, although we got lost 2x, we were able to correct ourselves and make our way back 😅 here's a glimpse of what the closest, busy cross-streets looked like (about a 20-25min walk... so. many. hills. - PS, sorry I suck at recording with my screen on lock):

Later (after a nap), we met up with Bianca (and the missionaries; she was having a lesson with them) for Korean BBQ in 광안동 (Gwangan-dong; "dong" means neighborhood, I think). It was so nice knowing Bianca was there for me to meet up with and ask questions (she moved to Korea through the same teaching program back in February 2018). And, of course, the missionaries were awesome:

Day 2 (Thursday) - Addri and I met up with our airplane friends to explore 서면 (Seomyeon), an underground shopping mall with great above-ground food streets. We wandered for about an hour and half trying to find our 4th friend, Sophia, and finally found her only to realize there are 2 lines that get off at 서면 so there are 2 sets of numbered exits 😅 Along the way, we were also stopped by some students trying to interview foreigners for a class English project! That was fun to get to talk with them and hear some of their thoughts.

(I tried 순대 ["soon-dae"], Korean Blood Sausage - actually pretty good!!)

After 서면 (Seomyeong), we briefly went to 남포동 (Nampo-dong) to hit up a fish market, but it closed at 5 (Alex wanted to try a live octupus and, Michael, I said I would try it, too, just for you! Sadly, that adventure will be for another day). We ventured around the docks and found a Lotte Mall (I learned that it's 롯대, so it's pronounced "lowt-dae" not "lottie"). This place has 13 floors folks!! 3 of which are the cinema! The coolest part was the roof-top garden and city view (and the Line Friends store with BT21 merch, of course). Apparently there's an even bigger Lotte Mall here in Busan in another area!

(the wind just doesn't agree with me taking selfies)

(😍DUCKS!!!😍)

(What did I tell you about the wind??)

Day 3 (Friday) - Addri and I met up with our airplane friends near 경성대학교 (Kyungsung University), actually, a cross-point between three universities so there was a lot to see and do. This pic doesn't do it justice, there was so much going on and streets and streets of restaurants, bars, shops, etc.: 

(빙수! ["bing-soo"] YUM!!)

Then we headed to 광안리 (Gwangalli) beach. I think I heard it's called the Diamond Bridge Beach or something because the bridge has a light show:

Then we headed to 해운대 (Haeundae) beach. This side of town is swanky, yo. I would even dare to say "glittery." If you're looking for high class nightlife, I believe this is the place.

Day 4 (Saturday) - Addri came with me to pick up a SIM card & get a local number for my cell phone down at Busan Harbor (Korea Telecom has great deals for foreigners visiting - much more affordable than most provider's int'l plans!). Then we wandered around 서면 (Seomyeon) again, for window shopping and food. We got home early to do laundry. I know, we're total party animals. Oh, but we did have to walk through a long, dark bridge... that totally doesn't look that dark in this vid (sometimes I question the directions my Naver map gives me here in Korea just because you have to wander through so many random places to get to where you're going):

Day 5 (Sunday) - I went to church!! I attended the Gupo Branch, about a 20min ride from where the Airbnb.  It was so nice to do something even slightly resembling my normal routine. Also, everyone was crazy nice and tried their hardest to communicate with me 💗 I'm kicking myself for not knowing more Korean!! 

Afterwards, I met up with my airplane friends at Centum City (btw: Centum City is the world's largest shopping mall, like with a Guinness record and all) for lunch at the Shinsegae Food Court. Then we stopped by 해운대 (Haeundae) before visiting 해동 용궁사 ("Haedong Yonggungsa", a Buddhist temple): 

We wandered around the coast and found an area where people built cairns to make wishes or offer prayers. So of course we made a friendship cairn. Of course. 친구들!!!

Next, we had some amazing Korean BBQ (thank goodness for Jun growing up in Busan!) before chilling on the beach in 해운대 (Haeundae):

Lots of fun so far 😊 So, so grateful for meeting these people. It's crazy that we all just happened to arrive in Busan at the same time before orientation, on the same flight, etc. and that we actually ran around the city with each other like we've known one another for more than 24 hours 😆 

Some thoughts... I'm kind of worried about being in a rural place after all this fun in a never-sleeping city (seriously, there were parents with their kids on the beach around midnight and NOTHING closes! It's insane! But I also love it!). Also, I'm a little nervous for orientation. This all still feels like a vacation and orientation means the real work starts and that I'll be heading off completely on my own. Ironically, at the same time I am so looking forward to work starting so I can get into a routine and actually feel like I'm living here, not just on a trip. 

Also, I've been thinking about my purpose for this blog...

1. to share my adventures and experiences with family/friends 
2. to keep a "personal" record to look back on (to help me get back into journaling)
3. for professional reflection/learning/growth. That might sound strange but after keeping a log during my ESL teaching internship of what went well, what didn't, and thoughts for improvement, I discovered that formal self-reflection really helped me develop as a teacher and I think that's a continual process, similar to progressing in any aspect - self-reflection is necessary to learn and grow. (So, I welcome your feedback as I reflect - I can't grow in a vacuum!)

Lastly, even though I've only been here for less than a week, I'm already discovering how important maintaining self-confidence is. I'm already finding myself trying to strike a balance between being myself and fitting in (but never really fitting in) and being respectful to the culture or worrying that maybe I'm too American or thinking about how I represent Americans abroad or foreigners or my program or all the things... Just lots to think about. Ultimately, confidence and courage, gotta have confidence and courage. Oh! Btw, I was shushed on the plane by some ahjummas so I my awareness of all of this was solidified before landing in Korea 😅 thank you for random new airplane friends who took the scolding in Korean for me! (Mom, you know it's because when I get excited or get talking about something I'm a total geek for that I just lose all awareness of my volume! I was having flashbacks of getting kicked out of Mr. Ricards', Mr. Atkins', Mr. Ingram's, etc. for my loud mouth!!!)

If you read this far,  축하해요! 👏👏👏 I'm going to try and post at least 1x/week but until I get my placement, I might not have much to update you all on... just classes all day, e'er day during this week of orientation 😅 Thanks for your patience!

안녕!

Bekah