Getting To Seoul!

Well well well, what a journey it has been to get here… First, we nearly ran out of as on the way to the Hartford airport. Then in Hartford, I got on the plane that was supposed to be going to Chicago, and there was a problem with one of the engines, so after waiting around for awhile, they took us off the plane and told us to see a customer service desk to rebook the flight. I waited in line for about an hour and a half, where a woman first told me I would have to wait until the following morning to fly out. I told her I needed to be in Korea for work, and she would have to work something out. She was able to squeeze me on the next flight to Chicago, and when I got on the plane, I realized I was in first class!!! It was well worth the waiting in line! I felt like a rock star in first class, all the Bloody Mary’s I could drink in two hours! It was very obvious who booked the first class, and who was bumped up to first class because of the other flight being canceled. The people who were bumped up were looking around in amazement ad checking out all the gadgets in our seats. There was a fold out desk, a telephone, a little drink holder, and of course so much leg room!!! Oh, and besides the drinks being free, they came in real glass instead of plastic! I would never have paid extra for these silly luxuries on a two hour trip, but it was nicer than being stuck in economy!
So when I got to Chicago, I realized I missed the flight to San Francisco by about an hour(even though I knew I would, but the customer service woman promised me I would make it). So I was booked on a flight leaving Chicago but that stopped in Tokyo! That would have been just as good, except that the service hired to pick me up from the airport thought I was coming in from San Francisco at 5:40, and the flight from Tokyo got in at 7:55. I asked a few different United desk staff if they had the code to make an international call out of the airport, and they all told me to go to customer service. So after standing in line for EVER, I finally got to the counter and they told me to stand aside while they waited to get a call back with the code. I had like 3 different people trying to call my recruiters cell phone, but the country code didn’t work, and there were all sorts of problems. It was about 18 minutes until I was supposed to board the plane to Tokyo, and I finally found someone who could get it to work for me. I was nervous that Clara might be sleeping, since it was about 1:00AM in Korea, but luckily I got a hold of her and she said she would make sure someone was there to pick me up.
On the plane I was sitting next to a very nice man from Washington DC who was going to Singapore on government business. He has lived in Seoul a while ago, so he was telling me all about it. The served us lunch, which was chicken teriyaki and noodles and carrots. Later on they came around with oodles of noodles, which were kind of crunchy because the water wasn’t really hot enough. There were also croutons in it, which turned into just soggy pieces of bread. I thought that was strange… About 6 hours later they fed us lasagna and yogurt. I was hoping for some Korean food, but I guess I have a whole year to eat like a Korean! I didn’t sleep very well on the plane, even after taking sleeping pills. On the 12 hour and 45 minute trip I probably slept about 2 hours on and off. One thing that really surprised me, was I kept opening up the window (I was in a window seat) and it was always sunny. I guess the way the were flying, we were following the sun, because it never turned to dark!
After landing in Tokyo, I had to buy batteries for my camera because I realized the ones I had in there were dead. Since I was in Tokyo, when I paid with US money, I got Yen back! I guess I’ll have to go back so I can spend it! Oh yea, speaking of money, when I got to the Chicago airport I converted $180 into 208,000 Won. Now I have a stack of WON bills about 3 inches!
The plane ride from Tokyo to Seoul was only 2 hours and 8 minutes. I sat next to an Asian man who didn’t say one word, even after I said Hello to him. On the flight they fed us a half of a “something” sandwich. The girl said the name but I didn’t catch it. I’m still not really sure of the ingredients, but I think it went like this: white bread, cheese, ham, a piece of wheat bread, scrambled eggs, wasabi, and another piece of white bread. It was served cold like a turkey sandwich would be. Maybe it wasn’t scrambled eggs, but I don’t know what else it could have been. The sandwich was interesting, a little spicy, maybe they are trying to prepare me for what is to come!
Oh, another thing about the Tokyo airport, I went to the bathroom, and there were three different kinds to choose from. The first was a picture of a regular toilet. The second was a picture of a butt with water spraying at it, and the last was a line with a little hill on it. I chose the regular toilet, only because it was also a changing room, and I had soo much luggage I wouldn’t have fit in the other rooms. I’m very curious as to what the line with the hill was, next time I’ll look in there when I don’t have 15 bags with me! It’s probably one of those squatting toilets which I can’t wait to see!
So after landing in Seoul, I flew through customs, and when I passed security, this is what I saw:


If you can't read the bottom, it says "Kelly Campbell Welcome to Korea!" The boy standing in front of the sign wasn't the one who drove me home, some old man came and took my stuff. I was very happy when he called Clara on the way to my apartment and let me talk to her(Since Aunt Rose has been scaring me about getting picked up from an airport and sold into prostitution for days now... hahaha) I knew he was legit after I talked to Clara from his cell phone.

I have sooo much to tell everyone since I've been in Korea(even though it's only been a few hours), but I am much too tired to write it all now. Here is a little preview... I met a new friend in my apartment building named Tiger, I found a syringe in my refrigerator, I have been watching lots of soft porn, and there are 13 year old girls camped out in front of my apartment! And of course I have pictures of my apartment! I will write about all of that fun stuff tomorrow! I promised you all interesting blogs, and my next one will be great I promise!!