Annyeong-haseyo!

Well, I've made it! Safe and sound and already done with my second full day in Korea - what a ride! It's still not fully real to me that I'm HERE - it's almost like I've decided to go off to summer camp in a far away foreign city because it hasn't gotten through to me that this is my HOME for the next two years....not just a little vacation or holiday....the place I'm actually LIVING....amazing!!! And so with that, I say "Annyeong-haseyo!" or simply "hello" from Seoul!

My 15 hour flight over to Korea (after leaving at 1 a.m. on Sunday, August 1st and arriving at O'Hare Airport at 10pm Sat., July 31st) got me into Incheon International Airport via Asiana Airlines around 5 a.m. Monday, August 2nd! The landing here in Korea was so flawless, I hardly felt the plane touch ground! The flight attendants all looked like porcelain dolls with their thin figures, perfect make-up, pressed uniforms, and slicked back hair that was bound back tightly in a bun - I couldn't have asked for a more comfortable flight!

After landing at Incheon, I had to wait for a while before getting through Immigration and then on to picking up my luggage from the baggage claim....

2 large carts and 7 pieces of luggage later, I made my way to Customs, where I breezed through, heading out the sliding doors to meet both the Middle and High School principals who were waiting to pick me up and take me to Seoul Foreign School (SFS)!

After a nasty hour and a half drive out of Incheon to Seoul (traffic was TERRIBLE...it was rush hour by this time), we finally made it to SFS! Both principals, Lynn(MS) and Kevin(HS), helped carry my 7 pieces of luggage to my "F" building and carted it onto the elevator. It was such a relief to have help and soon enough, I made it to F-42....my apartment room! This year I'm living in an apartment of another SFS teacher who happens to be on sabbatical this year, so everything is ready and rarin' to go! ;-) However, at the end of this year, I'll have to move again and buy all my own "stuff".....hopefully by then, I'll know my way around a bit tho!

Day 1 proved to be an exhausting one of unpacking, putting away, and box condensing, but it was nice to have it all pretty much taken care of before things got underway with the Orientation Week -

Now at the conclusion of Day 2, I've had a chance to meet many of the the "new hires" here at SFS, some of which even live in my same apartment building! I've met people mostly from different parts of the U.S., but there are also many people I've been meeting from the Phillipines, France, South Africa, Canada, and the UK! It's incredible to hear the stories about where some of these people have been and where they've lived! Many of them have lived and worked in other International Schools prior to their SFS contract, so it's quite fascinating!

We ventured out this morning to Yonsei University Severance Hospital: International Healthcare Center, where we were given physicals and other check-up procedures - there were so many Koreans in white doctors' coats, and many of them looked no older than me!

Later this afternoon, we went on a walking tour of the Yonhi-dong area (the "hub" of town where SFS is located) - it was crazy to walk down the street and not be able to really read what ANYthing said! But for the most part, I've been very impressed with how many English translations there are for so many of the signs, markets, shops, etc. here in Seoul - I know too there are certain parts of the city that are more "Americanized", but for now the impact of everything "Korea" is incredible~

I know this is a pretty long post and I don't intend for them to be this long all the time, but I know these first few days will be pretty crazy, and so there will be lots to share! I can't believe I'm in Korea.....hopefully I can get over this initial "shock" sooner rather than later...I'm more concerned about being ready for the school year! I know I have some pretty big shoes to fill as the new SFS Choral Director....I hope I can continue to instill the level of excellence with my students that SFS prides itself in~ then again, the hardest part is always getting started ;-)