Dandelion pinhole and Trip to Suwon, South Korea

Gary and I were bike riding in gorgeous Santa Barbara and I saw this patch of dandelions in a field. Of course I ran out to pinhole it, thank goodness I did! I love this image.
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I am writing to you from Suwon, South Korea. I’ve been here for a little over a week. It’s pretty fantastic and definitely has promise of great adventure. I don’t know where to start for I don’t want this blog to be pages long.

My journey was long, 24 hours long. From sunny Phoenix to cloudy Portland, Oregon to Tokyo, Japan to Seoul, South Korea. When we landed in Tokyo, men in blue suits and masks entered our plane to check for Swine Flu or SI as it’s known here (swine influenza). They had a body heat video camera and videoed everyone on board. A woman 2 seats in front of me had a fever and a red sticker was put on her chair. So instead of letting us off, we had to sit there for over an hour. More people came on board and they asked the woman endless questions, and were concerned about the people sitting around her as well. We all had to sign a piece of paper with our destination and information in case the woman came down with SI. Over an hour later we were able to run to our next flight.

The Portland to Tokyo leg of the trip was the worst. I was SO TIRED, but could not sleep. A mix of excitement and uncomfortable seats was to blame, so I watched movies. I was ‘Marley and Me’ and ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. I cried during both of them. I did enjoy having a tv on the seat in front of me with numerous movies to choose from. I watched a few sitcoms and played Bejeweled as well.

In line for the flight from Tokyo to Seoul, I met a really nice girl, Julie. I took my seat next to a French Canadian guy who was traveling throughout South Korea for the next month. We talked a little but were both really tired. I know we both tried sleeping and couldn’t, we should have just talked. They served us Kimbap on the plane. I didn’t like it… it’s Korean sushi. They have tons of Kimbap restaurants in Korea, I had a tuna roll the other night and it was pretty tasty. On the plane, one roll was spicy and one roll was filled with kimchee… Unfortunately, I’m not a fan. I love cabbage, but that is one spicy dish!

Once again I found myself in quarantine in South Korea. We were in a room and each of us had to have our temperature taken.

I had NO IDEA where to go or what to do when I got off the plane. Perhaps if I wasn’t so tired from being awake for almost 24 hours I could have figured it out. Thank goodness for Julie! I saw her waiting for the train to take us to our luggage and she totally helped me out. She’s also an English teacher but had a few months off before her next job and was going to Thailand for vacation! Lucky her! With Julie’s help I got through immigration, customs, found my luggage and even exchanged money. I was looking for my driver holding a sign with my name on it, but he wasn’t there. Julie let me borrow her phone to call Lena, my recruiter. A few minutes later I saw the guy with my name running towards my gate. I got in his van and started the 90 minute journey to my new town. It was raining and I was delirious from no sleep. I tried to look out the window but quickly feel asleep. Next thing I knew we were getting off the highway.

I was engulfed in bright lights, neon signs and hi-rise after hi-rise. I was totally reminded of Times Square in NYC. We pulled into my hotel and it was amazing! It was so gorgeous and the bathroom! Wow! I was hoping my apartment was going to be just like my hotel… There was a computer in my room but I couldn’t figure out how to work the internet. I called the front desk and someone came to my room to fix it. I got online, but realized I was only typing in Korean characters. I pushed buttons until I figured out which one switched the keyboard. It was nice to be able to connect with my family and friends back home.

I set up my pinhole camera to add to my sleeping series and went to sleep. I had to start my new job the very next day!

…come back to read more about my adventure!