Friday, July 29, 2011

Well I made it

Okay everyone I made it to Changwon, South Korea finally.  I've already been here a couple of days but this is the first time I've been able to get on here.

Anyways I guess I can talk a little about my experience getting here...

First off I was a big procrastinator and didn't start packing until about 2 days before departure.  Probly not the best idea but I got the job done nevertheless.  I packed one huge suitcase and two carry-one bags.  I kind of wish I had photographed everything I packed but I put my camera in my huge suitcase to be put on the plane so it was not readily available.

So this wild ride began on Friday July 22nd, 2011.  I finished up my packing and said goodbye to my hometown of Sioux City, Iowa and headed south to Omaha, Nebraska.  I had my last real meal in the United States there.  I chose to go to the Cracker Barrel and I was not disappointed.  I got the Chicken Fried Chicken.  Thats a pretty American way to say goodbye to America i figured haha :)

After dinner my bro and I went to pick up my cousin as she wanted to come to the airport the next day and see me off.  My brother missed an exit somewhere and we ended up about a fourth of the way to Lincoln, Nebraska.  It was a really funny event.  We got to my cousins place at some point and chatted with her and her parents for awhile.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to the Council Bluffs area and went to the motel we were staying at for the night.

It was a fun evening, lots of laughter and joking.  I've actually forgot everything that we did already.  How sad is that?

We got up about 4:00 a.m. on the 23rd.  I had a couple bowls of Frosted Flakes and we then headed out to Eppley Airfield.  It took about 10 minutes to get there and into the Delta terminal.  Time moved really fast.  I got checked in and gave my huge oversized suitcase to the lady that checked me in.  She charged me an extra $75 because my suitcase weighed 59 lbs.  Apparently there is a 50 lb. limit until you get hammered with a charge.

After that we all walked up to my gate and sat down for a few minutes before I had to go through the security point.  I thought there was going to be more time but it felt like the I sat down, my brother took some pics of me and my family and then it was time to go.

It was at this moment when the reality began to sit in, I was not going to get to see these people for a least a year.   I was not going to get to hug them or look at them for a whole year.  Of course with the advent of Skype I knew I might get to "see" them but seeing someone on a screen versus seeing them in real life is completely different in my opinion.  It was tough honestly.  I rushed my goodbyes so I wouldn't start crying.  I told them all "I loved them very much" and turned around and walked to the security point.  Tears began to well up,  I thought I might lose it but I pushed it back and didn't let the emotions take me over.  I thought about God and his plans for me.  I was indeed feeling extremely sad about leaving my mother and my father and the rest of my family but I was confident that I was doing what God wanted me to be doing so I didn't want to ball my eyes out for doing what God wanted me to do.

I pushed forward and went to the security point.  I stood in line and would every now and then look back to get just one more glimpse of my dear family before I was beyond the point were I would be able to see them anymore.  I got to the point and began removing my shoes and everything from my pockets and took my liquids and my computer from my carry-on bag and put it all in the x-ray machine.  I walked through the metal detector and made it through without a beep (ya!!).  I'm not exactly sure what time it was at this point but I went to a seat to put my shoes back on and organize all my things.  I realize the plane was boarding so I began walking to he gate.  I walked past where my family was before but they were already gone :(  I continued walking and gave the person my boarding pass and got on the plane.  I can remember repeatedly thinking how crazy it was that I was getting to do this.  The plane left around 6:25 a.m.

My next stop was in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The plane ride was uneventful to say the least.  We gained an hour because of a time zone change and got to Salt lake around 7:55 a.m.  I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to find my next flight so my first priority was to find the gate.  It wasn't to far really.  When I got there I found out that the plane was delayed by about 2 hours.  So I decided to get some Krispy Kreame donuts and a cup of hot tea (for some reason I was really cold all morning).  It was a delicious combination.  After eating that rather scrumptious second breakfast (Lord of the Rings anyone?) I called and texted various family members and waited for the plane to board.  Eventually it did (honestly can't remember when now) and I was on my way to San Francisco, California.

Again the plane ride was uneventful at best.  This flight I did get a window seat however and I enjoyed looking out the widow to see what was below.

I cannot remember when the plane got to San Francisco but I know we gained another hour.  My first objective was to find out where I was to check in to get a plane ticket for my next flight (the one that would take me across the ocean).  I found out where the International Terminal was and started heading there.  My flight was with Singapore Airlines (which I had heard good things about), so I found there counter and checked in with them.  I ran into an issue though.  The people with Singapore Airlines asked me if I had any bags to check in.  I told them I had checked a bag in when I was in Omaha.  They wanted to see my baggage ticket but I had never been given one.  They basically told me without a baggage ticket they could not guarantee that my stuff would make it to Korea.  I was quite shocked to say the least.  I had no idea what to do.  I began to head back to the Delta terminal to ask them about getting a baggage tag.  My family called and asked me how I was doing.  I told them about the issue and they made some calls as well.  They did not get to much help for there efforts.  The best suggestion they got from anyone was for me to go to the Delta Terminal and talk to someone about getting the baggage tag number.  So I did that and thankfully the employees were able to help me and gave me a number which said my bags were going to transfer to the plane bound for South Korea.  I took that number back to the people with Singapore Airlines and showed it to them and they too agreed that my bags would indeed be heading to South Korea with me.  I was relieved.

After that I proceeded onward.  I had to go through a security checkpoint again.  This one was a lot bigger deal though because it was an international security check point.  There was a ton of people from different countries.  It was actually really sad area to be in.  There were families saying goodbye and many of them were crying.  I felt there pain.  I found myself wondering what was causing the people there pain.  Might it of been a similar pain that i had felt before (absence of loved ones for a period of time)?  Or might it of been something even sadder (absence of loved ones perhaps forever).  Either way I was definitively empathizing with the crying people.

Although the check point was a pretty big deal it seemed it was kind of just the one Id been though before only with passports.  I had to empty out my pockets and take my shoes off and take out my little bag of liquids and computer and put it all in an x-ray machine.  Another difference was that I didn't have to walk through and x-ray machine.  I got to go through and infrared machine.  It was pretty cool.  It reminded me of the beginning of Halo: Combat Evolved (that probably doesn't mean anything to some of you lol).  I got through just fine though.

Once I was through I went somewhere and sat down for awhile and called and texted a few people.  As time drew near to board the plane I began to think that i was not going to so easily be able to just text or call these people.  It was kind of a scary feeling.  And once again I got similar emotions coming over me like the ones when I left my family in Omaha.  I got really sad because once I got on that plane there was no going back.  Before, on my two other flights, I was still in America.  I could still run away and go back home if I wanted to.  But if I got on this next plane that possibility was no longer there.  So I went through another low phase but nevertheless I continued to tell myself that I must get on that plane and see where God takes me.  So I did.

I have to say, the good things that I had heard about a Singapore Airlines flight were not exaggerated.  When I got on I was amazed at what I saw.  The thing was like a flying luxury hotel,  at least in the first class area.  The farther your went back (which was where i was seated) the plane became more of Motel 6 kind of plane.  But i didn't care really because most of the planes I had been on before wouldn't of even been able to be compared to anything like a hotel or motel.  They were just boring regular planes.

But not this plane.  From the moment I sat down the flight attendants were there to serve, and they did.  Within a few minutes of boarding attendants were walking down the isles giving out hot towels (I was like "no way, hot towels, what will I do with such a thing?").  So I pretty much just wiped my hands and face with it.  A couple minutes later the attendants collected them.  After take-off the attendants came around again with an appetizer of sorts, peanuts.  They were pretty tasty.  I really couldn't believe how nice the plane was.  There was blanket and a pillow for sleeping.  There was a television in front of me so I could watch movies or shows or listen to music if I wanted.  For the first few hours of this 11-12 hour flight I was almost afraid to touch any of it.  So I really ended up just sitting there for awhile like I would of if I was on a 2 hour flight.

After an hour or so of flight the attendants brought pamphlets around to everyone.  I had no idea what they were.  I came to find out that it was a menu.  I was going to get served a full course meal...on a plane,  "WOW" i thought to myself.  I think one of the choices was a kind of Asian style pasta and another was beef fried rice with kimchi.  At the time I did not know that dish had kimchi in it.  Having beef fried rice sounded really good though so I ordered that.  I came with so much food.  A bowl of the rice, a dinner roll, some strange (but good) cucumber salad thing, and a delightful pineapple and peach crisp. It was a good meal.

After dinner I wanted to do some reading on my Kindle or listen to my iPod but all that stuff was stowed away above me and I was in the middle seat and felt bad about asking the guy beside me to move so i could dig through my stuff.  So I began to explore the television in front of me.  I found the movie Battle: Los Angeles so I decided to watch that.  That took up a couple hours.  It is actually difficult to fathom how one can keep themselves busy for a flight that takes 11 hours.

After I watched that silly movie I was starting to get really tired so I got my blanket and pillow and tried to get some shut-eye.  It really didn't go very well.  I may have been able to sleep for an hour or so.  I woke up eventually.  The attendants continued to bring little drinks and snacks throughout the flight.  I drank lots of water and some apple and orange juice.  They also brought more peanuts and one time I got a bag of pretzels.  So many tasty treats.  Later in the flight, towards the end, the attendants offered us yet another dinner.  I went ahead and ordered (Steak and potatoes) but thought to myself "I have been sitting down for like 10 hours, my body has had no exertion and with that in mind I probably don't need another full course meal".  Never the less I would not call what they gave me steak and potatoes and throughout the meal i found myself wanting a real Midwestern style steak and potatoes.  If ever you are on a Singapore flight I would not recommend this meal, especially if your are from the Heartland.  The other stuff with the meal was pretty good.  There was another roll and a bowl of just good ol garden salad and a Hershey bar for desert.

Okay so by the time the meal got done it was about 20 minutes to landing.  I just kind of sat there and waited.  I was really starting to feel tired so I just kept laying my head down for just a little extra rest.  The attendants past around some papers which turned out to customs and immigration papers.  I had to fill those out so a little extra sleep was out of the question.

Eventually the plane arrived (at Incheon International Airport).  I was not done filling out my papers they gave to me so the plane pretty much emptied before I got done.  It was kind of funny actually, everyone had left and I was trying to put my passport number down.  I must of looked ill or something because one of the attendants walked up to me and said "Sir are you alright?"  I felt fine of course but it was kind of funny.

When I finished I exited the plane to a new world.  The airport was quite nice.  There were people right at the gate ready to help.  I asked one of them where the baggage claim was and in general which way I should head.  She pointed me in a direction so I went that way.  I felt pretty good for the most part.  I was starting to get tired but I was just trying to stay focused.  There was no English signs anywhere so I had to rely on a symbol of a "suitcase" to get me where I wanted to go.  I had to take a small underground train to get to another part of the airport and to the baggage area.  I had to go through the immigration area and show someone my passport and visa so they new I was suppose to be there.  I gave the guy one of those little cards (the ones given to me back on the plane) with my immigration information on it.  After that I was pretty free.  I found the baggage pick-up area (#14).  Thankfully my bag was already out and ready for pick-up.  After I picked it up my luggage went from 2 to 3 bags.  I worked to figure out how my two hands would carry all of it, especially considering the one I just picked up weighed 59 pounds.  I got it all worked out and started moving along.

My next task was to find a currency exchange.  I found one fast.  Before I got to it I had to get into a line where people were giving some person the other little card with customs information on it.  After that I headed to the exchange.  I had $500 on me.  I gave it all to the lady and I got 506,500 won back (I will explain the currency difference at some point in a later blog).

After I got my money I went to figure out how I was going to get to Changwon.  I already had a ticket to get from Seoul Train Station to Changwon but the problem was getting from Incheon Airport to Seoul Train Station.  My recruiter gave me some options.  I was told I could get a train ticket which would take me there or I could take a shuttle bus.  The first thing I saw was the shuttle buses so I decided I would take that.  I had no idea where to buy a ticket.  I looked around for someone to help me.  I found a woman at a booth so I went to her and explained my situation (thank the Lord she knew English).  She pointed me to a place to buy a ticket.  I bought one for 15,000 won.  The train number was 6050 and the gate number was 10B.  I had about a 15 minute wait so I went outside to find the gate.  When I got out there I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore :)  There were cars driving everywhere and I heard honking horns a lot.  There were people scrambling to get places and so many of the men running around were puffing on cigarettes.  I found my gate and stood by it.  The bus arrived on time and we were off to Seoul Train Station.

The ride to the station was an adventure in its own right.  I felt weird knowing that just to the north was North Korea.  I looked in the direction I thought was north trying to get a glimpse of what it might look like. I thought a few times that I might of seen it but I can't be for sure.  I am really not sure how to describe everything I saw.  It was like information overload.  Cars were driving super fast and I saw buildings that were really really tall.  I saw lots of water and lots of green.  At some point we got into the heart of Seoul.  A lot of what I saw was what I had imagined a large Eastern Asian city would look like, tall building with signs on the building that went all the way to the top.  So much different than America.

The bus ride took around 50 minutes to get so Seoul as far as I could tell.  By this point it was probably around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m.  My fatigue was increasing.  When we arrived at Seoul Train Station I gathered my things and headed towards what I thought was an entrance.  In reality I had no idea where to go but I just started walking.  I made it inside and examined my surroundings.  My train was called a KTX train bound for Changwon at 9:50 p.m.  Again little, if anything, was in English so I looked around for any indication of the symbol for KTX.  I noticed some signs with trains and times of departure with the KTX logo on them but I saw none that indicated one was headed for Changwon.  I continued to look around and got nowhere.  Eventually a man came up to me and asked me if I needed help.  I showed him my ticket for the KTX train and he started to look for information on it.  He came back to me and said some things.  I couldn't fully understand him but he said something about the train being cancelled and that I needed to wait longer.  I did not feel very good about either pieces of information.  So I continued to look around and eventually found an area specifically devoted to KTX.  There were employees there so I walked up to the woman and showed her my boarding pass and asked her if it was still going (Im not sure if she spoke much English).  She seemed to indicate to me that it was on time.  Later I would find out that the large sign with all the departure signs only shows about an hour ahead.  Since I arrived almost two hours before my train was to depart it was not showing up.

Anyways after all that I felt confident that my train would indeed be coming and heading to Changwon.  So I found a place to sit and relax.  I was still pretty on edge though.  I messed around with my Kindle for who knows how long.  I messaged my co-worker Jonny to tell him I was still coming.  I can't really remember how long I waited but eventually the train came and was ready to depart.  I found the gate it was suppose to be at and headed toward that.  I showed a woman waiting outside the train my boarding pass and she pointed me where I was suppose to go.  I found the car I was to be in and noticed that the aisles were very thin and I wasn't sure where to put my giant 59 pound bag.  I found a large metal rack at the back of my car and put in on that.  I took my other two bags with me to my seat and put them above me.  I was honestly worried about my big bag because it was behind me and the rack it was sitting on was right by a door to get off.  I thought someone may steal it.  I felt this way for most of the train ride.

The train departed on time at 9:50 p.m. and would take almost 3 hours to get to Changwon.  The plan was for someone to be there waiting for me to take me to my apartment.  By this point I was really starting to feel drained.  I continuously dozed off on the train ride.  My eyes felt very heavy.  I was beginning to feel a little sick to my stomach but only a little.  It was a fairly uneventful ride really.  It was already dark so I couldn't see anything outside the train.  So for the most part I just sat on the train waiting and looking forward to laying on whatever bed I had when I got to my apartment.

As time went on the train made many stops on the way.  There was a TV screen on my train car which would indicate which stop it was.  It generally would pop up in Korean first and then a few minutes later would be shown in English.  Since I kept dozing off I was concerned I might accidently  sleep thorough my stop.  Thankfully I was able to keep myself awake and got to the station fine.  I got off the train and again looked around to try and get my barrings.  It was difficult considering it was dark.  I tried to look around to see if anyone was just standing around with a sign.  I saw no one.  There was and escalator so I decided to take that up.  When I got to the top I noticed a woman walking around.  She seemed to be looking for someone so I considered going up to her and asking her if she was looking for me but I decided not to.  I turned to go the other way and just as I began to walk a familiar face came around the corner.  A contact I had made through Facebook came to greet me at almost 1 a.m.  His name is Andy.  It was a relief to see him there and not to far behind him was the taxi driver who was to take me to my apartment.  Andy and I chatted for a second and he invited me to go on a retreat with some other people from the church he is a part of.  I was very happy to get the invite.  I told him I would let him know and we parted ways.  I followed the taxi driver to his van.

The man began to drive and again I got the feeling of information overload.  I was in my new home city and I really had no idea what anything was.  It was exciting but kinda freaky too.  As we drove I began to get an eerie feeling.  I was basically entrusting my life to this one person I had never met to get me someplace in the middle of the night.  I began to think about what would happen if he dropped me off at the wrong place.  Where would I sleep then?  We drove for I don't know how long.  The thought of being in the position I was in was both exhilarating if not a bit scary.  It was one of the reasons I came to Korea in the first place, to have no choice but to trust God.  I knew I would be okay.

At some point we were out of the crazy busy-ness of the main streets and it seemed as though we were in a neighborhood.  It was extremely dark.  The driver stopped in front of a house and began checking the addresses.  The way he was looking was making me feel he had no idea where we were suppose to be.  At some point he stopped in front of a house and began to look around.  He got out and a man from inside one of the houses began to talk to my taxi driver.  Obviously I couldn't understand a word they were saying and again was starting to get a little worried because I saw no sign of Jonny anywhere (he was suppose to be meeting me at my apartment).  The men stopped talking and Jonny was still nowhere to be found.  The taxi driver began to take my luggage out of his van and still Jonny was nowhere.  I was again beginning to wonder where I would sleep if this was not the place.

The taxi driver left me there and the man from inside the house began to come out.  He walked up to me and I think he asked me if I could speak Korean.  I told him no.  We began to have a difficult dialogue.  I discerned that I was in the right place because he asked me if I was to work at Seok Hwa school and if my name was Jacob.  I was beginning to feel relived and at some point out of the shadows Jonny appeared.  Another relieving sight.  He and I shook hands and then the house owner, Jonny and I began to head back to what I believed to be the apartments.

When we got to the door the house owner began to show me how to lock and unlock the door.  Again he doesn't know English so a lot of our communication was through nonverbal hand gestures.  It was kind of fun but at the same time I felt kind of bad for not knowing his language.  He opened the door and I began to walk in in front of both of them. The home owner began to say something kind of loud and Jonny told me I needed to take of my shoes in a home in Korea.  I felt bad about this and apologized to the house owner.  He showed me around the apartment and how to work the lights and gave a little tour of the place. At this point I was starting to feel dizzy and even more sick to my stomach.  I started wondering if I was dying :)  Nevertheless the house owner left Jonny and I and we talked for a second.  Jonny told me that I did indeed have to be at work in the morning at 9:30 a.m.  At this point it was 1:00 a.m.  I was hoping I wouldn't have to but I accepted it and actually kind of looked forward to it.  With that Jonny left and I decided to unpack some thing and then headed to bed.

And that everyone is a brief story of how I arrived in Changwon, South Korea.  When I left Omaha it was Friday July 23, 2011at around 6:25 a.m .  When I arrived in Changwon it was Monday July 25, 2011 at around 1:00 a.m.  I basically lost an entire day of my life getting here due to "time travel" haha :)

If anyone has any questions you can ask me.  Maybe you will catch me on Facebook or something.

There's more to come so stay tuned...

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