On my flight from St. Louis to Chicago, I sat next to a Cubs fan that I figured was headed back home. Turns out they were from Alton…I wondered why they were nice with a sense humor ;)
Taking off from O’hare, I mistakenly ordered boring beef stroganoff over the delicious bibibap (marinated beef over spicy rice & veggies). But that’s okay because they served red red red wine. Don’t worry, I drank a ton of water to offset the effects of alcohol and caffeine (and had the aisle seat. always). Who wants dehydration on an already uncomfortable 13 hour flight?
Free wifi at Incheon Airport, so I was able to iMessage everyone back home that I couldn’t at Lambert and O’Hare.
(I’m on the fence about getting a phone here, so I’m relying on all my apps)
I also got in touch w. my Korean Aunt who went 3 hours out of her way to pick me up :) Korea 1, US 0
The exchange rate went up for the US dollar! That’s right I’m carrying $600 in cash, now about $660, that YOU know of…
After a quick supper, I said goodbye to my Aunt and Uncle (total savings of $50 ;) ) and checked into the Coatel Hotel in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu neighborhood.
The place is nice, it’s lived-in (you can’t tell from the pictures), and our bedding wasn’t clean but everything functions well, except the shower which is either scalding hot or freezing cold. I like the layout though.
Packing for a year of work as well as play in Korea was challenging (checking <50lbs. in 2 bags). I thought I over packed because hauling it was a small nuisance and I envied the passengers with only a single carry-on. But my roommates at the hotel couldn’t get over how light I packed :)
I am incredibly tired. It’s only 8PM on the 7th here, but 6 in the morning in Illinois and I couldn’t sleep on the plane.
I’m calling it a night and running in the morning. Hopefully some exercise will ease the jetlag I’m dreading. Ugh, and during training week!
Yogi Roadie 