Dear nervous parents and other blog followers,
We landed in Seoul Incheon airport around 4:30 AM Korea time safely. The flight was very smooth with just a little intermittent turbulence. Apparently 2:30 AM is "snack" time on the 1:00 AM flight out of Chicago O'Hare which consisted of a choice between Bi-Bim-Bab and Beefsteak served by a very professional (read attractive) staff of flight attendants. Faced with the opportunity to embrace my surrogate culture for the next four weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to try the Korean dish. Bi-Bim-Bab consists of steamed rice that is mixed in with some vegetables and in our case, ground beef. Add in a few spices according to the instruction booklet that comes with the dish (clearly written for people like me), complete with picture instructions and you have a great meal.
The meal also came with kimchi, the national staple of spiced pickled cabbage. We'll say it was 'interesting.' Perhaps my next kimchi endeavor will combine it with something else to mask the strength of the nationally beloved dish.
Shortly after our meal, we had a sort of mandatory nap time. Window shades must be closed, cabin lights are dimmed, and Tylenol PMs are swallowed in the hopes of waking up just in time for breakfast... which deserves its own commentary.
When it was breakfast time, the stewardesses offered us two choices again: Western and Korean. The first choice was "Rajania" which I initially thought would be the Korean meal since I didn't recognize the word. Then I heard the second choice: fried rice. What I have gathered is that fried rice is a somewhat common Korean breakfast. Apparently someone failed to tell Asiana that "Lasagna" isn't the fried rice of the West. Nonetheless, it was good (how could I pass up the opportunity to have lasagna... on a plane... for breakfast?) and fortunately rounded out the breakfast category with yogurt, fruit, and a croissant.
14 hours after boarding in Chicago, we were wheels down in South Korea where we flew through customs, grabbed our bags, and exchanged our money. Then we grabbed a train between Incheon and Gimpo airports which was a whole other event. The ticket mach
ines accepted only 1000 and 5000 Won notes (roughly $1 and $5 respectively) and the exchange counter gave us money back in 10,000 Won notes. You would be surprised at how long it takes 9 engineering students to find and use a change machine, but eventually we made it through and caught the train just in time. This was no Chicago L or New York subway system. Squishy seats and air conditioning were nice, but the television screens at the end of each car were the nice touch for our 25 minute train ride.
Getting through security at Gimpo was another new experience. You could say that Korean security is quite different than TSA. While in the States, everybody is filed into specific queues, here, we were hearded into a large area for screening with do-it-yourself line formations. While we were waiting, there was a large group of Korean children who were either very excited to see us and talk English with us, or were making fun of us... I'm pretty sure they were making fun of us.
Now we're watching a Korean soap opera while we wait to board the flight to Ulsan... I think the woman is pregnant but if I know better, it doesn't belong to the guy who's with her. Now she's cutting an orange.
Until next time,
-David Rood
We landed in Seoul Incheon airport around 4:30 AM Korea time safely. The flight was very smooth with just a little intermittent turbulence. Apparently 2:30 AM is "snack" time on the 1:00 AM flight out of Chicago O'Hare which consisted of a choice between Bi-Bim-Bab and Beefsteak served by a very professional (read attractive) staff of flight attendants. Faced with the opportunity to embrace my surrogate culture for the next four weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to try the Korean dish. Bi-Bim-Bab consists of steamed rice that is mixed in with some vegetables and in our case, ground beef. Add in a few spices according to the instruction booklet that comes with the dish (clearly written for people like me), complete with picture instructions and you have a great meal.The meal also came with kimchi, the national staple of spiced pickled cabbage. We'll say it was 'interesting.' Perhaps my next kimchi endeavor will combine it with something else to mask the strength of the nationally beloved dish.
Shortly after our meal, we had a sort of mandatory nap time. Window shades must be closed, cabin lights are dimmed, and Tylenol PMs are swallowed in the hopes of waking up just in time for breakfast... which deserves its own commentary.
When it was breakfast time, the stewardesses offered us two choices again: Western and Korean. The first choice was "Rajania" which I initially thought would be the Korean meal since I didn't recognize the word. Then I heard the second choice: fried rice. What I have gathered is that fried rice is a somewhat common Korean breakfast. Apparently someone failed to tell Asiana that "Lasagna" isn't the fried rice of the West. Nonetheless, it was good (how could I pass up the opportunity to have lasagna... on a plane... for breakfast?) and fortunately rounded out the breakfast category with yogurt, fruit, and a croissant.
14 hours after boarding in Chicago, we were wheels down in South Korea where we flew through customs, grabbed our bags, and exchanged our money. Then we grabbed a train between Incheon and Gimpo airports which was a whole other event. The ticket mach
ines accepted only 1000 and 5000 Won notes (roughly $1 and $5 respectively) and the exchange counter gave us money back in 10,000 Won notes. You would be surprised at how long it takes 9 engineering students to find and use a change machine, but eventually we made it through and caught the train just in time. This was no Chicago L or New York subway system. Squishy seats and air conditioning were nice, but the television screens at the end of each car were the nice touch for our 25 minute train ride.Getting through security at Gimpo was another new experience. You could say that Korean security is quite different than TSA. While in the States, everybody is filed into specific queues, here, we were hearded into a large area for screening with do-it-yourself line formations. While we were waiting, there was a large group of Korean children who were either very excited to see us and talk English with us, or were making fun of us... I'm pretty sure they were making fun of us.
Now we're watching a Korean soap opera while we wait to board the flight to Ulsan... I think the woman is pregnant but if I know better, it doesn't belong to the guy who's with her. Now she's cutting an orange.
Until next time,
-David Rood
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