Monday, June 29, 2009

Sans Java



I do believe that's the first time in my life I've stayed up for more than 24 hours. A looong plane trip, a transfer, a few hour layover, then another plane trip from Seoul to Ulsan. We arrived at Ulsan around 9:30, and were met by three smiling University of Ulsan students, one of which is my new roomate, Jae-Eun Lee (pictures to come in a few hours when I buy a converter for my computer). After a sweeeet night's rest, we wake up in the morning to our first day at UoU!

Breakfast was palatable, and after breakfast we had our first Korean language class. I do believe I'm making progress, my name in Korean is: 커ㅣ 이 티. It's quite easy to remember :D 7-11 Ol El is the mnemonic I use. Productive class, then for lunch. A good many food items are too spicy for me, even for my quarter Mexican tongue. But I will survive it, and perhaps even lose some weight with all the things that I can't eat.

After lunch, we had our orientation, in which I met a LOT of neat people from all over the world -Morocco, Germany, China, Japan,- and even Arkansas. We all met each other, had a good time, then off to dinner at a deLICious pork place that featured a grill-your-own meat kind of thing. Mmm, I will go there again whenever I get a craving for some carne. A stroll through downtown after dinner and a bit of shopping, and my tired body called it quits for the night.

That was day one. I'm about to start day two :-) After I take a shower in the communal bathrooms.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Manana

Here we go, in a row, to a birthday par-tay.... Nah :D We're going to Korea tomorrow! Saturday, June 27, we depart Alabama for a different land. Over seas, through the sky, destination Seoul, where we'll catch a few flights and rides and finally arrive at the University of Ulsan.

We: we being defined as me, Kati Chapman, and the six other travelers that I am going with to experience what has not being experienced before. I don't know personally some of them, but I'm sure I will after the 12+ hour plane ride. This is, of course, my story: but they are part of my story, and if you're reading this, your story as well. So here is the first introductions, maybe they'll spice the plot up a bit in the entries to come :D

Delia Sescioreanu- Native Romanian, Tennis player, the very definition of the word "cute."
Josh Hooks- Fellow Marketing major, coooolest guy there is, quite lovable.
Tomas Ptacek- Smartest guy you'll ever meet, tennis player as well, native Czech Republican.

Also in the cast are Mary Kidd, Alan Ingram, and Danielle Musgrove, who also has a blog (http://daniellemusgrove.blogspot.com/).

Their stories are to come, and mine begins, starting with the 6:00 wake up call. Bon Voyage!