On Tuesday, August 28th, I left my home to get on an airplane to begin a new chapter in my life. But I didn’t realize that getting to South Korea was going to be an adventure in itself.

First, it took be 3 flights before I finally arrived in South Korea on Thursday, August 30th. I first flew to LAX in California, had a three hour layover there, had a quick meal, and then proceeded to wander around the airport searching for information about what gate I was supposed to be at. My boarding pass didn’t have the information listed, and neither did the screens within the airport. Finally when I found someone, they gave me the information and we were boarding the plane 2 minutes after I got to the correct gate.

The next destination was Shanghai, China. While flying to LAX took 4 and a half hours, this flight was 13. I dozed a bit, watched some movies, ate a few meals and chatted with the people in my row. By the time I got off that plane, I never wanted to fly again. Except I had one more flight to go.

If you want to ask me what China was like, I wouldn’t be able to give you any information because I only saw the inside of the airport. I went through another security check, had my passport checked and a picture taken of me, and then changed clothes and washed up in a bathroom. Also, while the Shanghai airport offers free WiFi, it doesn’t actually work, so I apologize to everyone who was worried when they weren’t able to reach me.

After a short layover at Shanghai, I was finally on my last plane to South Korea. This flight was just over an hour, which felt like no time at all, thankfully. When I got off, I followed the herd of people to immigration to have my passport and visa checked, have an awful picture taken of me, and then finally to baggage claim.

I met up with my two fellow teachers in the airport, and then we got bus tickets from the airport in Incheon to Jinju. This was a 4 hour ride, so we all took naps. But at least it was more spacious than an airplane.

When we arrived in Jinju, it had begun to rain. Our supervisor and two other people we will work with picked us up, dropped our luggage off at our apartments and then took us to dinner at a delicious porridge restaurant.

Today, we ventured out to a bank and a store called EMart, which is similar to Walmart back home. While it wasn’t a very big adventure today, it was interesting to interact with Korean people and see what every day life is like.

Tomorrow I am going to see a ballet and Monday I will start working at Jinju Academy. Classes start next week, so it will be nice to get familiar with our classrooms and make lesson plans.

Thanks for reading, and I will continue with updates on my adventures!