Nalina's Diary

Good evening folks!... Or rather early morning for those in the United States. Hehehe. ^^

Man, it's been quite the feat trying to get internet around here. Today some techy folks came in and plugged us in and boy am I happy! It's like my world has reconnected and I'm alive again!! An exaggeration? Maybe so, but I don't care. :D

I arrived here safely at around 3:15pm Korean time on Saturday, May 19th. We had quite a bit of turbulence, but other than that had no issues... besides the airplane food. :P Yes.... I'm sure most of you are familiar with the tasty food. Hehehe... Walking for what seemed like a couple miles through the Incheon Airport, we finally made it to an underground subway... or so I call it. I don't know what it's called in Korean. Dragging our baggage quickly into the subway and squashing together with other travelers like sardines, the doors closed and we made our way to the other end of the airport where we would pick up the rest of our luggage. After the ordeal of finding the bags and hauling them onto a cart, we finally met the rest of our family as they waited at the gate. It was so good to have someone else leading I can tell you that much!

We spent the rest of the day unpacking at the house and dozing, hehehe... me at least. We had a very nice dinner of the traditional Korean dishes which included about three different kinds of kimchi (cucumber kimchi, radish kimchi, and water kimchi), bracken fern (gkosaldi), and other panchan and namul (seasoned veggies) to eat with kong bop (bean-rice) and taenjang chigeh (bean paste soup). Man that was a mouthful! Literally too! It felt great to eat a wholesome meal after all of that airplane food! After the delightful meal I was sent to bed with a very thickly padded blanket for a mattress and the floor for the box spring... though of course there is no spring to this box! :P

Early Sunday morning I woke up to the sleeping-on-the-floor aftereffects: aching bones! I think I need more padding to keep from having such aching bones! Makes me feel old hahaha! After a very Korean breakfast (much like the dinner from the night before), we washed the dishes, put on some comfy clothes and walking shoes, and hiked out to a slightly more remote area of Seoul to have some exercise. Since it was Sunday, it wasn't very active and few stores were open. However, it was great to be able to walk a couple of miles in the warm sun, listening to numerous birds sing their morning song with an occasional vehicle to disturb nature's peace and quiet. It was only about 8:00am, but the sun was high and the air was heavy with moisture, making me sweat quite easily and have labored breathing. I have been told that there are lots of foreigners around here, but I have yet to encounter even one! Everyone still looks at me like I'm a foreigner hahaha!... Wait... I am aren't I?

With dinner, I took a shot of soju (Korean "poor man's" alcohol). Ooooh was it bitter! My cousin drank a whole bottle! My glass was like only 2 oz lol!

Monday rolled around and the same morning routine commenced. During our walk, we also tried to find an internet cafe where I could get on to the internet with my laptop. I found only one on the whole five or so blocks! Talk about advanced technology!.. or the lack thereof. After a good wash from the sweat and grime of the very muggy and already warm day, I went and got my nails done at the Verona Nail Arts Parlor!... they're quite pretty to say the least, but darned expensive. 70,000 wons!!! That's about $60 I believe with the current ratios. Hahaha... It's my first time getting a complete manicure and nail design so it was quite an interesting experience.

My family here has been trying to talk to me in Korean and broken English to get me involved. I can understand most of what they say, but I cannot respond so I just stand there and smile, nodding like a dummy... I sure hope I catch on fast enough to have a little conversation! Oh and I almost forgot the best part! If you ever decide to come to Korea, beware the Asian drivers! THEY SUCK AT DRIVING! Oh and to help them get by, they have this special sensor on the back of their car so that they can practically drive backwards at 50 mph while staring at their sensor monitor! It's crazy! I want one of those. I almost got run over by a car because the driver was running a red light on a busy cross street.

Anyway, I have a long day tomorrow as I will be flying to Jeju Island and staying there a few days. Fun fun! I will let you know how that all goes! But until then, enjoy the small pictures I posted!

Love you! XOXO