Instead of waking at 3am to catch my 6:15 flight we decided to go without sleep. We indulged ourselves at the loading dock, had some drinks downtown, and at my family's place. I was able to hold out until our flight from Denver to San Franciso where I enjoyed an Anchor Steam. When we finally boarded for Seoul it was Cabernet, Rum, and Tylenol PM. En Route, my shoes and a shirt had spilled out of my bag somewhere between St Louis and Incheon.
I have read that Korean strangers can have two sides to them. They can be rude and jump in front of you for taxi's without an apology and can be very helpful. On our first day we experienced both. A woman called for her kid and ran in front of us in the airport customs. This is apparently very common and is not necessarily rude or frowned upon, but upon arrival we saw the good side immediately. We were walking with all of our bags reading directions from a piece of paper and some women helped us who spoke English. They weren't sure where our hostel was, so they entered a store and the local shopkeeper pointed us in the correct direction. Everyone was working really hard to get us to the hostel. It was amazing. This is the side of Koreans that we have seen the most of.
The man who showed us our rooms at the hostel has been a great help. When we inquired about food, he wrote down some dishes for us to eat in Korean characters. Our first taste of Korean food was spectacular. Most restaurants require you to remove your shoes as does our hostel. We sat at a table on the floor with our legs crossed and smiled when they spoke to us in Korean. Everyone speaks to Sandra directly because she looks Asian. The whole kitchen emptied out to watch us eat. I didn't think I was jetlagged, but I have never slept this well.
I have read that Korean strangers can have two sides to them. They can be rude and jump in front of you for taxi's without an apology and can be very helpful. On our first day we experienced both. A woman called for her kid and ran in front of us in the airport customs. This is apparently very common and is not necessarily rude or frowned upon, but upon arrival we saw the good side immediately. We were walking with all of our bags reading directions from a piece of paper and some women helped us who spoke English. They weren't sure where our hostel was, so they entered a store and the local shopkeeper pointed us in the correct direction. Everyone was working really hard to get us to the hostel. It was amazing. This is the side of Koreans that we have seen the most of.
The man who showed us our rooms at the hostel has been a great help. When we inquired about food, he wrote down some dishes for us to eat in Korean characters. Our first taste of Korean food was spectacular. Most restaurants require you to remove your shoes as does our hostel. We sat at a table on the floor with our legs crossed and smiled when they spoke to us in Korean. Everyone speaks to Sandra directly because she looks Asian. The whole kitchen emptied out to watch us eat. I didn't think I was jetlagged, but I have never slept this well.
Photo from Wikipedia.org of Incheon International Airport
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