From San Francisco To Korea

San Francisco From The Plane

Quick update while I have wireless in the Incheon airport:

I made it to San Francisco! My second plane (from DC) was delayed an hour, so I ended up getting to the hotel over an hour late - but it was no problem. I managed to miss the paperwork line and still got there in time for the actual presentations! 

We did some activities, got some logistical information, and met each other. Everyone is awesome.

 
The next morning we flew from San Francisco to Incheon/Seoul, Korea - twelve hours. It turned from Friday to Saturday at some point, but the sun never set since we were following it west. I sat next to a Korean American from California on the plane, who had been living in Seoul for the past 6 years. We bonded, and he taught me some Korean survival phrases and explained how the public transportation worked. I learned how to say "I can't eat meat" in Korean - now I just have to figure out the Mongolia, haha!

Krissy and Jason, Two of My Group Members, With Their Breakfast Drinks

 Before we got on the flight to Korea, my travel group (Group 4!) got eggs and beer in the airport. It was delicious, and I think it helped circumvent jet lag - my body had no clue what time it could possibly be to justify this sort of behavior, so it just accepted the time I told it when we landed.

I Could See Russia From My Plane ;)

We landed in Incheon in the afternoon local time, and made our way to the hotel. Unfortunately, the airport is over an hour out of the city, so we didn't have time to go into Seoul (although a few brave souls forged ahead anyway). I went and grabbed dinner across the street with a handful of people - including two of my fellow vegetarians - and enjoyed kimchee, tofu, and beer. It was delicious, even if I had to pick pork out of my kimchee and tofu dish, haha. (I forgot to use my Korean survival phrases - oops!)

In the morning, after a lovely eight hours of sleep, Group 4 decided to grab the first shuttle to the airport. The breakfast at the hotel was awesome; mostly the same as an American hotel breakfast but with yogurt labels in Korean. I did have aloe juice though, which was amazing and had pulp like orange juice, but tasted like sunscreen. Doesn't sound good, but it totally was.

There was also coffee. Thank goodness.

We're about to get on our last plane of the journey, a three hour flight from Incheon to Ulaanbaatar. I don't know when I'll get to update next, but I will when I get a chance!

<3