Contentment From Paul

I have arrived.
I got up around 4 to catch my flight from Dubuque in time. It was only 50 minutes long and then I sat in Chicago for quite a while. But the waiting was made better for the company I had. Right when I entered the international section of the airport I found a fellow Rotarian who flew to Korea at the same time as me, but through a different airline. So we chatted for a bit and then found a third Rotarian and had lunch together. Neither of them live in my city, but they are in my district so I should see them this coming Saturday at our orientation.
The flight here was incredibly long (14 hours) and I didn't get up once. Surprisingly, I didn't have to use the bathroom at all, so I just never thought to stand. For the first half I either read or slept or just sat there doing nothing. The second half I wasted the time away and watched 4 movies. I finally saw Iron Man 3 and Les Mis. I also watched The Host and almost finished Perks of Being a Wallflower. The couple who sat next to me were very surprised to hear me order my food in Korean. The lady was adorable and made me laugh.
Thankfully when I arrived going through customs was very quick and easy. It took my suitcase about 25 minutes to finally show up, though. When I went through the exit there were so many signs for me to look at that my family found me first. As soon as my Umma saw me she gave me a hug. Knowing that my family isn't anti-touchy-feely totally made up for the flight. My Unni (older sister) and Oppa (older brother)  were also there waiting for me (remember those terms, they're what I'm going to use in referring to my family). They were all super nice and gave me drinks and took all my luggage for me. I was honestly still in a daze at that point and wasn't even attempting to understand what my family was saying to each other. I only paid attention when they were talking to me. And even then I think that all I ever said in Korean was 힘들었어요 (It was very tiring).
The drive home was nice and relaxing. As we drove through Incheon (where I landed) it was cool to see how all the flat parts of the land were filled up with tightly packed tall buildings, but the hills/mountains lacked anything to suggest a human presence. They were just covered in trees. We also drove over the longest bridge in Korea. We were on for about 15-20 minutes I think. The whole drive was maybe 45 minutes long.
On our way home we stopped by where my Appa works, a little Lotto shop on a cute cramped street. I just gave him a hug and then we left and I haven't seen him since. I went to bed early and got up late, so I missed him.
When we got home I climbed up four flights of stairs. I live in a nice sized apartment with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a big living room and an average kitchen (with no dishwasher I might add).

This is my bedroom. This angle makes it look like it's tiny and that the bed takes up all the space, but it doesn't. I have a ton of closet space and desk space. The bed is interesting. It's not like in America with a mattress, sheets and blankets. It's a mattress, then a thin futon, two blankets to sleep on, and then one blanket to cover up with (not that I need that one yet, It's incredibly warm in this house. My room has a fan and there is one small portable air conditioner; that's the only cooling we got.) The pillow is a bit strange too. It's much firmer than pillows in the US.
As far as food goes, everything has been amazing. The first night we had Chinese delivered (nothing like American Chinese). I had 자장면, noodles with black bean paste. It was really good, but one of those foods that you can only eat so much of before your taste buds can't take it anymore. There was also some good breaded pork. We ate at one of the cute low tables where you sit on the floor in my parents room while we watched TV that I didn't understand any of. The next morning I was very happy to learn that my family eats cereal! Score! Not Reese's Puffs, but any cereal is enough for me. Not too much later we ate lunch. We had some spicy tofu soup, grilled fish, some beef, and a few various vegetables. I found the most interesting to be the sesame leaves that were soaked in something strange. It was pretty good though.
So, about my family. Oppa is 23, very nice and my main translator so far. Not sure that's a good thing seeing as he's leaving for college in a few days, but oh well. He's really easy to get along with and laugh with. Unni, 20, isn't someone I think I would normally befriend, but I think that over time we can be close. Umma is very sweet and does everything for me. She also very pretty. Hopefully I can start cooking with her soon. I just haven't asked yet.
One of the coolest things so far happened just about 20 minutes ago. I've been trying to figure out the easiest time and way to ask if I can go to church (what with the language barrier and everything) because I know that my family is Buddhist. But as it turns out my time spent thinking about it was wasted. Oppa came to my room and asked me if I go to church! There is a church just about 3-5 minutes walking distance from my house and my mother has a couple Christians friends nearby as well. The first couple weeks Umma is going with me until I can find my way on my own. Hopefully I can convince her to keep coming. ;)
Looking to the future, this afternoon I will be getting a phone. Tomorrow I am going with another Rotary student to see my school. I'm starting school on September 2nd I believe. Then on Saturday I have an orientation with the club. Other than that I have no idea what is to come, which makes it all the more exciting.
Though it has been hard to leave everyone behind I think that I'm going to learn a lot about myself this year. I'm simply going to be content with where God has put me, know that He is still protecting everyone at home and be overjoyed when I return. Until then I will remember to "Focus on what's ahead. Use what is behind." - Donita K. Paul.