29 AUGUST 2017 1:53 AM
Introduction | When I was a a toddler, I would see frightening things on the tele. My mum would tell me "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping". To this day, I find comfort in realizing that there are so many helpers -- so many caring people in this world. Truthfully this will be the first time that I will be traveling by myself with no one to guide me but myself. It was bittersweet in a sense that I was excited to travel and immerse myself into a country of my unknown knowledge. It was overwhelming as I moved away from my support system; my dearest friends and family. I studied a bit of Korean before my flight, however, anxiety immediately hit me when I landed in Incheon. But before all else, Korea tested my utmost limits, it truly did. So lets begin from the start shall we? (If you want to hear about my struggle, it starts at Landing) On the day of my flight, I received an email from Korean Airlines delaying my flight for five hours. Yes, five hours. My initial time of 11:15 AM was moved to 4:15PM. Immediately, I panicked. This pushed my landing time of 5:15 PM to 10:15 PM in Korea. This means that the shuttle service that Korea University offered to students, will not apply for me as their last pickup service is at 11:00 PM, specifically for those who are landing before 10:15 PM. The airline apologized and provided me with a voucher of $25 to spend inside the terminal. Challenge one, accepted. Well as I thought so. With a jarring 10 hour flight, Korea Airlines had an extensive range of provided amenities which helped out flyers kill time in no time. Here are some of the inflight services that they provided:
Landing | I landed at 10:38 PM and going through immigration + baggage claim was the incredibly quick. As for customs, they provide a sheet to fill out thirty minutes before boarding off the plane. I immediately called my friend Erina who attended KU last semester and asked her what she did to get to her accommodation. There were options:
Getting to my accommodation | I was told by the front desk to get off the Mariott hotel stop and then take a taxi from there. I boarded the limousine around 11:10 PM and was told that the ride would take a little over three hours. Being exhausted as I was I sat in a nearly empty shuttle. I received a phone call in Korean and decided to accept the call. It was my landlord who knew little to no English. She asked me where I was and I told her I am on my way by limousine. She said that I could pay for my rent tomorrow and to get to the accommodation safely as it was late. Around 1:00 AM the driver told us "Hyatt Hotel" and I asked him if the Mariott stop was near. He replied to me in Korean "This bus does not stop at the Mariott Hotel". I took a picture of the bus number and the stops they had, and showed him that it did have a Mariott Hotel stop. He shoved my phone away and said " I will not drive there and the last stop is Hyatt Hotel". An American man noticed my situation and peered over looking at my phone and noticed that there was indeed a Mariott stop. The stranger told me to get off the Hyatt stop with him and said that drivers do not get paid overtime. This was understandable and I listened. We left the bus to grab our luggage's. The stranger asked me why I was traveling by myself this late and I explained to him my flight being delayed and my stay as an exchange student. Before all else, the stranger asked the bellman to flag down a taxi and translate my destination for me from the hotel so I could get to my accommodation. The stranger expressed that he has three daughters and would be incredibly worried if one of his daughters would be lost in a country she hasn’t been in. We both waited for a taxi at the front of the hotel. As my taxi was flagged down, and my luggage's were packed in the back of the car, I thanked him, but he told me to wait. He reached into his bag and said "If you ever get lost, and you don't know where you are, contact me, and dial 001, and my number is here". He handed me his business card. I was dumfounded as I read, Robert, corporate president of a tech company. I wanted to cry as I would been lost if he was not on the shuttle with me. He waited for me until I got into the taxi and waved off as I left. During my ride, I was again tested. The taxi man asked me in Korean "Where are you from", I said "Hawaii". He asked me what was the length of my stay and I said that I was a student for a semester. He hushed me and said in English "If you do not know Korean, stay out of Korea or do something about". I got scared. Nevertheless, I was nice to him and said I am studying Korean. However, we went into what was once started as a difficult conversation to a somewhat friendlier one. My ride by taxi took a little over an hour. The taxi man said that he will not charge me the late night fee and to study hard in Korea. These spur of the moment pressures, well, you can see how stressed I was throughout my time since landing. I'd be lying if I said Korea has made me speechless. When the truth and reality makes the tongue so weak, it forgets what language to speak in. It was 2:38 AM, and I have finally made it to my accommodation, Crimson House. coda: I hope you are proud of yourself, especially during circumstances where you said "yes", when it meant extra work for you, and genuine support only to someone else.
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AuthorCindy is an epicurist, a food photographer, and a self-proclaimed creative writer. When Cindy isn't studying at Korea University Business School (2017), she can be found in cafes, asking random seoulites for directions, or singing at noraebangs (korean karaoke). Archives
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