Before the Journey Across the Pond

As I am sure many of you know, I was supposed to leave in February for Korea. Obviously, that did not happen due to quite a few paperwork mishaps and errors. Nevertheless, the extra time before departing was nice in quite a few ways. For starters, I was able to work a bit, first at the Hershey Technical Center on a top secret product which I am unable to discuss, and after that, for Chris Archibald's Landscape Design. Both jobs were mind numbing, to say the least and thanks to Arch, I now know how to spread tanbark (as if I could not have figured that one out on my own.) However, I am thankful for the the jobs since I was able to make a couple extra bucks before leaving.

Besides working, I was once again able to visit the plethora of historical landmarks in and around the Central Pennsylvania region as well as some of the surrounding states. Unfortunately, Katrina and I were unable to make it to Niagara Falls due to the week notice she received before leaving. On the other hand, we were able to visit the Gettysburg Battlefield. We had one main purpose, my mother, aunt, Katrina, and myself - the cyclorama. The picture below does not serve justice to the 360 degree painting of Pickett's Charge which stands 27 feet tall and 359 feet in circumference. I would highly recommend taking the time to visit this landmark. For those of you who have seen the great redwoods of the northwest, it is like trying to explain the massive size of the redwoods compared to the Eastern Pines - not happening.

(Gettysburg Cyclorama)

Next on our stop - 'The City of Brotherly Love.' My mother and her boyfriend were taking a trip to Philadelphia and Katrina had a friend who worked there. So, we hitched a ride, saw a few of the sights, as well as a play in some famous theater - the name of which now escapes me. Tony Luke's now holds the special place in my heart reserved for Philly Cheese steaks. The main purpose of the trip, at least in my opinion, was the market. Not too shabby but after living in Portland, I wasn't overly impressed.

(Liberty Bell)

Caves. Katrina wanted to save Indian Echo Caverns so bad. So, one afternoon we packed up, drove the 15 minutes, and took the tour. I believe the last time I was there was in 5th grade and it seemed to hold a lot more magic and mystique at that age. Do not get me wrong, it is still a place to visit one every five or ten years. Looking back now, I think I was turned off by the tour guide, who seemed all to rushed to finish the tour for the five paying customers. I guess I should have apologized for burdening her while at work.

(Indian Echo Caverns)

Finally, I now consider myself somewhat of a NYC expert. Not that I have lived there or anything but after visiting 3 times in 3 weeks, it sure as hell felt like it. I took Katrina up on a Friday for her 10 minute visa interview and the following Monday, we drove up again, this time using the Park and Ride option at Secaucaus Junction. If you are going for a day trip, I would highly recommend this option. $12 to park, a 15 minute ride into Penn Station which costs $3.50 I believe, maybe less, and none of the hassle of driving in the city! We went to Times Square and I wondered - how many languages are spoken in this spot throughout a day? How many countries were represented at that very moment? Then, we took a stroll down to Central Park and finally, we picked up her visa.

A few weeks later, my sister, nephew, and I all went up again for my visa interview. We pretty much hit all of the same spots and my nephew requested that his father move the family up to NYC to live. Not something I see happening any time soon. My only regret, and not so much mine as my mother's, is that I did not make it to the Carnegie Deli. Oh yeah, and the fact we visited two days before the bomb scare.

(Ice Hockey Rink in Central Park)

(Times Square)

Bus #98

My recruiter had the bright idea that I should visit the school I will be teaching at today. Only problem, no one has any clear cut directions on how to get there. So, yesterday, Katrina and I went for a little walk to find the correct route, Bus #98, and we did. While we were there, we asked these two girls if 'Baek-Seol-Ma-Eul' was along the route and of course, they pointed to it. The arrow was headed in the opposite direction but I did not think anything of it from the directions given to me by my recruiter.

I wake up today, take a shower, and away I go. Katrina and I stop at the bank so I can exchange some money and I am off. I get to the stop, wait about 5 minutes and hop on to Bus #98. I am sitting on the bus for about 15 minutes until I decide to ask the bus driver if my stop is on the bus. Fortunately, I copied the Korean after the young ladies showed it to me yesterday. The driver shakes his head and points in the other direction. As we make a turn at a light, he points to another bus stop and says the magic words - "okay."

I hop off the bus and walk me way across the street to the bus stop. Here come three women and I ask them, "Baek-Seol-Ma-Eul?" as I point to the Bus #98 line. No 'yes' or affirmative shaking of the heads followed so I decided to call the Korean contact I had at the school. Her advice, take a taxi and give her a call when I get inside. The ladies help me flag down a taxi and I had the driver my phone, some chit chatting ensues, all in Korean of course, and I can see the dollar signs or should I say won signs flash in my head. I am hoping the trip will be under a hundred but try to enjoy my first ever taxi ride.

After about 10 minutes we pull into an apartment complex and the driver says, "telephone." I understood and called the woman back. No answer but up came a black car with Chelice, the school's manager inside. The total cost, about five dollars. I ended up going to her apartment complex and catching a ride in to work with her. It was probably about half an hour or so.

I arrived at the school and we spent about half an hour trying to figure out how to get home. Bus #98 is the way to go, next time I just need to get on the bus on the opposite side of the street. In fact, I rode the bus home and it only took about 45 minutes and cost 90 cents. I really did not do a whole lot at the schools, a few introductions and met with my fellow teachers as well as some of the Korean teachers. All in all i was there for probably two hours. My orders, to come back Monday at 1 pm. I now have a Korean business card with the school's address in case I get lost but there shouldn't be any problems since I know which bus to get on. Good times living in a foreign country!

14 Hours Later

I left Harrisburg at 11 am Friday morning and took the 25 minute plane ride to Dulles. My flight from Dulles left around 2 pm after a short delay while we waited for the thunderstorms to move out of our way. 14 hours later I landed at Incheon International Airport - it was one day later and 5:00 in the evening. The time change, at least when I convert, is to subtract an hour then switch the am to pm or vice-versa, almost a half day off. I was met at the airport by my beautiful girlfriend and we waited an hour before catching a bus which took us close to her apartment. After the hour and a half bus ride and a twenty minute walk, we were finally 'home'.

No problems at immigration - the woman looked at my passport, looked at my visa stamp, looked at me, stamped my arrival date and away I went. After picking up my bags, I handed the gentleman my customs declaration which was no declaration and moved right along with the scores of other people going through the same line. No random checks, no questions, just handed him a piece of paper.

As for the flight, if you somehow find yourself flying over this way, be sure to book with Korean Air. By far the most pleasant flying experience I have ever enjoyed. I don't know about you, but usually I feel uncomfortable asking the stewardess for anything, a drink, a snack, whatever. Not the case. The flight attendants constantly moved up and down the aisles to see if there was anything they could get for the passengers. Unfortunately, since I did not book my own flight, I was stuck in a middle seat. It wasn't too bad since I was able to walkabout at least every three hours and get a good stretch in.


The sweetest part of the entire flight, the technology. Each seat had their own screen with accompanying remote. If you look closely, you can see the remote beneath the screen to the left. Not only was I able to watch movies, 5 in all - Shutter Island, The Book of Eli, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Invictus - but I was also able to play games on the screen. On the backside of the remote their was a joystick and buttons. The games weren't anything spectacular but they were still nice! Also, I could pause the movies if I wanted to get up and go to the bathroom or if dinner came. I was not at the mercy of anyone else. Needless to say, I got an hour of sleep which has helped me adjust to the time difference.

On the flight, I also got two meals and a snack. For lunch I had beef, mashed potatoes, bread, potato salad, and fruit. Snack was a banana and doughnut which was stuffed with beef BBQ - quite tasty. Finally, I had chicken and rice for dinner with a salmon salad and cheesecake. With each meal complimentary wine was served and there must have been three or four additional drink services. As I mentioned, my most pleasant flying experience to date. I cannot even fathom first class...

Happy and Feeling Great

Over the past couple of days I have come to a lot of realizations. For starters, I realize I have a lot of fears in life, but nothing that cannot be overcome. I came to this realization after reading Life Lessons which is a book written by two individuals who work with the dying. I came to this after realizing I had a lot of anger and behind all anger there is a fear. Fear, I never knew was actually there. I am working on letting go of my fear and anger, and it all began with forgiveness. Forgiving that one person who I never thought I would be able to has helped me in indescribable ways.

On a second note, I am finally getting my confidence back, which has been gone for a long long time. I sat down and took a look at my life and realized few people would have the courage to take on the challenges I have in life, some by choice, others not. When I take an objective look at my life, I realize that few other people, if any have: lost their best friend at the age of 17, moved away from home their senior year to pursue a dream, gone to college on the opposite coast, lived in a foreign country, survived in a foreign country without a job, traveled across an ocean for love, and in the near future, hike the Appalachian Trail. Few people have had the fortune to experience one of these, let alone all of them. And, I am only 24, soon to be 25. I know there are great things in store for my life, whatever it is I want that to be. I know I am going to have a lot more life experiences because that is what I want. I am feeling great and loving life and hopefully I will be able to sustain these positive thoughts. I hope you are doing well. Remember, there is no point in tip-toeing through life to reach the finish line. Hope everyone is doing great!

New Plans

Well, it has definitely been a while since my last post, that is for sure. So, I will begin with a quick update...

I am coaching an ice hockey team in the area and we are currently winless. It was the first year moving up a level and you can definitely tell. Although there have been a few close games, we have yet to pull through and have our last game this weekend.

I did receive a job offer from a company in Japan (Interac) however, I have already turned it down.

The reason for this - I have decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (Georgia to Maine, 2100 plus miles). So, lately I have been busy with planning my trip, ordering gear, and attempting to get everything in line before I leave. There are definitely a lot of minor details to look after and as of today, my departure date is a day shy of two months.

Well, for any one who might still follow the blog, that is all for right now. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions. As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I have finally found something which I am excited about and think, no, I know, this will be a great experience. Take care everyone.