Getting into Incheon, I exchanged some money into Won and walked out of the terminal expecting to see my mother there waiting for me. I waited... then I was approached by a Korean man... "Angela?" I looked at him for a second and realized that he kind of resembled my brother in a way. He's my uncle. I replied "Samchun!?" he nodded and I was excited so I tried to hug him...but I guess I didn't realize that hugs aren't as custom here as they are in the states... he didn't really know what to do.
We met up with my mom, aunt, another uncle, and my cousin Hyun Jun. The drive to Gwangju was 5hours. It was kind of scary. All the rumors about driving in Korea are 100% true. They even attach small blue-ish blocks made out of a spongy material to keep other cars from rubbing against theirs.
At first, I thought Korea was ugly. The traffic was horrible, the city we went through was gross, and there seemed to be a lot of pollution. Then when we were further down south, into the country, it was beautiful. There are mountains everywhere and old traditional Korean homes. The landscape is gorgeous. Its too bad that so much of Korea is covered in concrete.
We arrived in Gwangju to my uncle and aunts house, where I'm currently staying. That night my whole family came over (except a few). Everyone in my family was very welcoming and super loving. They all said what few English they knew... "I miss you," "I love you," "you are pretty." All the women in the family kept wanting to be around me and grab my hands. The language barrier isn't too much of a problem when it comes to getting close. We all pretty much understand each other. Everyone made sure I was well fed... and then fed beyond fullness. The kids in the family are crazy about electronics, they played with my camera, ipod, macbook, and cell phone whenever they could get their hands on them. My older cousins treated me very much like a long lost sister. Hana is a teacher. Shes beautiful and amazingly well dressed. My cousin Te Hun just got out of the military and is now working as an engineer. He's determined to try and talk to me. We use the Google translator and talk using the computer. Dong Ig is currently in training with the Korean Navy, I saw lots of pictures and videos of him performing and singing. He wants to be a famous singer and actor. I have no doubt he will be, he is so much better than what I see on Korean T.V. He's handsome too.
Dong Ig
Yesterday (Tuesday) I went with my mom's second oldest brother to see Gwangju city. We saw the school I'll be teaching at and it's surroundings. A few things I noticed... Lotte Mart (its like Walmart on steroids), no one wears sunglasses, all the young people look like their on the catwalk, most of the high rise buildings are apartments, people will get decked out in cycling gear to ride their single speed mountain bike through the city, and crosswalks are suicide... but thrilling.
When we got back, I hung out with my cousin Te Hun. He showed me pictures of being in the R.O.K Marine Corps. They're very similar to the U.S. Marine Corps... colors, symbols, hair cuts and all. Coincidence? He gave me his dog tags as a gift along with a picture of him and his brother, Dong Ig. Hana came over too. By then I was exhausted. I'm still getting used to the time change.
Contrast
This is a letter I attempted to write in hangul to my cousin Dong Ig. It was painful to write. It probably looks like a kindergartner wrote it!
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